Stanton

When reading this lecture about woman's rights, I can understand why it came off very offensive to women to be treated like this back in the 1850's. Men saw women as a lesser equal and thought of them as inferior to the population. Women were bought and traded throughout the world and in different countries women were seen as property. They also seemed to be treated like the slaves were. They did work that consisted of things in the house and whatever their husband told them to do. Their opinions did not matter in society and they had not say so over anything political. Women did not get an education, that was simply the man's job and they were to stay at home with the children. Stanton goes on to explain the Adam and Eve story in the Bible. She simply says that Adam did not ask if the apple was sour or sweet, but he ate it because his affection for Eve prevailed. As stated in the Bible in Genesis 2: 22-24 "Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." This is simply saying that God took one of the man's ribs which came from his side. Women were made to stand beside the man, not in front of or behind, but at their side becoming one and equal. Stanton goes on to tell us that men think of themselves as the superiority because they were made to be that way. Women see men as being selfish and only thinking of themselves, but the men blame it on God and say that were made that way. That statement is incorrect. Being selfish is a learned trait and I'm sure there were some men in the 1850's who saw women as equal to them, but were brought up to believe that they were superior. 


Women were also portrayed to be weaker than the man. Apparently physical appearance was one of the major differences in men and women in the 1850's. But Stanton goes on to say that the mind inside of the human being is what matters. The size of your head and how you access your knowledge made a difference back then as well. They considered people who had small heads and very little power, their head was considered feminine. But if they had a big head and had a decent amount of power they were considered masculine. Stanton also says that she isn't presenting this lecture to tear down the rights of men but she is simply saying that it isn't fair that they can do the same things as women, but when a woman does that action then it is frowned upon. For instance, when women wear loose clothing it is not okay, but when a man such as a judge or a minister wears it, not one word is said. She also says that she doesn't understand how even the low-life men like the drunkards and idiots can have more rights than women. In my opinion, Stanton seems to believe that if women had the right to vote then it would become a disaster because women view things differently than men such as war. Stanton is a firm believer that there shouldn't be any war going on throughout the world. When reading page three, you can tell that Stanton is a very christian woman because she simply states in the last paragraph "Let woman live as she should, let her feel her accountability to her Maker..." 


Stanton explains on page four that she thinks women should have a education. But there would be a numerous amount of things that people could object to if women were in school learning. Who would be home to cook and clean for their husbands? Who would take care of their children while they were gone during the day? On the final page, Stanton gives examples of women who made a mark in history and seemed more superior in other countries than men. I had trouble understanding what she was talking about on this page in the following paragraphs. Until she gets down to the end and says "The voice of woman has been silenced, but man cannot fulfill his destiny alone.." That one line pretty much sums up the entire lecture and expresses how she feels about women's rights. A man can do many things but without the help of a woman by his side, a lot of things may seem impossible.