Lucretia Mott

Personal Statement:
Hi my name is Lucretia Mott. I was born on January 3, 1793 in Nantucket Massachusetts and died on November 11, 1880. I was born in a Quaker family and at the age of 13 I was sent to a Quaker boarding academy in the Hudson Valley where I soon became a teacher. Here I met my husband James Mott. James and I had 6 children, only 5 had lived to become adults. I was one of the very first public figures to address both slavery and women's rights and one of the first highly outspoken suffragists for women's rights. I ignored criticism and continued my protests about what I believed was wrong. My letters and speeches inspired others to speak their mind on what were to be important social issues of my time. I was persistent in being heard and became well respected because of it. In America I helped organize women's abolitionist societies, since the anti-slavery organizations would not admit women as members. In 1840, I was selected as a delegate to the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London, which I found controlled by anti-slavery factions who opposed public speaking and action by women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton later had conversations with me, while seated in the segregated women's section, with the idea of holding a mass meeting to address women's rights. We initiated the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention which was a huge stepping stone for women's rights. We then wrote the "Declaration of Sentiments" that stated all men AND women are created equal. I was the first female president of the American Equal Rights Convention after the end of the Civil War. I made public speeches for the abolition of slavery and I even sheltered runaway slaves in my own home.

Issues:
Being born as a Quaker I was taught that slavery was bad which was what motivated me to be involved in the abolition of slavery. I boycotted all slave labor products (cotton cloth, cane sugar, etc.). I began to be involved with women's rights when I met Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London in the segregated women's section. I believed in equal economic opportunity and I supported women's equal political status, including suffrage which I discuss in my book "Discourse on Women" which was published in 1850.

Solutions:
I used my gift for oratory to deliver hundreds of speeches and sermons that reached thousands of listeners, and it was a strong force in effecting the reforms of my day. I believe myself to be successful because after all I was elected to be the 1st president of the American Equal Rights Association and I also helped found Swarthmore College in 1864 and continued to attend women's rights conventions and when the movement split into two factions in 1869 I brought the two together. As a women reformer I faced a lot of obstacles and criticisms but I overcame them as I was one of the first public speakers for women's rights. I as denied a seat in the World Anti-Slavery Convention but if that hadn't happened I wouldn't have met Ms. Stanton who encouraged me to become a leader in the women's rights movement.

Relationship With Others:
I would feel comfortable talking to William Lloyd Garrison, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass and Theodore Parker. I would feel uncomfortable talking to John C. Calhoun, and Andrew Jackson.