Diary Entry: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
July 1848
Over 70 years ago, Thomas Jefferson, in his Declaration of Independence, stated that, “all men are created equal.” But what about women? Were we not created equal? Men have had absolute tyranny over women for far too long. They have oppressed us by withholding our rights, not letting us have our own voice when it comes to laws, and depriving us of liberty. Why is it that men have established a different code of morals for us? Why are we excluded from society? Why do they do everything in their power to lessen our self respect, confidence, and our own powers? This discrimination is unjust! We need to fight for our rights. We deserve to have the rights to own our own property, have whatever jobs we desire to have, be confident in ourselves without being torn down by men, and most importantly, we deserve all of the other equal rights and privileges that belong to us as citizens of the United States. After all, all men and women were created equal. No man should have the ability to oppress a woman solely because she is a woman. For this reason, I will write a declaration on our behalf. One that the entire country needs to hear. This declaration will explain the injustice we as women have faced in this country. In this declaration I will also make sure that I point out the hypocrisy of men who fought for independence and liberty, but withhold women from liberty themselves. We will make our voice heard.
Diana, you did a fantastic job capturing what Stanton might sound like if she really did write a diary. It was a great use of rhetorical questions at the top in order to make it sound like Stanton's internal thoughts and concerns. You also did a great job at expressing all of Stanton's major viewpoints from the declaration of sentiments in this diary entry.
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