The movement for women’s rights traces its origin to the first half of

The movement for women’s rights traces its origin to the first half of the nineteenth century. The Seneca Falls Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York in July of 1848, is commonly regarded as the beginning of the women's rights movement in the United States. This conference was preceded by a series of ground-breaking events that made possible this seminal milestone in the history of American women.

The idea for the convention emerged during the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, a conference that precluded its female delegates from participation in discussions. Lucretia Mott, a famous women’s rights activist, wrote in her diary that calling the 1840 convention a “world” convention "was a mere poetical license." She had accompanied her husband to London but had to sit behind a partition with other women activists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who later became one of the main forces behind the Seneca Falls Convention.

During the early 1840s, Elizabeth Cady Stanton composed the Declaration of Sentiments, a document modeled after the Declaration of Independence, declaring the rights of women. At the time of its composition, the Declaration of Sentiments was so bold that when Elizabeth Stanton showed the draft to her husband, he stated that if she read it at the Seneca Falls Convention, he would have to leave town. The Declaration contained several new resolutions. It proclaimed that all men and women are born equal and stated that no man could withhold a woman's rights, take her property, or preclude her from the right to vote. This Declaration also became the foundation for the Seneca Falls Convention.

On July 19-20, 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention brought together 240 delegates between ages 22 and 60, including forty men, who spent the two days at the conference debating, refining and voting on the Declaration of Sentiments. Most of the declaration’s resolutions received unanimous support and were officially endorsed. Later in 1848, the Seneca Falls convention was followed by an even larger meeting in Rochester, New York. Thereafter, national women's conventions were held annually, contributing to the growing momentum in the movement for women's rights.

1. Which of the following best describes the main purpose of the passage above?

A. To compare the origin of the women’s rights movement with the current-day situation.
B. To support further expansion of women’s rights in the United States.
C. To criticize the nineteenth-century restrictions on women’s rights.
D. To explain the reasons for the opposition to the Seneca Falls Convention.
E. To discuss the origin of the women’s rights movement.



2. The passage provides information about each of the following, EXCEPT

A. the days on which the Seneca Falls Convention was held
B. the month in which the convention in Rochester was held
C. the year in which the World Anti-Slavery Convention was held
D. the number of candidates participating in the Seneca Falls Convention
E. the location of the World Anti-Slavery Convention



3. The second paragraph of the passage plays which of the following roles?

A. Provides details about the Declaration of Sentiments.
B. Discusses the events leading to the World Anti-Slavery Convention.
C. Describes the position of Lucretia Mott’s husband towards her attendance of the World Anti-Slavery Convention.
D. Demonstrates how the World Anti-Slavery Convention may have contributed to the momentum behind the movement for women’s rights.
E. Explains the reasons for the limited participation of women in the World Anti-Slavery Convention.



4. Which of the following can be most reasonably inferred from the passage?

A. Most of the delegates of the Seneca Falls Convention subsequently attended the 1848 convention in Rochester, New York.
B. The Declaration of Sentiments stated that women must not be confined to housekeeping occupations.
C. The Seneca Falls Convention gathered more than 190 women, none of whom were younger than 20 years old.
D. The husband of Elizabeth Cady Stanton left town after she read the Declaration of Sentiments at the Seneca Falls Convention.
E. Most delegates at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention were men.