Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Empowering Women: Then and Now

Elizabeth Cady Stantonhttps://www.npr.org/2011/07/13/137681070/for-stanton-all-women-were-not-created-equal“Heroes arrive when we need them most. They define us and point us in a direction... And as long as we need examples on how to live, as long as we aspire, we will never be too old for heroes.” (Granger para. 11) David Granger elaborates on this need for heroes to guide us in the article “Boy, Do We Ever Need a Hero”. He states that we need to refine the search for a hero as not someone who is flawless, but someone who will be there in hard times, and is willing to selflessly help others. Much like Granger, as society continues to evolve, many believe that heroes are lost to us. Are they lost, or have we not found them yet? Heroism is not just for the strong, the elite, or the widely-known. True heroism is in the little acts that matter, that benefits others and protects rights. The heroism of others help us even in our darkest times, encourages us to keep on moving, and leads us to a better future we can all be proud of. But as the thoughts of society become more self-centered, it is very hard to find a hero that will respect and defend our values. In the pursuit of a flawless hero, we often forget everyday heroes, whose tiny actions impact us. These people lead the ways for others, and their perseverance and courage while leading makes them the heroes we never knew we had. If people take it upon themselves to fix a prevalent problem, despite the obstacles, their values set them apart as a hero. By these definitions, a truly deserving hero is a courageous person who will defend the beliefs of others for the good of society, and conquer various obstacles to lead others to a better future.

Throughout her life, Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s actions have affected people all over the world.  Even at a young age, Stanton’s decisions, such as staying strong for her father in the aftermath of her brother’s death, have defined her as an independent person: “At length he heaved a deep sigh and said: ‘Oh, my daughter, I wish you were a boy!’ Throwing my arms about his neck, I replied: ‘I will try to be all my brother was.’" (Stanton ch. 2). The same girl who vowed to act like her brother also strove the rest of her life to achieve the status of recognition of a female doing male work in the 1800’s. Her actions set the ball rolling for over 50 years of fighting for women's rights, abolition, and temperance. Born in 1815 to a lawyer, Elizabeth Cady Stanton grew up learning about the limited rights of women and was determined to help the women who could not help themselves. After the death of her family’s only son, Stanton vowed to be just a man as her brother was, and actively sought out ways to help the public. She married Henry B. Stanton, a leader of the anti-slavery movement, in 1840, and for their honeymoon went to the World Anti-Slavery Convention. There, she was appalled at the segregation of genders. Women could not speak and had to watch the proceedings through a screen door. From then on, the rights for women became Elizabeth Stanton’s main goal. After to moving to Seneca Falls in 1847, she, along with four others, created the Seneca Falls Convention, the first public stand for women’s rights. For this event, Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, a proclamation for women’s rights. Though many were disgusted by the convention, many others came, and by 1850, a suffrage organization was formed. In 1851, Stanton met Susan B. Anthony, the mouthpiece to her many speeches. In 1868, she ran for Congress for New York and founded the American Equal Rights Association. Leaving her many organizations in trusty hands, for the next 11 years, Elizabeth Cady Stanton toured the world as a lyceum speaker advocating the rights of women. Once coming home, Stanton wrote several volumes of History of Woman Suffrage, a book that chronicled all of their views, and became the head of the National Woman Suffrage Association. She died peacefully in 1902. Though Elizabeth Cady Stanton made leaps and bounds for the rights of American women, she would never see her main goal come true, the vote for women, which would come true 18 years after her death. Stanton’s actions throughout her life displayed that she had the two vital traits to the making of a deserving hero: courage and leadership. Courage is standing up for a belief, despite the opposition of others, and seeing it through, while leadership skills are the ability to persuade people to participate in a cause, and inspire them to want to do more with their lives. Heroes who exemplify these traits, along with perseverance to achieve their goals, can effectively show people the way to a better future. Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s courage in gaining rights for women and leadership in encouraging people to stand up for their rights mark her not only as one of the leading women of the 19th century, but also as a hero for people everywhere.

Speaking at the Seneca Falls Conventionhttp://www.brownstonedetectives.com/he-has-made-her-civilly-dead-1848/Stanton’s courage to stand up for what she believed in, despite opposition, sets her apart from other role models.The multiple endeavors she took made her a hero for many of the women of her time and of the future. When writing for the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, Stanton proposed the fight for women’s suffrage, but was met with backlash from even her closest supporters: her husband and her closest friend. Despite this, she still wrote the need for voting rights in the Declaration of Sentiments, the rights which were demanded in the convention, and convinced others that the vote of women was essential to the movement: “Stanton further called for ‘women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise.’... Although they initially opposed the idea, Mott and Henry were eventually persuaded by the force of Stanton's argument.”(“Elizabeth Cady Stanton.” para. 2). The words the author uses, such as “opposed” to “persuaded by the force” shows how assertive Stanton’s tone was, and how passionate her appeal was to her family. In addition, the phrase “sacred right” provides a religious connotation, which appealed to Stanton’s audience, the religious middle-class of 1800’s America. In times like these, when society was male-dominated, the courage Stanton displayed in going against the morals of the country and her husband is truly admirable. Heroes have a strong sense of justice, and Stanton’s conscience didn't allow her to work on anything else until her dream of women’s suffrage was fulfilled. To get her points across, Elizabeth Cady Stanton sought unorthodox ways to prove her points and pass her ways, even bending some rules to do so because she firmly believed on seeing the rights of women increase:

“In 1865 she petitioned the United States Congress on the issue of woman's suffrage--in vain. Perhaps inspired by this action, she decided in 1866 to run for Congress in New York's eighth district. Stanton had found that although women were denied the vote, there was nothing in the law preventing them from running for office. ‘My creed,’ she stated in her announcement of candidacy, ‘is free speech, free press, free men, and free trade--the cardinal points of democracy.’” ("Elizabeth Cady Stanton.” para. 4)

Stanton’s repetition of “free” in her announcement for candidacy along with the usage of “cardinal” provides an authoritative tone that commands the listener to pay attention to her words. It also attacks the very foundation of American values set after the Revolution: “life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. This persuades the listener to question the liberty for women, and act on it. It displays how much she cares about the future of democracy and the values it should have, especially for the women of her time. Women were supposed to be docile creatures, not headstrong enough to openly disobey their country while still being a housewife, but Stanton broke stereotypes her entire life, and her petitions and stance were just the beginning of a unyielding march that lasted more than half a century, displaying immense determination. She started a revolution, defying the very people she was supposed to become, and saved the future of others, much like a hero.     

Stanton’s work and leadership skills for over 50 years clearly show what she has accomplished. By making sure social reforms were passed, Stanton encouraged others to fight for what they believed in: not just suffrage, but in other areas of social reform as well. When one of Stanton’s most influential laws was passed, the Married Women's Property Act, she reflected on how it changed the attitude of women, and how laws have changed since she focused on them:

“This encouraged action on the part of women, as the reflection naturally arose that, if the men who make the laws were ready for some onward step, surely the women themselves should express some interest in the legislation. Ernestine L. Rose, Paulina Wright (Davis), and I had spoken before committees of the legislature years before, demanding equal property rights for women. ” (Stanton 29%)

The usage of words such as “encouraged” and “demanded” show the passion of Stanton and her friends have for the cause, and how far they will go to achieve it. These words paint a positive tone as Stanton’s work encouraged more men and women to join her cause. Her efforts were noticed, and she changed the mindsets of many to pro-women, one of the main steps of being a leader. A hero’s work, though it may not be easily noticed, affects the mindset of a community, and Stanton’s resolute petitioning and assemblies certainly made an impact. Nearing the end of her revolution, Stanton reflects on the work she has put into the suffrage, and how it has changed society over the past years, especially in the views of individuals; which have become accepting as a whole:

“We now have our special committee, and our room, with ‘Woman Suffrage’ in gilt letters, over the door. In our struggles to achieve this, while our champion, the senior Senator from Massachusetts, stood up bravely in the discussion, the opposition not only ridiculed the special demand, but all attempts to secure the civil and political rights of women.” (Stanton 63%)

Stanton’s usage such as “struggles”, “gilt letters” and “bravely” display how much she supports her committee, and how proud she is that her group finally has a stance in the United States. She still continues and pushes her limits farther, introducing and speaking ideas most women wouldn’t do. Heroes are celebrated for being different, and better than the rest of society, and Stanton is changing minds with her thoughts, and thinking years before her time. Stanton not only shows her perseverance mentally, but also physically. While traveling the country speaking, Stanton faces many hardships, such as bad conditions and cramped schedules, but her determination to reach her audience pushed her forward, helping her travel to both America and England even as she grew older, and bringing her leadership skills to people everywhere: “Even the pains of traveling on a very tight schedule could not subdue Elizabeth's enthusiasm or sense of humor. She worked around unreliable public transportation, floods, snow blockades, poor sleeping accommodations, and lecture hall ceilings that leaked rainwater right onto the speaker's platform.” (Horner and Loos para. 184) By this point in her career, Stanton was aging, and could have easily spent her days at home, tending to her family. Her willingness to help others realize what they needed to do, build a group that could convince legislature to pass laws that could help women, overrode her duty to her family, and helped her stay with who needed and could benefit from her leadership the most. Stanton’s perseverance as a woman living in the 1800’s who was miles ahead of her peers made her a strong character who would step up and lead others. Heroes have the same character traits no matter the time period, and Stanton’s morals, capabilities and value define her as timeless character who continues to inspire women throughout the world.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthonyhttps://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/the-early-republic/culture-and-reform/a/womens-rights-and-the-seneca-falls-conventionIn a society where heroism is determined by the qualities of a character, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, through her powerful stance and ability to bring out the best in a situation, fits the two main characteristics of a hero: having the resilience to stand up against opposition, and having the leadership skills to accomplish tasks and bring out the light in a dark world. Stanton fought for the future of womankind, knowing that she may never see the fruit of her actions, but firmly believing it was the right thing to do: “However, Stanton's insistence upon linking social and political reform in working for the voting rights of women rather than waging a lone fight for suffrage would eventually prove insightful. Her energetic and lifelong devotion to the cause of advancing the rights of women, and her progressive views as to the best means of gaining those rights, have, since her death, gained Stanton her rightful place as one of the pivotal leaders of the American feminist movement.” ("Elizabeth Cady Stanton." para. 9) An inspirational hero is someone whose actions help bring around change. I personally connect to Stanton because I strive to achieve a utopia for girls through my Girl Scouts community, where every girl is treated the same despite race or ethnicity. A project I recently worked on addressed gender stereotyping. My troop and I taught younger girls how not to be confined to the roles that others pushed on them, but instead to go out and make their own paths. Though there is still much we can do to gain a perfect world, without the resilience of Stanton and other leading figures like her, we could have never started. Many girls and women just like me owe their freedom to own property, work, and speak because of Stanton and the various laws she pushed to pass. These heroes help guide us and change history. Admittedly, when we started the Superhero Unit, I had no interest in superheroes, thinking of them as a commercial ploy for Marvel and other comic franchises. As we delved deeper into the values of heroes and their impact on our lives, despite living during various time periods, I realized how crucial heroes were to the development of society. The lessons that heroes learn impact the decisions that we make and the major accomplishments they achieve inspire us to go out and change our lives for the better. We, as human beings, aspire to do what is good for us and others, but often cannot reach there without the help of a guiding figure. These models, or as we often like to put it, perfect heroes, seem to vanish behind the throes of corruption and self-interest as we evolve and become more cynical, but are actually there when we need them the most, albeit behind flaws. These “new” heroes not only redefine what a hero is but also where we can find them as well. They are the people who will help persevere in hard times, but also lead us towards a brighter future, and can be found anywhere. One of these models, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, still got up and led people against a mob of opposition, and who says we can’t all as well? After all, “As long as we need examples on how to live, as long as we aspire, we will never be too old for heroes.” (Granger para. 11)

Works Cited

"Elizabeth Cady Stanton." Feminist Writers, edited by Pamela Kester-Shelton, St. James Press,

1996. Biography In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K2410000249/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=9e0cec52. Accessed 13 Apr. 2018.

Granger, David. “Boy, Do We Ever Need a Hero.” Esquire, Nov. 1998.

Horner, Martina S. and Pamela Loos. "Elizabeth Cady Stanton." Elizabeth Cady Stanton

(0-7910-5293-1), Jan. 2002, p. 7. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b6h&AN=9195283&site=brc-live.

Lutz, Alma. "STANTON, Elizabeth Cady." Notable American Women, a Biographical

Dictionary: 1607-1950 (Vol.1-3), 03 Nov. 1971, p. 342. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b6h&AN=34645195&site=brc-live.

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences 1815-1897. T. Fisher Unwin,

1898,  Schocken Books, digital.library.upenn.edu/women/stanton/years/years.html.