With Liberty and Justice for All

Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions was modeled directly from Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence. The style, order and wording of Stanton’s declaration is quite similar to that of Jefferson’s. However, in Jefferson’s time, women were not considered to be independent citizens or thought of as individuals requiring or deserving rights or a say in how the young country’s laws and regulations should be formed. Women, like African Americans, were not offered any rights regarding property, voting or education.
What is interesting is that Jefferson was in favor of abolishing slavery and worked to get rights and recognition for African Americans before even giving a thought to the rights and liberties of women. The Declaration of Independence spoke of the wrongs committed against man. Today we take this to mean mankind, including men and women, but when it was written it is doubtful that women were thought of at all.
Even the most notable line from Jefferson’s declaration states “that all men are created equal” but from its printing in 1776 through 1848 when Stanton penned her retort, women were treated as inferior beings without right to “elective franchise,” to property, to her own rightfully earned wages, unable to defend herself from a tyrannical husband, unable to get a “thorough education” or to hold public office or certain positions of employment reserved for men (Stanton 205-206). While black men were no longer enslaved, in many ways slavery still existed in the United States with women being susceptible to their “masters” rules and suffocating within the bonds of oppression.
While Jefferson probably meant no intentional disrespect to women, as he appeared to be a somewhat enlightened and forward-thinking individual, however the things that he was asking were already revolutionary in nature and can only be seen as a first step in establishing a fair and just government that ensures the “life, liberty and pursuit of happiness” for its citizens (Jefferson 80). Stanton just took the much needed next step, following the lead of Frederick Douglass, ensuring that ALL citizens of the new nation were given equal consideration in this pursuit of freedom and happiness.