Women's Rights Activism
Lucretia Mott was crucial in the persistent efforts to support women in an unpredictable time period regarding the rights of women. As a Quaker woman and avid abolitionist, her work in the 19th century paved the way for women today. In the early 1800s, Lucretia attended the Seneca Falls Convention, an event that truly changed the perspective of many women in their push for justice. Not only did Lucretia support the efforts to bridge the gap between the male and female genders, but also to give women more educational and professional opportunities in order for society to further advance. Lucretia believed that the advancement of women's roles were essential to the progression of society.
Lucretia did not stand alone in the fight for equality, in this source we see that many different figureheads inspired her leadership, 1 ‘She has been characterized as a disciple of William Lloyd Garrison, a proliferator of Mary Wollstonecraft’s ideas, and a religious promoter of human rights whose efforts were surpassed by the theoretically sophisticated and politically astute Elizabeth Cady Stanton’ (Vetter 2014). This inspiration furthered her ideals religiously, showing women that having these beliefs is their own right as a spiritual woman.
In a specific letter to the Women’s Convention in Salem, Lucretia expresses her sadness for not being able to attend; however, she elaborates further into how she believes the movement will be supported by hundreds of women who feel the same way she does. She wishes them success in their convention as her letter states, 2 ‘The wrongs of woman have too long slumbered. They now begin to cry for redress. Let them be clearly pointed out in your Convention; and then, not ask as favor, but demand as right, that every civil and ecclesiastical obstacle be removed out of the way.’ (Mott 1850). Mott's persistence in her efforts was vital to the fight against women's inequality and her work is still noted today.
During the 1800's it was very uncommon for women to speak up in a persuasive or demanding manner. Lucretia inspired many other women to start doing the same; we see this within many other women in the 1800s. Not only did she speak to audiences of men, women, and children, but also to strictly male audiences as well.
Not only was Mott's focus on the decrease of inequality between the genders, but she also believe that the equality of women was wrapped into a much larger issue of racial inequality. Her efforts extended further beyond just the fight for women's rights as she protested and spoke on behalf of abolition of slavery quite frequently. A source depicts this interworking extremely well, 3 ' "feminism must include racial equality" (4) and women's rights were "a logical extension of interconnected humanitarian concerns" ' (Ross 37-38, 2012). Mott's intersectionality approach to abolition of slavery and women's rights was monumental in her practice as her work was now in support of more than just one cause. Mott recognized that the gain of rights on behalf of women was just one piece of an extremely large puzzle, referring to the societal downfall that was taking place around her. Many topics such as educational efforts, job safety and sercurity, women's roles in the family, etc. were also vital topics that she discussed.
Mott truly had changed the trajectory of what activism truly is, the pursuit to fight for a common goal and to be relentless and determined in all efforts towards that goal. Her monumental speeches and writing pieces are inspiring to this day, and will continue to be in our history of women's rights tomorrow.
1 Lisa Pace Vetter. “‘The Most Belligerent Non-Resistant.’” Political Theory 43, no. 5 (March 12, 2014): 600–630. https://doi.org/10.1177/0090591714522043
2 Lucretia Mott. From lucretia mott to the women's convention, 1850 Boston, MA: W. L. Garrison and I. Knapp. Retrieved from https://search-alexanderstreet-com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/view/work/bibliographic_entity|bibliographic_details|2534011
3 Ellen M Ross. Review of Lucretia Mott's Heresy: Abolition and Women's Rights in Nineteenth-Century America. Quaker History 101, no. 1 (2012): 37-38. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/qkh.2012.0002.
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