The Women's Rights Movement

Emergence of Women's Rights

By the mid-1800s, the women's reform movement was beginning to take shape. One of the major events that drove this movement was the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, this convention was the first meeting of women to discuss their rights. A declaration was created that proposed certain rights for women including those that encouraged women to take part in all public issues including the right to vote. This issue was the only one not to pass unanimously as some felt they did not care to vote even if they could.