Week of March 31

As you begin to analyze this document, notice that it contains two distinct parts. The first of these consists of series of resolutions, (they follow the preamble, beginning with "Whereas"). The preamble (that whereas part) quotes the famous English scholar, Sir William Blackstone. You may remember that he was mentioned in the Grimke letters we read for Thursday. As you markup your copy. I'd like you to do some specific things, along with whatever else catches your eye and imagination.

The preamble to Seneca Falls quotes Blackstone. But Blackstone isn't being original here. Which of the people we've studied so far in this class seems to be echoed in the preamble to the Declaration of Rights and sentiments?

As you look through the resolutions (there are eleven of them). See if you note again some "echoes" of what we've looked at before. For example, what does "of no force or authority" mean, and what does that suggest about a person's obligations in such situations?

At more than one of the resolutions includes a complaint against certain types of women. Mark them, and indicate whether you agree or not? (We saw a woman expressing similar sentiments in the video, Half the People. )

Of course also raise questions about the parts you need to have clarified.

The second half of this document was presented to the Convention the following day. The first three paragraphs ought to have a familiar ring to them. In fact, you will probably notice that only two words have been added to the second paragraph. Highlight those two words.

Following those three paragraphs, there is a series of shorter paragraphs. If you had to give this section a title, put your choice in a sticky note.

As up look over the list, indicate which you agree with and which you disagree with.

This is our first analysis of an American Citizen choosing to break the law as a matter of conscience. Take a look at the Famous Trials website by clicking on her name in the title for today's discussion. You'll find a lot there to ponder. Ms.Anthony's crime? Voting! After her arrest she went on a speaking tour to rally support for her cause. What I'm asking you to download is the lecture she gave. Evidently it was so powerful that the court moved the location of her trial, fearing she'd be acquitted. She wasn't. She refused to pay her fine, but it seems she never went to jail, though she was threatened with it. It turned out that her lawyer paid the fine for her. He couldn't bear the thought of her going to jail for several years because of the failure of his advice and defense.

As you read this and mark it up, I'd like to have your focus on a couple of things.

I've mentioned the magic threesome quite often: Assertion, Evidence, Analysis. Ms. Anthony is pretty good at this. so take note of some of the places where she makes an assertion, cites an authority, and then proceeds to analyze the relationship between her assertion and her evidence. How convincing is she to you? What points seem her strongest?

Some of her points go way back. For example, she says "Before governments were organized, no one denies that each individual possessed the right to protect his own life. liberty and property. And when 100 or 1,000,000 people enter into a free government, they do not barter away their natural rights; they simply pledge themselves to protect each other in the enjoyment of them, through prescribed judicial and legislative tribunals." This seems to sound like a couple of people we've encountered. Hint: Their initials are T.H. and J. L. See if you can find some other familiar ideas.

Much of what she is arguing for revolves around what we mean when we use the word, "people". Use a sticky note to indicate what the difference is between her "new" definition and the "traditional" definition. You may find one of our older readings which suggested a broad definition. I'm not going to give you a hint on this one--see if you can figure out who I mean.

Susan B. Anthony never lived long enough to vote "legally". The New York Times wrote glowingly about her in a memorial after she died. Click HERE to take a look at it Look for the + to zoom in, and activate the hand button to move around. I'll show you how if you remind me.