Barely seventy-five years after the Revolutionary War, women gathered together at Seneca Falls, New York to draft their "Declaration of Sentiments." This declaration, framed by the Declaration of Independence, stipulated eighteen areas -- the precise number the Founders had listed in their Declaration of Independence from England -- where women were unjustly treated in the eyes of the law. This declaration included issues such as the fact that women were legally considered dead in the eyes of the law; women were not allowed to vote, they had no property rights, they were required to pay property tax without the benefit of representation, and they were forced to submit to laws which they had no voice in creating. The women who drafted this declaration were patriotic women, intent on improving the new nation, and they used the symbol of American liberty to drive their campaign. As you read over this document, compare it to the Declaration of Independence, elsewhere in this collection. Pay close attention to the specific areas of injustice that both documents highlight.

Investigate the source using the zoom and navigational tools in the Flash player and then answer the questions below.

1			Who was the intended audience of this document? How would that audience have influenced the way that this document was written?
2			Compare this document with the Declaration of Independence. Discuss the similarities in language, tone, and rhetoric. Do you think this was an effective tactic?
3			Discuss the differences you noticed between the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Sentiments. Was this an effective method of presenting the information?