1. Stanton's childhood was critical in her development as a thinker.

Here are some things in

her childhood that I believe shaped her future understanding and attitudes:
A.
Her relationship with her mother. Mrs. Cady was formidable, athletic, strong-willed, and
strict with her children. Elizabeth Cady Stanton shared her mothers strong will and love of
physical activities, but decided to be a much more lenient parent. Not only was she dedicated
to using kindness, song, games, and reason to raise her own children, she also gave speeches
across the United States advocating respect for young people and the encouragement of
physical exercise, freedom of expression, and liberalism in the American family.
B.
Her relationship with her father. She had a kind of fruitful conflict with her father. He
was proud of her intellect, but could not commit himself to any action she might take that was
out of her sphere and broke with the established rules of behavior for women. Her older
brother, Eleazar, died when she was eleven. Stanton often repeated the story of how she
committed herself to replacing her brother in her fathers affections. She wrote about her
attempts to take on masculine attributes of physical fitness, bravery, intelligence, and
leadership. This led her to increase the intensity of her studies in school and competition with
male peers.

She also spent a great deal of time in her fathers law office in debates with his students and
reading her fathers books. When older, she served as a clerk for her father and continued her
legal education throughout her life as the daughter, wife, and mother of lawyers. One of her
favorite stories gives us an image of a young girl listening to the injustices faced by her fathers
female clients who, robbed of their property rights and legal autonomy, called on her father for
help. Sadly, he told them that the law prevented him from coming to their rescue.
C.
Other relationships. She admired her brother-in-law, Edward Bayards, commitment to
rational discourse. Gerritt Smith introduced her to the radical reform community.
D.
Religion. Her Scotch Presbyterian background was cold and terrifying. Her quest in
adulthood to find a more rational relationship with religion comes from her dissatisfaction with
the fearful faith of her youth. She was attracted to Unitarians, Quakers, and freethinkers as an
adult woman and this more liberal turn in her thinking eventually led her to write the Womans
Bible.
Credit: My interview with Melinda Grube