When approaching this theme of revolution, reaction and reform, we knew we wanted to do something regarding woman’s rights because it interests us all. This topic was too broad so we chose a more specific topic: the Seneca Falls Convention. We knew that this convention pertained to the theme, but in this research we hoped to expand our knowledge about the revolutionary, reactionary, and reform aspects of the Seneca Falls Convention.
We started off by researching general information. We found a website, “The Seneca Falls Convention” that consisted of broad information of what happened during the convention. We also were able to use the “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention” that was published in Frederick Douglass's newspaper, The North Star. This gave us specific details of the outline of this event, and also included a list of all the men and signers. A scholarly journal, “The meaning of Seneca Falls: 1848-1998”, focused on the revolutionary aspect, in that it sparked a change of the position of one half the world. In one book, “Eighty Years and More; Reminiscences”,by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she argues as to why women should have equal rights, and there are excerpts from newspapers with reactions to the convention. In a movie, “Not for Ourselves Alone”, there were interviews between historians about the causes and purposes of the Seneca Falls Convention. In another movie, “One Woman, One Vote”, there was a detailed overview of the reform after the convention, and how it changed peoples’ perspectives on woman’s rights. We have completed two e-mail interviews with historians. In one interview with Ellen C. DuBois, she provided insight as to the reasons of opposition of woman's rights. We also had an interview with Judy Wellman, who has written a book on the convention. She helped to give information from a Master's thesis about the percentage of editorials that opposed, and were favorable of the convention.
We decided to keep our website simple, yet informative. On the revolution page, we compared the rights of women before and after the convention. For reaction, we quoted many newspapers responses to the convention, and put in the public’s immediate reaction. On the reform page, we wrote about the long term effects of the convention, and how although the convention did not immediately change anything, it brought attention to the problem.
Through our research, we learned that the Seneca Falls Convention was a major changing point in the fight for woman's rights. It created national awareness of woman’s rights, and created controversy as to whether women deserved the same rights as men. This convention was a revolutionary event, as this was the first organized woman's rights convention, where women could publicly express their grievances. It made woman's rights a public issue, and it lead to many more conventions and eventually reform. The Seneca Falls Convention was revolutionary because it allowed women to speak out for the first time, thus creating reactionary discussion of woman's rights, which led to the reform of woman's rights.
We started off by researching general information. We found a website, “The Seneca Falls Convention” that consisted of broad information of what happened during the convention. We also were able to use the “Report of the Woman’s Rights Convention” that was published in Frederick Douglass's newspaper, The North Star. This gave us specific details of the outline of this event, and also included a list of all the men and signers. A scholarly journal, “The meaning of Seneca Falls: 1848-1998”, focused on the revolutionary aspect, in that it sparked a change of the position of one half the world. In one book, “Eighty Years and More; Reminiscences”,by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, she argues as to why women should have equal rights, and there are excerpts from newspapers with reactions to the convention. In a movie, “Not for Ourselves Alone”, there were interviews between historians about the causes and purposes of the Seneca Falls Convention. In another movie, “One Woman, One Vote”, there was a detailed overview of the reform after the convention, and how it changed peoples’ perspectives on woman’s rights. We have completed two e-mail interviews with historians. In one interview with Ellen C. DuBois, she provided insight as to the reasons of opposition of woman's rights. We also had an interview with Judy Wellman, who has written a book on the convention. She helped to give information from a Master's thesis about the percentage of editorials that opposed, and were favorable of the convention.
We decided to keep our website simple, yet informative. On the revolution page, we compared the rights of women before and after the convention. For reaction, we quoted many newspapers responses to the convention, and put in the public’s immediate reaction. On the reform page, we wrote about the long term effects of the convention, and how although the convention did not immediately change anything, it brought attention to the problem.
Through our research, we learned that the Seneca Falls Convention was a major changing point in the fight for woman's rights. It created national awareness of woman’s rights, and created controversy as to whether women deserved the same rights as men. This convention was a revolutionary event, as this was the first organized woman's rights convention, where women could publicly express their grievances. It made woman's rights a public issue, and it lead to many more conventions and eventually reform. The Seneca Falls Convention was revolutionary because it allowed women to speak out for the first time, thus creating reactionary discussion of woman's rights, which led to the reform of woman's rights.