I found the Declaration of Sentiments to go hand-in-hand with The Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs. Stanton and Mott write in order to gain equal social status and legal (and voting) rights for women. It also includes a list of resolutions and grievances that demands for a woman’s right to education, to work, to own property and to vote.
For the most part, women’s positions in society were very similar to that of as slaves in America up until the mid 1900s-to an extreme. (This may be far fetched because slaves suffered a lot more physically and emotionally than women did.) Women and African Americans both were prohibited from owning land, they were denied their rights to participate in politics (voting), and church/community activity. Those who were women or black, in most cases, were denied an education so that they could not better their intellectual capacity, making them far less powerful and skillful than men/white. The definition of slave is someone’s property. In most cases, women were regarded as the property of men, just like these slaves. The major difference would be the extreme to which they suffered and that women were considered free. Yet, women were not really free, much like how African Americans were not truly free after the Civil War.
Both pieces were written strongly against the dominating man. Jacobs speaks a lot about the evil Mr. Flint who abuses, rapes and tortures his slave, representing the cruelty and treachery of the slave system as a whole. Similarly, Stanton writes about the struggle men have caused to women. She writes, “The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.” And proceeds to list the things that men have done to take away the basic human rights of these women.
I find the structure of this declaration interesting. I think having bullet points, making it easy to read and for the simple, common-folk to understand. Jacobs does the same thing with her book- to spread her story and education the other women and so everyone could easily interpret the message she sends to her audience (mainly white women from the North, but everyone too).
In Fredrick Douglass’s speech about the celebration of the 4th of July, he speaks about how this is a “joyous” day for the white privileged, yet it is a day of mourning and grief for African Americans. “and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems of inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony.” To the American slave, the 4th of July shows the tragedies and horrors of injustice which he is a constant victim.
Incidents of the Life of a Slave girl and Fredrick Douglass’ famous speech were both written at a similar time; though Jacobs was hesitant to publish hers, Douglass wrote several versions of his story over several decades. Both of these notorious writers share similar stories of their escape to the North and their wishes to expose the evil slavery that existed in America. The theme they had in common also individually contained a unique perspective and sort of voice that narrates their stories.
First, Douglass’ is told from a man’s perspective, and as him being the hero and strong. On the other hand, Jacob’s story is primarily an emotional one; revealing her weakness. Her tone is apologetic and sad, which makes the reader more fearful than hopeful, in my opinion. Jacobs and Douglass each tell the female and male versions of their story through slavery, both very different yet very powerful and authentic.