Civic Engagement Activity

Zack Bigelow
Humanities 1100-006

Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca

Falls Conference, 1848
1. In this reading, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott wrote
this declaration because of the lack of respect for women.
They were appalled that women weren't able to speak their
opinion in regards to anti-slavery. In their Declaration of
Sentiments they state, We hold these truths to be selfevident: that all men and women are created equal. They
wanted womens rights to be equal with mens. At this point in
time, women are not equal to men and dont have the right to
share how they feel. They are to obey their husband and that
is the only way that they will go to heaven. They must never
displease her husband. If she does she is disgraced in this
world. Stanton and Mott started the Seneca Falls National
Womens Rights Convention in order to support a movement
for womens rights and used this writing as their platform for
the convention.
2. They biggest argument is that women dont have equal right
to men. Women arent able to speak out against a man or
challenge them in any way. They are to obey their husbands in
order to be a good wife and not be disgraced in society. In this
time period women didnt have the right to vote. Through the
actions that took place for womens rights starting with
Stanton and Mott, women were granted the right to vote in
1920. A big step for womens suffrage and womens rights.
3. This piece of righting is very political and historical. Through
events that took place with Stanton and Mott starting the

Womens Rights Convention in 1848, it started giving a voice

to womens rights. This reading points out all the ways that
women were treated, for example, women didn't have the
right to own property or have the wages she earns. All of this
went to her husband. Women were restricted in their ability to
obtain an education, hold a position in church, not allow her to
vote for the very laws that govern her, etc. This lead to the
right to vote for women in 1920 and actually giving women the
respect of their opinions.
4. I do like this reading because it brings to light what women
went through in the past. It really sheds light on how women
were so unequal to men. They weren't respected for their
opinions or their contributions to society. Its eye opening to
see that this is what women went through in the past. I know
that womens rights is still a continuing thing. Being a man,
especially a white man in todays society, I have never really
noticed a time were my rights were unequal. However, through
talking to my wife, their are times when women can still be
treated unequally in the workplace, in government positions,
etc. Its informative and enlightening.

Reflection
YWCA
Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women
After reading the Declaration of Sentiments, I had the opportunity to
watch a documentary titled Crime after Crime. Through this reading and
documentary, I was inspired to spend my hours for my civic engagement
project helping women in a battered womens shelter. Throughout the
reading, it talks a lot about womens rights and the lack of rights that they
had in the past. They were supposed to please their husbands and respect
them. They were always supposed to obey and then they wouldnt bring any
disgrace. After I watched this documentary, it opened up my eyes to how
much of a problem womens rights can still be. Through out the
documentary, it shows the lives of many women who were apart of domestic
abuse. Because no one would help them when they had been in trouble, it

shows their life in prison after taking the situation into their own hands. In
many states today, women who are convicted of a crime that was caused by
a domestic violence situation are not charged. Rather they are helped to get
out of the situations they are in. However, this law is not in every state and
many women are treated poorly for doing something about the abusive
situation that they are in. Just like in the past, they are expected to keep
quiet and not Throughout the course at different points we have addressed
women compared to men and the expectations they both hold in our ever
expanding society. This video was a great visual representation of how
women in domestic violence situations were in a sense discriminated against
in various ways.
I decided to get my family involved in helping me with my project. My
family had wanted to put together kits for the homeless. After watching the
video and reading this reading, I decided that for a family get together, I
would pitch the idea of putting together care kits for women and children in
these domestic violence centers. They all agreed that it was a good idea
after I had explained the video and even showed parts of it to them. We had
collected items such as blankets, food, clothing donations, toys, etc. All these
items were put together for the benefit of these women and children.
The YWCA is an organization specially created to help women. The part I
focused on was their domestic violence shelter, programs, and services.
They offer programs and advocates that help those staying at the shelter
with their cases and helping them get back onto their feet. Their emergency
shelter is open 24 hours a day and prioritizes women and children who have
experienced domestic violence in the past thirty days.They also have
subsidized housing units and apartments that allows victims of domestic
violence to live at a cheaper rate while they get back on their feet.
My eyes have personally been opened to how prevalent domestic
violence is. It makes me want to be able to help in any way that I can to help
make those lives that experience this abuse easier. While reading through

statistics from June 2010-June 2011 in Utah there were 2,224 women, 45
men, and 1,958 children sheltered in domestic violence shelters across the
state. I want to do my part in helping when I can and being an upstanding
citizen. I want to be a provider for my family and an example to my future
children as well as people around me.