lisaannettestanley
- Aug 19, 2020

Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Solitude of Self 1892 Address Before Congress. Women's Suffrage Centenn

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Seneca Falls Historical Society

Universal Suffrage, or Voting Rights for ALL, was THE primary Goal for Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

While various Women's Rights efforts had been around in various parts of the young Country since the 1700's at the beginning of the Republic - beginning with First Lady Abigail Adams, there was no cohesive National Women's Rights Movement until the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848.

"The Declaration of Sentiments," modeled after the Declaration of Independence, the primary document that came out of the Seneca Falls Convention enumerated a list of Rights & Grievances.

There was general agreement among the various Women's Groups on all items except one: Voting Rights for Women that became the 19th Amendment.

Astonishing that back in the day when Elizabeth Cady Stanton lived that a Woman would be granted an audience to speak before Congress. In researching ideas for my Blog this morning, I stumbled upon this reading of her "Solitude of Self" speech.

There are no words for happy it made me to see her speak in terms of People being INDIVIDUALS all through the speech a concept that runs all throughout my Book, "Yes, I'd Like to Thank the Academy: How to Tame the Red Carpet in YOUR Office."

It is not a History Book.

It is present-day commentary on the discrimination I faced as a Female Insurance Agent trying to HELP PEOPLE with their ObamaCARE.

In it, I present SOLUTIONS to the problem of Discrimination OF ALL KINDS.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a Philosopher whose revolutionary ideas on Equality were met with mixed emotions, particularly her notions on Women's standing in the Church as seen in "The Women's Bible."

In her "Solitude of Self" address to Congress, she was given extraordinary access to address the Male Politicians in Congress, all in the day when Women were still considered second-class citizens & could not even Vote.

Stanton compares the "Solitude of Self" to the suffering of Jesus as he died on the Cross & how each INDIVIDUAL must Bear their Cross alone.

Equally as astonishing that in the year 1892, Stanton would be complaining about the "News."

For YEARS I've been a fan of Documentaries of any kind where I could find them while Channel Surfing. The Gloom & Doom of the "News" just gets to be too much. "How many car crashes happened overnight?" How many murders?" "How many Covid-19 related deaths did we have?"

I had to "LOL" when I heard this as a part of her speech.

All of a sudden I've got "Lots of Love" for this speech.

This really made my day.

With respect to the Women's Suffrage Centennial this year, many Historians & Ivy League Professors whose YouTube Presentations I've watched claim that even with the best intentions of gaining Women's Rights, that Stanton made some incredibly Racist remarks after the passage of the 15th Amendment.

When I think about Rap Music Lyrics of today the phrase "2 Wrongs Don't Make a Right" spring to mind.

There is literally NO EXCUSE - NONE WHAT-SO-EVER - NO EXCUSE for the foul disgusting attacks on WOMEN on Black Radio.

Many of the Rappers are glorified & validated that it's OK to attack WOMEN when they are AWARDED A GRAMMY AWARD for "Music" that it so FOUL their Lyrics HAVE TO BE BLEEPED.

While I haven't seen what she said, I can identify with the DEEP SENSE OF BETRAYAL she must have felt - kind of like "biting the hand that feeds you."

She worked tirelessly for the Abolition of Slavery.

She worked tirelessly for the 13th Amendment.

Then when it came time to Amend the Constitution to extend Voting Rights to People of Color, she was stabbed in the back.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton didn't live to see Ratification of the 19th Amendment, let alone the Equal Rights Amendment which is still languishing in Washington pending Ratification THIS YEAR.

Please enjoy.