Day 2 - Inspirational Speeches

On the second day of our trip, we visited the Wesleyan Chapel located in Seneca Falls, New York, where the first women’s convention was held and where Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered her famous Declaration of Sentiments. While in the chapel, we had the amazing opportunity to read the Declaration of Sentiments where it was first read, echoing the profound and powerful lines that both invigorated women and inspired them to act against their oppression. Being where Elizabeth Cady Stanton was, speaking the lines she delivered, was like I was seeing double vision: one view of the 300 attendees in 1848 where they were first hearing these enlightening but controversial words and the other view of our class in 2018, feeling some of the same constraints Elizabeth felt when penning her letter to the world. I was especially moved when we got to stand at the podium while speaking inspirational speeches from some remarkable historical women because I was elevated, both mentally and physically, and speaking to a whole church. It made me feel powerful. I thought that this moment was a really powerful one, necessary to deepening our understanding of the first prominent event that spurred the advancement of women’s rights in America. For this reason, I had to touch the walls of this historic building, excited at the prospect that maybe a feminist in 1848 had leaned against the very brick where my hand was. She may not know it, but I know that our experiences had unifying elements.