40: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention & the Explosion of Social Reform

“In the history of the world, the doctrine of Reform had never such scope as at the present hour.”

“Resolved, That woman is man’s equal.”

This is the story of social reform. Europe is swept up in calls for reform and greater democracy. France is having another revolution! Those same thoughts are sweeping through the United States, leading to calls for better treatment in prisons, public education, and temperance (cutting back on the alcohol). In this atmosphere of reform, one woman has a particularly radical idea: women's suffrage. Even her colleagues--other women--are hesitant to support her; they fear being mocked! But that won’t stop Elizabeth Cady Stanton from pushing her bold idea at a convention she’s organized in Seneca Falls, New York.

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