Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Another member who was not allowed to participate was Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Born on November 12, 1815, to wealthy parents in New York, Stanton was a well-educated activist in the anti-slavery movement. She married the abolitionist lecturer Henry Stanton, and in a break with tradition, eliminated the word “obey” from her wedding vows. Elizabeth and Henry spent their honeymoon in London, as members of the World Anti-Slavery Convention.
After Elizabeth and Lucretia were forced to sit on the sideline and made fun of in London because they were women, Stanton recalled, “Mrs. Mott and I walked home arm in arm, talking about what happened that day,” and added, “we decided to hold a convention as soon as we returned home, and to form a society to advocate the rights of women.” It was this decision that started the process towards equal rights for women in America.
