When I first looked at the titles on the content page, I knew I must choose “The Rights Of Woman” to be my topic. As a female, I would like to know more about how women had been treated in those centuries and would like to make a comparison of the former atmosphere and present’s. The author of the article, Olympe De Gouges, wrote to speak for women through bringing out the failure of the French Revolution.

We knew a lot from the history that women were treated so unfairly, harshly and were inferior to men in ancient times. Women were hired by the entrepreneurs as the cheapest labors during The Industrial Revolution. After the French Revolution, in 1791, Olympe De Gouges dared to challenge the male and wrote for women’s right. I like the way De Gouges wrote this article. She listed all the rights of woman and cleared the readers the rights that women should have had but they actually lost in the society. She asserted the revolution defeated the goal “to promote equal suffrage”. She used her own words to start a political rehabilitation for women. The contents of The Rights of Woman were about women should be equal as man entirely; women should be protected by the laws as the man do; women should have right to speak freely and have own thought; women should be acknowledged the rights they have; etc. De Gouges also wanted to wake the women up to fight for the rights because women in those year were used to be treated in an unfair way. She hoped and wished to change women’s social status.

As we could read on page 23 of the book, it tells us Olympe De Gouges was a playwright, intellectual and political activist. She born in 1748 with the name- Marie Gouzes. She experienced the period of early enlightenment and French Revolution. Owing to the unfairness of the society, she stepped first to write political pamphlets and to be the voice of women to fight for the rights.

Since I am a Hongkongese, I grew with in Hong Kong and learned eastern history. I am glad to have such a “superwoman”, like Olympe De Gouges, existed in the history. There must be someone to dare to stand out and speak for women, and she was the one! In my opinion, men are still superior to women in some eastern countries. I feel so thankful that Hong Kong has been taking lessons and influence d by western countries, so we can tell people we are capable to do a lot as men do. In these recent years, men would share chores with their wife, and this is another example showing the society is changing and improving. I want to remind myself that I am so fortune to born in this century since I own all the 17 rights that Gouges listed.

In the early centuries, there were no women dare to say, or I should say they have no right to say. Although Gouges might be arrested by writing politically, she did. However, it was a really tough time for women to speak, she couldn’t do much to maintain the writings.

The Rights of Woman by Olympe De Gouges was published after the French Revolution and the creation of the French Constitution, in 1971. She published the Declaration of the Rights of Woman to assert the unsettling fact that although the goal of the French constitution was to promote equal suffrage, it had failed to even address or acknowledge women’s suffrage. During that time period, women were viewed as socially different or inferior to men in the public sphere and were not able to participate in politics or public affairs. Thus, Olympe De Gouges published the Declaration of the Rights of Woman in an attempt to correct and identify what she thought was missing in the French constitution.
Olympe De Gouges, the author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, is the daughter of a butcher and a serving woman. She was very outspoken about the injustices of slavery, orphans, unwed mothers and gender roles. Olympe De Gouges depicted her stance on inequality through her writings and became one of the most radical voices for women’s right in the 1700’s. However, her writings became too radical and she was a victim of the spoils of The Reign of Terror, where she was accused of being counterrevolutionary and beheaded.
The main points of the the Rights of Woman is that: 1) women are not acknowledged in the French constitution and are wrongfully robbed of their natural rights, 2) women should be treated as equals to men, and 3) new laws are needed to address women’s rights and to help protect themselves from the men’s one-sided rule. Olympe De Gouges’ mockery, imitation or revision of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, provides a strong format for announcing exactly what is wrong and missing from the constitution. By using the same format and adding or replacing specific words help to make her points even clearer – for instance, she adds “woman and man” in most articles and as clearly seen in article seven, she emphasizes the importance of gender equality with the line, “Women obey, just as men, this rigorous law” (25). An interesting point I found in the writing is in the middle of the postambule, where she captures our attention with “Women have done more harm than good” and then [I understand it as] she continues to explain how women are forced into this position because men see no use for women other than their charms and unfortunately, women are resorted to using their bodies as pawns for the advancement of men’s politics. (I was a bit confused when I reached this section so maybe we could talk about it in class and clarify?) A suggestion for improvement on this piece is that she made a lot of valid points in her postambule regarding the rights of married or divorced women, however, it took the focus away from the main goal of attaining women’s rights so she could have wrote less about that. Overall, Olympe De Gouges was successful in delivering her message regarding the absence of women’s suffrage, however, she failed in providing a plan of action or the answer to the question, “okay, now that we know – what are the next steps? How do we make this possible?” Her last sentence of the postambule was quite vague and non-convincing, “If an attempt to give an honorable and just place to my sex is, at this moment, considered as a paradox on my part and as attempting the impossible, I leave to future men the glory of treating this subject; but in the meanwhile, it can be prepared through national education by restoring customs and conjugal conventions” (28).
Looking back from 2015, progress has definitely been made. Though men and women are not naturally and inherently seen as equals, there will always be residing features that differ between us and it’s only natural that we retain these differences. Essentially, most and if not all of Olympe De Gouges’ articles in the Rights of Woman have been met in today’s society (looking specifically at present day in the United States).

The French Revolution abolished old hierarchies which, led to debates about freedom and equality. During this time the free blacks, the plantation owners, and free white people fought each other to claim land and privileges in the colony of Domingue. For this land in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola was source of many goods traded that contributed massive wealth for France. Under the confusion going on rose Toussiant L’Ouveture, who led the slaves of the island. Britain and Spain knew of the situation of Saint Domingue and tried to gain control. However, France wanted to try and keep the riches of the island so, they liberated the slaves. Toussaint joined the French Republic and successfully drove Spain and Britain forces out. As well as abolishing slavery on the island in 1801. Toussaint declaring himself governor for life made Napoleon uneasy and so Toussaint was captured. Forced into exile, Toussaint died and his second-in-command took over his place.

The man who took charge in Toussaint’s stead was Jean-Jacques Dessalines. This man was known for his ruthlessness for he defeated the French troops on the island in 1803 and proclaimed the island as Haiti. The text I will be discussing is Dessalines’ proclamation, “Liberty or Death”. Dessalines’ proclamation was published shortly after he had crowned himself emperor and within the text, revealed his extremist ways. The message that I was receiving from “Liberty or Death” was that of a threat. To me he just states that to all who oppose him, will be vanquished and to those who join him, will receive mercy.

The points that I found to be strong were his descriptions used to portray the French and other “enemies” as evil. He also put a sense of religious duty into the text which, especially back then, is very effective in gaining followers. The point I found to be weak was his promise to the people who are “innocent”. He makes it seem that the people who are “innocent” are the people already following him and the people who want to remain neutral, he wants them to get involved.  Overall, I feel he was successful in conveying his message of the freedom of Haiti. He dug into the past, brought up religion, made promises and even proclaimed his motto to be “War to death to tyrants! . . . Liberty! Independence!”

Looking back I feel a lot of progress has been made but there is still a lot to improve. There are countries, who countries like the U.S. thinks need to be “saved”. There is still racism and slave trading. There are still many radical groups who kill for “peace”. However, the world definitely has seen change in how we perceive natural rights. People are more “equal” than in the past, if that makes any sense. Laws and society, even the media try to show that we are all accepted for who we are.

The right of women by Olympe De Gouges was published in 1791. It talks about how French revolution took off women rights. She explains the differences between women and men rights. De Gouges’ Declaration of the Rights of Women points out that women were subjected to the same injustices that the Declaration of the Rights of Man detailed. De Gouges also lays a structure by which men and women may exist on a more equal basis with her “Form for a Social Contract between Man and Woman.”

The author of this reading is Olympe De Gouges. She is writing this  because for her the French revolution never put attention to women rights; they were only focus on men rights. She also was writing this because she was a woman that cares about female rights and as woman she thought she had to put a stop to the discrimination of women.Writing those articles she made clear of how women needed to be treated.

One of the main arguments of this reading is the equality between women and men. Gouges wanted to show the French government that they both were born equal, that both of them have the right to do the same thing. Things like voting, being president or work in the same place.  As the reading states “Woman, wake up! The tocsin of reason is being heard throughout the universe; recognize your rights. The powerful empire of nature is no longer surrounded by prejudice, fanaticism, superstition, and lies. The flaming torch of truth has dispersed all the clouds of folly and usurpation” (27).  Meaning that she wanted to wake women up from that fear , she wanted to let them know that they have to fight for the rights.

the strong part about the reading was that the author had the bravery to fight for women rights and had the declaration of men in her hands as proof that women were discriminated and weren’t treated as men .The weak part was that  Olympe did not have enough potential to keep fighting with the government about the equality of women and men. And also she only mentioned the articles but she didn’t implemented any steps  to reach her  goals.

Yes, it is successful in conveying this message because that’s the only way she had to communicate with those women who were afraid of fighting for their rights. Those articles gave women the brave to fight and to know their rights. That was the best way to let women know that they are free and that as men they have the right of freedom prosperity, security and specially resistance to oppression.

Looking back to 2015 the progress has been huge. Now women are more independent and know exactly what their rights are. Women now can have the same job as men, and not only that, women are treated equally as men. Women now are more successful and more educated, before they did not have the opportunity attend to school. Woman had to stay at home and take care of their family,  now woman can do several things, they can work, study and take care of their family. Because men are more strong doesn’t mean women can’t do the things they do, women only need the motivation  and the passion to do things, once they have both values they just need to work on. Women now are considered as they deserve.

Mary Wollstonecraft wrote her essay,”A Vindication of the Rights of Women” as a response to the French Revolution and a response to certain writers’ views, including Jewan-Jaques Rousseau. Wollstonecraft was one of the first to write about feminism, and was one of the first to make people think about the concept of feminism, and spark some kind of a reaction from it. During the French Revolution, it was clear that many philosophers and writers were questioning traditional thought with reason, which Wollstonecraft does not stray from one bit.

It is obvious that Wollstonecraft has a direct connection to the theme in her essay, as she is a woman in society who certainly questioned her place, and the inequality standards placed on many other fellow woman in society. From the short background given about her, it is also clear that Wollstonecraft was not one to stick to traditional values. The book states that she had a child out of wedlock and was widely mocked for her views. She obviously questioned why there was an inequality for woman and certainly tried to resolve the issue with her feminist values.

To Wollstonecraft, inequality is crafted from the inability to reason. She believes that both men and woman have reason and are able to be reasonable and rational beings. However, the education that woman receive, as is very opposite to the quality that men receive, prevents woman from being able to reason properly.She mentions that the main port of education is derived from society and social values. So, as long as society remains the same with the values it had, it will just continue breeding a human race that is unequal. Wollstonecraft’s tone throughout the essay is somewhat attempting to spark a revolution and change, as most works were at this time. She is somewhat subliminally encouraging woman and men to change the values of society so that the human race can thrive off of real reason.

Wollstonecraft is very strong at conveying her point throughout the essay. However, I found this to also be a slight weakness of hers just because she seems to repeat her point over and over again. I would have rather heard new points, rather than have heard her thesis repeated so many times. However, I do see why she did this because repeating this need for change so many times subconsciously sparks a revolution in the mind of the reader, which is certainly what she was trying to do, and succeeded at it. The work was clearly successful because it became the first true written essay about feminism that dared to question this tradition that was around for years. She wanted to make people angry, and make them want to change. And, even though she got mocked for her thoughts and work, it was still noticed.

Looking back from now, surely progress has been made. Woman have definitely outgrown this role that they were forced to play. It is not to say, however, that sexism does not exist anymore, because we still see it all around us. We see all kind of -isms and inequality. Although we have came a long way from racism, sexism, and other inequalities, it will always be a hinder in the world, and I am pretty sure it will never be fully put away.

The French colony of Saint Domingue, western part of the Caribbean islands, was known to be the treasure of the French empire due to its rich source of sugar, coffee, tobacco and cotton along with five hundred thousand slaves. The cultivation of various resources had produced wealth to France. The French Revolution had abolished their hierarchal system and the people of Saint Domingue fought for freedom and equality. Toussaint L’Ouverture was the leader whom the people followed and he joined the French Republic to take down the British and Spanish. He succeeded by abolishing slavery but was captured by Napoleon and died a year later. Jean-Jacques Dessalines took charge and defeated the French troops to proclaim a new nation which he called Haiti. Dessalines had created an official document called the “Liberty or Death” Proclamation which stated the crimes of the French and his countrymen’s duty of vengeance.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines was the leader of the Haitian Revolution and created the independent new nation Haiti. He described the slave trade as a “cannibalistic consumption of fellow human beings.” The eighteenth century was defined to be the century of economic and political change throughout the world and trade was the important aspect of power. Authorities would gather as many slaves to work fourteen to sixteen hour shifts in the fields and it was hectic because of the working conditions and maltreatment to the people. Dessalines targeted an international audience of his proclamation to announce his relentless determination. He was assassinated in 1806 and was known for his horrifying autocratic rule and eagerness to be brutal in battle but his commitment of power to fight against oppressors.

“Liberty or Death” is a strong piece of work because it antagonizes the French. The words used in this document is brutal and blood thirsty. You can feel the anger of Dessalines by reading his piece and how much he wants vengeance against the French. The French had treated the people of Saint Domingue poorly and abused people of color and the lower class. They gave corporal punishment to those who fought against their rule. The labor was back breaking and strenuous that people were dying. They used the resources of Saint Domingue and its people to become wealthy and its inhumane to treat the people there like slaves. Dessalines states that, “Yes, we have rendered to these true cannibals war for war, crime for crime, outrage for outrage; Yes, I have saved my country, I have avenged America.” He associated the revolution of the enslaved African Americans mass destruction of natives as a common battle against European invasion and slavery. Dessalines also states that, “Never again shall a colonist or a European set his foot upon this territory with the title of master or proprietor.” His motto stood for “Liberty! Independence!” which was the nations rallying cry.

Dessalines was a very powerful man and I think that it was right for him to convey his message. He fought for the freedom of the people and has undergone brutal battles against the Europeans. His proclamation can be seen as a threat to those who want to conquer Saint Domingue. Even if his words sound too harsh and cruel he really explained the power of his fight and retribution in detail. He could have been more professional with his thoughts and leave the violence out of the picture but he decided to punish those who punished them. As general governor he has the power to enact laws and so he ruled his country with determination.

Haiti in present day has changed over the years but it is seen to be the poorest nation in the Americas due to decades of poverty, environmental deterioration, violence, weakness and dictatorship. Many Haitians have migrated out of their country to the Dominican Republic and the United States for better life and stable jobs. The country of Haiti is corrupted because of various social justice issues and the government is weak to control every complication. The outbreak of Cholera has been recently targeted in Haiti and this adds up to their problematic situations. Although progress of having freedom and independence was a benefit but Haiti being the first independent Caribbean state has led to a downfall.

This text Declaration of Sentiments is written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This text is basically a declaration responding to the Declaration of Independence, stating that all men and women were created equal, and not just all men were created equal, like what was stated in the Declaration of Independence. This text’s goal was for women to be given access to all her rights that men were given and that they be seen as equals. This text was written during 1848 during the time that was called the “Springtime of the Peoples.” During this time in history, there was many outbreaks that led to a revolutionary contagion across Europe and Americas. According to the Merrian Webster dictionary, contagion, is described as an “influence that spreads rapidly.” According to this, it can be known that during this time, the revolution was growing and many changes were developing around Europe and Americas. As America was developing stronger as an independent country, it was an opportunity allowing Stanton to speak her mind about Women’s Rights, hoping like the other outbreaks, would spread rapidly as well.

The author of this text is Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Stanton was one of the female leaders of the Women’s Rights Movement. The reason behind this text is rooted back to the World Anti-Slavery Convention is 1840. As a abolitionist, Stanton and another female delegate named Lucretia Mott were not allowed to speak at the convention just because they were women. Because this convention they were attending was trying to achieve freedom for all, and human rights to all including slaves, stating that slaves should be treated as equals, it made them mad that like slaves, they were not given the right or freedom that every person rightfully deserved. Stanton felt that if all men were created equal, stating that slaves should be given the rights they were entitled to, women should be given these rights as well. This led Stanton to create the Declaration of Sentiments and present it to everyone at Seneca Falls in 1848.

The main argument of the Declaration of Sentiments is that all women should have the same freedom and rights given to them as the men do. Women deserve these rights that are inalienable which include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. During this time, women were being deprived of the rights and were oppressed in society. This was not acceptable, and women should be given the same rights as men since they were entitled to these rights, being that they were citizens of America.

I believe the strong parts of this text was when Stanton stated examples of how men have always had power over the women and women had no choice to exercise her freedom. One strong point that Stanton explained was how men took all the property and the wages that were owned by the women. Another strong point that Stanton explained was that men denied women any chance at getting a good education. The last strong point that Stanton stated was that if the married couple would happen to get divorced, the men were fully entitled to decide who shall have the guardianship of children, where the law left all the power in the hands of the men. These points that Stanton explained helped give listeners and followers of the Women’s Right Movement an overall idea of how women had no power, and men were in control of the lives of women. I believe that these are strong points because it shows different examples throughout life. Not only did women not have control of the things they owned, but they also could not obtain things they wanted. Also, the last one is strong because it shows that even though a mother gave life to her children, the men still are in control of the faith of the children, if they were ever to get divorced. These examples allow everyone to realize how much domination men had and hope that people would come to the realization that women should have the same rights as men and be on an equal playing field.

I think the weak parts from this text is that Stanton did not explain as much as to how women’s voices were important politically. Stanton had described that women had no voice, or they had no representation in legislation, but I feel like that was already known. I believe that she could have made a stronger point, maybe by using her real life example at the time she was at the World Anti-Slavery Convention, or getting women to speak up about how they feel. I think this would have made the point stronger because men and people of the Women’s Right Movement already know all about that fact that women do not have a voice or cannot vote, but they do not know the effect that it has caused women. The reason that people oppose Stanton’s idea is because people just see men’s domination over women as the right way to go. However, I believe that if they heard about how it really affected the lives of women, it would have a stronger influence on them, making them realize that it is wrong that men and women are not equal.

The text is successful in conveying its message. This is because it is straight to the point and laid out clearly for people to understand. It starts off by stating that women should be entitled to the same rights that men are. Then, it provides real life examples of how women currently do not have the same rights as men because men dominate. Lastly, it wraps up by stating that the women want to be equal as men and will use all their power to achieve their goal. I think the text conveys it message really well because it gives strong points, and helps people try to understand how women should be equal as men.

Looking back from today, a lot of progress has been made. Women’s suffrage has been achieved, women have been given the rights that they deserve like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and women are treated as equals as men. So much progress has been made that it seems weird to think that women were under the control of men and it seems almost unrealistic. However, in today’s society, there are still forms of how women are not exactly equal to men, a lot of progress has been made during the time Stanton had published the Declaration of Sentiments. For example, before when women were denied the right to get a good education, nowadays, the amount of women getting an education is greater than the number of men getting an education. Another example is that before the men were entitled to determine who would be the guardian of the child if they were to get a divorce, nowadays, the court is the judge of that, after evidence of who is suited to be a better parent for the child. Men are no longer entitled to the way women think and act. Women have the power to do as they want, just as men do.

The reading I have chosen to write about is The Rights of Woman by Olympe de Gouges. It was published in 1791 during the French Revolution. It follows the struture of Declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen, as seen by the 17 articles that are present in each of the declarations. For example, the first article of Declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen mentioned that “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be based only on common utility.” Likewise, The Rights of Woman says “Woman are born free and remains equal to man in rights. Social distinctions may only be based on common utility”. It is quite interesting how The Right of Women seems to directly challenging the Declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen.

The author of this reading is Olympe de Gouges. She was writing this because the French Revolution never addressed the rights of women but only declared the rights of the men. Moreover, The Right of Women exposes the irony of the war; it was supposedly fought in order to establish gender equality, but Olympe de Gouges wrote this to show the failure of the French Revolution.

The main argument of this piece is that men and women should be equal. At the end of the reading, she asks the women what advantages they had receive from the Revolution. After the Revolution, men gained their rights, but in turn, treated the women injustly. The higher authority of the French government believed that the rights of woman should not be the same as those of men. She also try to motivate women to stand up for the own rights in the reading.

The strong point of this reading is her usage of Declaration of Men and of the Citizen as a model. It clearly show the situation back then, how the rights of women were different from the rights of men. This is an effective method that encourages women to stand up and fight for rights that should be the same as those of men. The weakness of the reading is that she didn’t exactly mention specific steps in order to obtain their own goal of achieving these rights.

I think it is successful in conveying its message; it clearly lists out the rights that should be established by stating the seventeen article. Doing this, she is able to directly communicate to the women the injustice that they were experiencing and also question the men and French government. She is successful in showing how the current position of women did not make sense; for example, she writes about how women are punishable under the law but were not given equal rights.

Looking back from 2015, I think progress has been made, but it still can be better. Although there is currently still gender inequality, the situation is much better than that of the period in which this was written. For example, women had no say in politics and could not vote, but now women have voting rights. Unfortunately, we can stilll see gender inequality in today’s society when we look at the lower salaries that women make compared to men when doing the same job. Also, we see that the higher positions in companies are mainly composed of male figures and it is difficult for women to enter even with the same qualifications. As you can see, the goal of gender equality is still not reached but is slowly progressing. If Olympe de Goughes was alive today, she would probably be happy with how women have progressed in their rights but would agree that more can be done.

In a bit of a longer blog post (to make up for our missed class) please address the following questions. Make sure to use complete sentences and polish your post. Due by noon, Tuesday, Sept 15. 

1. Give a brief introduction to the text, situating it historically.
2. Who is the author(s)? What is their situation?
3. Summarize in your own words the main argument of the piece you’ve chosen.
4. What is strong about it? What is weak?
5. Do you think it is successful in conveying its message?
6. Looking back from 2015, do you think progress has been made?