Lucretia Mott

Lucretia MottJoseph Kyle [Public domain]The American society of the 1800s has drastically changed. Empowerment of women in society has been enforced and this is because of the heroes in history who fought for women’s rights. Heroes take action for what they believe in and that’s what Lucretia Mott did. As an abolitionist who also believed in women's rights, Lucretia Mott worked hard to give women and slaves equality. Mott, a woman who lived in America from 1793 to 1880, grew up within the church of “Society of Friends”, also known as the Quakers. She received an education and job within the church but still experienced the sexism present within her community. During her life, she fought for abolitionism but she eventually realized that her status as a woman affected how much she could do for abolitionism. After realizing this, she developed a passion for women’s rights. Lucretia Mott pushed society’s standards of women and, for that, she is a hero.

A core characteristic of a hero is bravery. Bravery is what allows the hero to stand out from society’s norms and fight for what they believe in. Women in the 1800’s were expected to remain submissive to the sexism of their culture and to follow the standards for them, present within society. Not doing so caused chaos for the woman as she was either physically punished, or shunned within the community. Even though she knew the risk of being dropped from her church, Lucretia Mott still spoke out against slavery. “When she first began to speak against it, slavery was defended by many Friends…”, and she was warned that her continuation of speaking for women’s rights would result in her being kicked out of her church. “...her activities led to persistent but futile efforts to depose her from the ministry and she was dropped from Society.” (“Lucretia Coffin Mott 3). Lucretia Mott grew up within the “Society of Friends”. It was where her family and friends’ beliefs resided, and she knew that leaving the society would put her at risk for being shunned by her family and friends. She put her relationships with them at risk so that she could fight for what she believed in. That wasn’t the only thing with a possibility of being jeopardized, but her safety and reputation were put in danger as well. For women in the 1800’s, speaking out against society often led to “public ridicule, and occasional legal admonishment for their actions.” (Dunklee 13). Despite this, Lucretia Mott still spoke up, which eventually led to her becoming “one of the leading speakers at an anti slavery convention as opposition to the abolitionist cause continued to increase. But even escalating outbreaks of violence did little but strengthened her resolve to continue as a spokeswoman for the cause,” (Commire 11). She was aware of the fact that her speaking against the oppression of women would cause chaos, and that she was put at risk for “public ridicule, occasional legal admonishment”, and “escalating outbreaks of violence”. Mott also knew that her continuation of “disobedience” towards society’s expectations had the power to destroy her reputation. Lucretia Mott displayed an extraordinary amount of bravery for doing this, and for that, should be considered a hero to many if not all.

Dedication, too, comes into terms with heroism, especially when a hero gets discouraged. When a hero is discouraged to continue fighting for what they believe in, dedication pushes them to keep going until they reach the end of the fight and succeed. There were many instances where Lucretia Mott was surrounded with discouragement when it came to her fight for women’s rights. She had worked very hard, yet still experienced setbacks. Although, despite these setbacks, she managed to make a comeback every time until her death in 1880. One of these setbacks included an abolitionist convention in 1840, where Lucretia Mott was denied entry because of gender. “Seated off the convention floor, ‘behind the bar,’ Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the new wife of antislavery delegate Henry Stanton, resolved to take action against the injustices done to women, injustices evident even within organizations presumably committed to establishing human equality…” The pact that was made continued on for a decade, and “...eight years later in Seneca Falls, New York, Mott and Stanton, along with Mott's younger sister, Martha Coffin Wright, fulfilled the pledge they had made to each other in London and held the first woman's rights convention in America.” (Kester 5). Mott realized that action was necessary to take when it came to women’s rights. She created a pact, and remained dedicated to it for the rest of her life. Typically, people who make pacts or say that they will do something do not fulfill that promise if it is one that includes hard work, yet Mott not only fulfilled her promise to herself, but went above and beyond as she made history for her cause. Mott’s dedication is also shown through the societies and organizations she was president of or founded. She remained dedicated to her fight for equal rights of women. “Mott and Stanton formed the National Suffrage Association to insure full rights for freedmen and women. Until her death, Mott was actively engaged in reconciling the different wings of the suffrage movement…”(Commire 26). In the 1800’s, for women to work was not an expectation within society. In addition, people stopped working at an old age and retired. Although, Mott continued working for women’s rights and abolitionism well into her late 80’s, and did not quit until she passed away. Lucretia Mott’s heroic character is demonstrated through her dedication to abolitionism and women’s rights.

Lucretia Mott’s character can be defined as heroic for her bravery and determination. Her bravery was demonstrated through her will to step outside of society’s norms, and risk not only her relationships with her family and friends, but her safety and reputation as well. In addition, her character is heroic for the determination that she possessed. Once Mott realized that the power of abolitionism rested within men, she fought for the next couple of decades to give women that power likewise. She ran multiple organizations, and worked hard for women’s rights up until her death in 1880. Lucretia Mott is not only an inspiration to me, but to many others. Before Lucretia Mott, women had absolutely no power within society. Lucretia Mott saw a problem with this, and instead of remaining quiet like the rest of the women in America, she stood out from her community’s standard for her, and she held the first woman's rights convention. That bravery, along with her determination to give women and slaves equality, makes her a role model more millions. She changed America, and started the creation of a society of equality.

Works Cited

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