Angad Brar

Period #3 AP US History

Mr. Biron

8 November 2017

Research Paper

Once America declared its independence from Great Britain, the ideals from the Declarations

were not accepted across all the 13 colonies. There was a lot of debate over the rights of slaves, and

women. These conflicts, throughout the 18th and 19th century, formed many new groups/cults, whose

purpose was to gain freedom for their cause. Many of these arguments about the rights of women and

slaves came up because there never addressed in the Declaration of Independence in the first place. Along

with the discussion of rights came the decision of what type of government would be the best and most

stable for Americas future.

Even though the declaration of independence states that all men are created equally this

ideology was only implied towards men. It was never seen as to define men and women. This meant that

women still had very limited rights, and they did not have much of a say in society, when compared to

men in the 18th and 19th century. There were still many prejudices towards women. This continued till

even after the American Revolution. After the revolution black women gained [the] rights to marry, to

have custody of their children, and to own property. On paper at least, their rights were identical to those

of white women (The Legal Status of Women, 1776-1830). This clearly shows that even after the

revolution, white women were still not equal to white men, and the same goes for black men and women.

One major right that women were not privileged to have, was the right to vote, even after the

ideals of the Declaration of Independence were put in place. Only until women began forming

groups/cults, and protesting for their rights was there a change. One of these movements, known for

starting the feminist movement, more specifically for being the first [to] publicly demand the right to

vote (Seneca Falls Convention), was the Seneca fall convention. Eventually the leaders at this

convention were able to put together a document known as the Declaration of Sentiments. This
 declaration, which use[d] the Declaration of Independence as a model, linked womens rights with the

founding principles of the American Republic (Seneca Falls Convention).This declaration proposed 12

resolutions including property ownership, educational opportunities, and divorce reform (Seneca Falls

Conventions). Eventually the women gained enough support to pass the resolution. This convention laid

the ground work for others, and inspired many other women movements all throughout America.

Work cited

Sowards, Adam M. "Jacksonian Democracy." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-

clio.com/Search/Display/263233. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.

Uffelman, Minoa. "Seneca Falls Convention." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-

clio.com/Search/Display/252798. Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.

Full text of "The Collected Works Of Abraham Lincoln The Abraham Lincoln Association Springfield Illinois IV",

The Abraham Lincoln Association, Edited by Roy P Basler, 3 Nov. 2006,

archive.org/stream/collectedworksof015582mbp/collectedworksof015582mbp_djvu.txt.

Starks, Glenn L., and F. Erik Brooks. "U.S. Constitution." American Government, ABC-CLIO, 2017,

americangovernment.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1682389. Accessed 11 Oct. 2017.

"Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776)." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-

clio.com/Search/Display/255232. Accessed 8 Oct. 2017.