The Seneca Falls Declaration, or Declaration of Sentiments, both in its structure and language, consciously imitates the Declaration of Independence. There's a good reason for this. The feminists involved in drawing up the Seneca Falls Declaration were keen to gather as much support for their cause as possible by placing it firmly within the best traditions of American liberty. Conscious of society's widespread suspicion and hostility, they sought to convince a skeptical public that their campaign for equality was wholly consistent with previous struggles for liberty in American history.
The 1848 document consists in large part of a long list of grievances that women have against men in much the same way that the Declaration of Independence set out the American colonists's grievances against King George III. In both documents, the key argument is that the relevant powers-that-be have violated certain inalienable rights. In the case of the Seneca Falls...
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Declaration, one of these rights is the right to elective franchise: the right to vote, to put it in much simpler terms. As the fourth sentiment clearly states "He,"—that is to say, men—have not permitted women the right to vote.
At that time, it was widely believed that a woman's place was in the home and that women had no business getting involved in political life, either as voters or elected representatives. The Declaration of Sentiments sought to change this attitude, asserting that women were just as entitled to have their inalienable rights respected as the (male) American colonists of 1776.
First of all, it is important to note that you have left out a very important word from this quote. The word is “never.” The correct phrase from the Declaration of Sentiments is
He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise.
The Declaration of Sentiments was the statement that was put out by the people (mostly women) who met at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. This is seen as the beginning of the movement for women’s rights. The Declaration of Sentiments was explicitly meant to mirror the way that the Declaration of Independence had been worded in 1776.
In the Declaration of Sentiments, the writers are listing a number of injustices that have been done to women by men. When they say “he” they do not refer to any specific man. Instead, they are referring to men in general. This mirrors how Thomas Jefferson wrote a long list of ways in which, he said, King George III had abused the American colonists.
The phrase that you quote means that men have never allowed women to vote. The “elective franchise” is the ability to vote. An “inalienable right” is one that cannot be legitimately taken away. Thus, this phrase is saying that women have a right to vote but men have not allowed them to do so.
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