Women's Rights National Historical Park

On July 19, 1848, hundreds of people crowded into the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York to participate in a public discussion about the rights of women that challenged all social conventions of the time. The following two-day convention included the presentation and signing of the Declaration of Sentiments, a document modeled after the Declaration of Independence, outlining the many ways in which women were denied equal status to men. At a time when it was unacceptable for women to have a public life outside the home, let alone speak at a public forum, the events that took place at the Wesleyan Chapel marked a major milestone in ongoing fight for women’s equality.