Modeled after the Declaration of Independence: In an audacious rhetorical move, Elizabeth Cady Stanton models her declaration after the document that established the nation’s founding: the Declaration of Independence. Throughout her declaration, specifically the first two paragraph, Stanton nearly copies the American Founders’ exact wording, altering certain phrases. By drawing on one of the most important documents in American history, Stanton makes clear her intentions. Her extended allusion demonstrates the magnitude of the women’s right issues and parallels the British monarchy’s oppression of the American colonies to American society’s oppression of women. The Declaration of Independence provides a list of twenty-seven grievances against the crown; here, Stanton provides sixteen grievances against “him,” an epithet she uses to describe patriarchy in general. These grievances include two subjects Stanton attributes to women’s denigration and subservience in society, namely the marriage laws of “coverture” and women’s disenfranchisement.
"it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it..."See in text(Text of Stanton's Declaration)
In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson writes that “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish [a destructive form of government].” Here, Stanton writes that “it is the right of those who suffer from [a destructive form of government] to refuse allegiance to it.” While the former encourages Americans to completely abolish ties to the monarchy, the latter encourages women to stand up against the system of oppression. Although the wording changes only slightly, the meaning behind those words change vastly.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal;..."See in text(Text of Stanton's Declaration)
The mirroring structure Stanton employs continues throughout the course of this entire paragraph, again nearly a word-for-word reproduction of Jefferson’s founding text. However, Stanton subverts the original by adding modifications and implementing slight but significant subsitutons. Now, the meaning of her words take on an added layer of complexity. For example, in the opening line—originally “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal”—Stanton adds the word “women.” Through this augmentation, Stanton demonstrates the failure of the Declaration of Independence to include women and thus integrates them into her own declaration. In addition, the original wording about “colonies,” “the present King of Great Britain,” or “these States,” is replaced with the phrases “women under this government,” “mankind,” and “on the part of man toward woman.” Stanton reroutes the original document to fit her purposes and in doing so highlights the failures of the nation to include women at its founding.
"impel them to such a course.
..."See in text(Text of Stanton's Declaration)
In the opening paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson delineates the purpose of his document. Here, Stanton reproduces the same structure but establishes her differing purpose: to lay out women’s grievances and provide a call to action. By placing her thesis early on in the document, as the Founding Fathers did in theirs, Stanton creates a structure that allows her to easily list her grievances in a logical manner.
"one to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them..."See in text(Text of Stanton's Declaration)
The ending clauses of this introductory paragraph nearly exactly mirrors the Declaration of Independence, which states that “the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel them to the separation.” By alluding to one of the nation’s most important founding doctrines and creating a parallel between these two documents nearly word-for-word, Stanton asserts her declaration’s validity as a critical revolutionary document for women’s rights. The audience of women at the convention would immediately recognize the parallel Stanton draws and identify her words as ones of utmost importance.
"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion..."See in text(Text of Stanton's Declaration)
Stanton was a rebellious intellectual, passionate suffragist, and practiced orator who understood the power of language to appeal to her audience. In a brilliant rhetorical move, Stanton establishes her credibility and appeals to the ethos of her audience by mirroring the structure and diction of the “Declaration of Sentiments” to those of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence announced the impetus for the American Revolution. By mirroring the document that delineated all the grievances of British rule and established autonomy for the thirteen colonies, Stanton makes a strong claim about women’s rights: that women—like the thirteen colonies almost seventy-five years prior—have long suffered grievances at the hands of an oppressive force, namely American patriarchal society and strict doctrines of marriage. Straightaway, Stanton asserts her authority, mirroring the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence by stating “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary…” However, the phrasing and meaning of the declaration diverge when Stanton lays out her thesis, claiming that one “portion” of society has been usurped by another.
