Lucretia Mott
Equality for Women
At the forefront of the women’s rights movement stood two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. Their meeting in London in 1840 would change the course of history.
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott was born on January 3, 1793 in Massachusetts as the second of five children. As a Quaker, Mott was taught that in God’s eyes, all people are equal. She married James Mott, her father’s business partner, and had six children.
She had a gift for public speaking and was a powerful voice that called for social and moral reforms. Mott became a preacher and a leading vocal abolitionist who helped found the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. At the time, not everyone liked such an outspoken, fiery woman, and many criticized Mott for not behaving as they thought a woman should.
In 1840, Lucretia and her husband were invited to be members at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. However, many male abolitionists wouldn’t let Lucretia and other female members participate in the convention because, in their minds, it wasn’t a woman’s place. The women were told to sit in a separate area and that they couldn’t speak or vote.
