Elizabeth Cady Stanton

                                                 

Personal Statement :

 Hello, my name is Elizabeth Cady Stanton and I was born on November 12, 1815, in Johnstown, New York. I attended Johnstown Academy, where I studied Latin, Greek, mathematics, religion, science, French, and writing until the age of 16. After graduating the academy, I went on to Union College, as my older brother, Eleazar, had done previously. I am the daughter of a lawyer who made no secret of his preference for another son. That is the reason for my desire to study and be equal as all the other males. I graduated from the Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary in 1832 and I am drawn to the abolitionist, temperance, and women's rights movements through visits to the home of my cousin, the reformer Gerrit Smith. I believed in the expansion of the Fifteenth Amendment which includes voting rights for all women, this amendment also passed, as it was originally written, in 1870. I am also the author of the "Declaration of Rights and Sentiments" which granted rights to women and African Americans. 

Issue(s) :  

With Lucretia Mott and several other women, I held the Seneca Falls Convention in July 1848. At this meeting, we prepared the “Declaration of Sentiments” and took the lead in proposing that women be granted the right to vote. This declaration proposed grand movement for attaining the civil, social, political, and religious rights of women. Together with Susan B. Anthony, we declined to support passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. I opposed giving added legal protection and voting rights to African American men while women, black and white, were denied those same rights. I authored both The Woman's Bible and her autobiography, along with many articles and pamphlets concerning female suffrage and women's rights. During the Civil War I concentrated my efforts on abolishing African American rights, but afterwards I became even more successful in promoting women suffrage. In 1868, I worked with Susan B. Anthony on the Revolution, a militant weekly paper. We then formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869. I was the NWSA’s first president - a position I held until 1890. The organization then merged with another suffrage group to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. I served as the president of the new organization for two years. My stance on the issue with women and slave rights is that the prejudice against color, of which we hear so much, is no stronger than that against sex. It is produced by the same cause, and manifested very much in the same way. My source of motivation is organized Christianity, which relegated women to an unacceptable position in society.

Solution(s) :

My solutions to the unfair rights to women and African Americans was traveling to give lectures and speeches. I called for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution giving women the right to vote. I also worked with Anthony on the first three volumes of the History of Woman Suffrage (1881–6). With my daughter, Harriet Stanton Blatch, we published a critique, The Woman's Bible, which was published in two volumes. The first volume appeared in 1895 and the second in 1898. This brought considerable protest not only from expected religious quarters but from many in the woman suffrage movement.  

Relationship to Others: 

I am passionate about women's rights and equality, so I would feel comfortable sitting next to someone with a related  opinion. I would also be comfortable sitting next to atavists with religious leanings supporting divorce rights, employment rights, and property rights for women. I believe fundamental sexism is part of organized Christianity. On the other hand, I would feel very uncomfortable sitting next to someone who would deny any rights to women and African Americans. Someone who believes women should obey the man and neglects women capability.         

Lydia Maria Child

Personal Statement: Hello, my name is Lydia Maria Child. I was born February 11, 1802 in Massachusetts. I had a fairly decent education at a woman’s seminary and a public school. I am most notable for my novel "Over the River and Through the Wood" and my public opinion about women's rights. I raised awareness to women inequality and publicly expressed in my novels ways to resolve the issue.

Issue(s): Growing up I realized how unfairly women and slaves were treated at an early age. In public school, boys and girls were taught in different classrooms. After the death of my mother, I was sent to Main to live with my older sister and learn to be more “feminine”. Having lived in the age of the Cult of Domesticity, being feminine and knowing my place in society was important to my family, but not much to me. At the age of 25, I married David Lee Child despite indications that he was not a correct match for me. We constantly moved around due to lack of money. My marriage was not what I had in mind, having to constantly work just to survive. Most woman in my era could not work, having to follow the Cult of Domesticity rules, but my case was different. I strongly believed that women had a place right next to man, not behind him. Many may not have agreed with me but I strongly believed that this social injustice could only be solved if the issue with slavery was resolved. I believed that both women and slaves were treated unfairly by white men with the fact that both were treated like property and had no individual rights. Garrison’s writing were my source of motivation to speak my opinion, even if it were different.
Solutions: My voice was almost always overcrowded by my husband's disapproval. I wrote a number of novels that were published and gained popularity. “An Appeal in Favor of that Class of Americans Called Africans” was one of my accomplishments. The Frugal Housewife (1829) was based upon the roles of women in her sphere within the home, and gave advice to women. It dealt with slavery and branched out to women equality. I spread my ideas and hopes with other women who too wished to be treated equally. I mostly faced criticism from my husband and those who disagreed with slavery being abolished.

Relationship to Others: I would feel most comfortable dining with Margaret Fuller and Angelina Grimké. Due to our common belief in equality and women’s right, we would most likely all get along. Seating nearby Andrew Jackson, John C. Calhoun, or Henry Clay would make me feel uncomfortable.

Frederick Douglass

Personal Statement:
My name is Frederick Douglass. I was born as Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in Talbot County, Maryland. The exact date of birth is unknown, but it has been assumed to be February 1818. My mother, Harriet Bailey, is a slave and my father is a white man, whom I never met. Being a slave, I was never given a formal education. Although illegal, in Baltimore I was taught, by the wife of Thomas Auld, to read and write.  In 1838, I successfully escaped from slavery by borrowing the papers of a freed African sailor. I fled to New Bedford Massachusetts with Anna Murray, a free African woman, and changed my name to Frederick Douglass to avoid slave hunters. After reading Liberator by William Lloyd Garrison I quickly jumped to join the abolitionist movement. In 1841, I spoke at a an abolitionist held in Massachusetts. After hearing my speech William Lloyd Garrison approached me and asked me to work for him. Four years later I published my first book, the Narrative of the Life of the Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave. In total I wrote 3 autobiographies. I not only advocated for political change for the abolitionist movement, but also for women's rights. I was the only male African to attend the convention in Seneca Falls and successfully ended segregation of schools in Rochester, New York. During the Civil War, I aided President Abraham Lincoln in recruiting African Americans for the Union Army. I am most notable as a former slave African American, leader of the civil war, social reforms, and exceptional oratory.
Issues:
During my life I fought for the abolitionist movement and universal suffrage. I believe in equality for all people regardless of race or gender. Growing up and experiencing the cruelties against slaves motivated me to fight for change.
Solutions:
I am strongly against violence as the solution. Instead I believe that political reform and moral persuasion are necessary in order for change to occur. Although I believe more work is needed in order to end the prejudice and hate against Africans, I have successfully been able to influence my ideas in the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. This accomplishment did not come easy, I was claimed to have been a fraud pretending to be a freed slave, feared being caught by slave hunters, and criticized for marrying a white woman.
Relationship with Others:
At the dinner party I would feel comfortable talking with Harriet Tubman, Angelina Grimke, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, David Walker, and Horace Greeley. I would feel uncomfortable talking with Henry Clay.

Emily Dickinson

Personal Statement: My name is Emily Dickinson, and I was born in December 1830 in Amherst, MA. to a well-known and well-connected family.  My family was among the wealthiest in town, and had deep roots to Amherst College.  Because of my grandfather's role in founding Amherst College, education was valued in my house.  I studied at several different schools, which was really unique for a woman of my time.  However, it was expected that I return home to help with the domestic duties until I married.  It's unfortunate that my father never truly realized my true intellect.  In total, I wrote 1,175 poems.  I lived a very quiet and secluded life, so I only published seven poems while I was alive.  Most of my poetry became known to the world after my death.