Document Analysis: Declaration of Sentiments
Read the following excerpt from the Declaration of Sentiments and answer the document analysis questions that follow. Answer everything in complete sentences.
When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the earth a position different from that which they have hitherto occupied, but one to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel them to such a course.
We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed …
The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise.
He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice.
He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded men - both natives and foreigners.
Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides.
He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.
He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns …
Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation, - in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States.
In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small amount of misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we shall use every instrumentality within our power to effect our object. We shall employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the State and national Legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the press in our behalf. We hope this Convention will be followed by a series of Conventions, embracing every part of the country.
Firmly relying upon the final triumph of the Right and the True, we do this day affix our signatures to this declaration.
The Declaration of Sentiments signed in 1848 by 68 women and 32 men at the Seneca Falls Convention in New York. The principal author of the document was Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Question 1
What is the author's background? The you should identify one aspect of the author’s background and explain how it may have influenced the argument or ideas expressed in the document. Some possible examples are the author's social class, political ideology, religion, race, gender, or other personal circumstances. The response should demonstrate knowledge of the historical period in which the document was created. The response should be a minimum of three complete sentences.
Question 2
What is the historical context of the document? Your response should identify and explain historical events surrounding the creation of the document. The response should be a minimum of three complete sentences.
Question 3
Who is the intended audience of the document? Your response should identify and explain the intended audience of the document in a minimum of two complete sentences. You must display historical knowledge of the period.
Question 4
Why did the author create the document? Your response should identify the author's purpose in creating the document using a minimum of two complete sentences. You must display historical knowledge of the period.
Question 5
Identify and describe another social reform movement that was active during the same period as the one described in the document using a minimum of three complete sentences. You must display historical knowledge of the period.
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