Seneca Falls Declaration
Summary: The declaration begins with an almost parody-like rewording of the classic "We hold these truths to be self-evident..." line, adding "that all men and women are created equal." The document then lists a number of grievances that the authors had with the men and the society of the time. Included in this are the lack of female voting rights, the inability of women to participate in government and lawmaking, the general assumption that women belonged in and to the household, and the common forfeiture of female wages to male relatives/husbands. Then, after a brief paragraph cementing and combining all of this, the document lists a set of "resolved" statements, including the ideas that men and women were equal in spirit, mind, and matter, that women should act to gain social and legal equality, and that it is for the betterment of the whole human race that women and men be viewed as equals.
(Half a century later, 'suffragettes' would lead the march for women's voting rights, and finally gain this fundamental right of citizenship).
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