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Women In The Declaration Of Independence Dbq Essay

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From 1815 to 1850, discrimination was prominent in all areas of life, and affected everyone but Caucasian males. The Second Great Awakening, a Protestant reform movement, assisted in bringing awareness to problems such as racism and sexism into light. People began to take initiative to the problems that troubled society, and particular groups, such as women and immigrants, began experiencing more unjust treatment that others, despite the ideas stated in the Declaration of Independence against such societal treatment. Because of this, one can conclude that the United states did not comply with the ideology stated in the Declaration of Independence for all people by 1850 because women and immigrants, specifically, did not have equality in …show more content…

The ideals in the Declaration were not fulfilled because women did not have equal political or social rights, or even a bare minimum say in the issues that dominated society. Document 1 is a fantastic example of this, and states the inequality in its text- “It is considered improper for women to speak in public.” Published in 1848, it provides context for the Seneca Falls convention that would occur to bring attention to the issue of lack of human rights for women. Women had little to no say in society at the time, which then meant that their words had no value and that their opinions would never be considered as salient as those of men. This can be considered the definition of inequality, thought the Declaration of independence says otherwise. Document 3 makes a similar claim to that of the previous document, that women’s voices held no significance- “...He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.” Women, after marriage, were considered bound to their husbands and his needs. There was no need for a woman to engage in outside activities at that time, and therefore she was to stay home and take care of the children. This meant that women had little opportunity to go as far as men with politically-oriented lives could. This kept in mind, women had a low place in society and had to endure inequality in a ‘free’ country. Document 1 was published by an education project and brought attention to the many reasons for an instigation of public interest in women’s rights. It lists the many reasons for women to be upset at the empty promises states by the Declaration Of Independence, and quotes a civil occurence to back the authenticity of these claims. This document, as stated previously, provides context for the Seneca Falls convention and the rising intolerance for inequality. It has a large chance of being

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