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| Lucretia Mott |
I’m sure that some of you are familiar with Nantucket, Massachusetts. If not, it is a small beautiful island off of Cape Cod. A hot vacation spot, most recently, Kourtney Kardashian and her family vacationed there. Now imagine this serene little island over 200 years ago, inhabited by Quaker, women’s rights activist, religious reformer, and abolitionist, Lucretia Mott, formerly, Lucretia Coffin. This brave woman was born on January 3, 1793 in Nantucket, Massachusetts.
By definition, a Quaker is, "a member of the Religious Society of Friends, a Christian movement founded by George Fox c. 1650 and devoted to peaceful principles. Central to the Quakers' belief is the doctrine of the “Inner Light,” or sense of Christ's direct working in the soul. This has led them to reject both formal ministry and all set forms of worship.”Mott’s parents influenced her Quaker upbringing which landed her at a Quaker boarding school in New York State at the age of thirteen. Upon working at the school as a teaching assistant, Lucretia met her husband, James Mott who greatly supported her religious beliefs and way of life.
Leaving Nantucket, and New York behind for Philadelphia becoming wed in 1811. Philadelphia suited their Quaker lifestyle very well, as the area was where William Penn influenced the area with Quaker beliefs. Mott became a Quaker minister in 1821. One of her strongest attributes being her articulate speaking abilities. 1827 brought the couple to chose a more progressive wing of faith. Her husband was so dedicated to Lucretia’s beliefs that he left the cotton trade around 1830.
Quakers were strong advocates against slavery and would boycott any products produced by slave labor. Mott’s “radical” views regarding slavery exposed her to several instances of violence. Mott helped found the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, as their president. She took on an authoritative role in the national organization upon the admission of women. We have watched society succumb to racism, sexism, we have seen discrimination first hand. This time period would snicker at the thought of anyone other than a white male having equal rights, so one can only imagine the brutality Mott faced. She made tremendous strides, continuing on to when she was denied a seat in 1840 at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London because she was a woman. Mott and Stanton arrived at the Convention where they were neither greeted nor were they acknowledged at all. The twelve Boston women who made this 3,000-mile trip were appalled and patiently waited to hear whether they could be admitted to the Convention. Almost all of these women were in their twenties, so it was inspiring to see such young and diverse faces standing up for slavery, and what would turn out to be the suffrage movement as well. At 11 o’clock that morning, the announcement finally surfaced that the women were excluded from the Conference, but if they still wanted to partake then they could sit behind a curtained wall and listen quietly. Mott did not let this deter her, instead she used her exemplary public speaking skills to preach outside. This visit to London sparked Mott’s friendship with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. After the Conference, Mott and Stanton walked with interlocked arms discussing their newfound dream of hosting their own Conference back in the U.S which they did. The Anti- Slavery Convention was the main starting point for the women’s suffrage movement. The summer of 1848, Mott and Stanton organized the meeting at Seneca Falls, New York. This was the starting point of Women’s Rights in America. Mott became president of the group in 1852.
In 1850, Mott’s Discourse on Women was her life’s work, explaining her philosophy on women and feminism. One should high light one of the main points being that women’ roles in society were purely limited education, not innate inferiority. Mott advocated feminism in all forms, ranging from politics to economic opportunity and suffrage. Throughout Mott’s influential life, she was an amazing mother, wife, and home keeper. Five children and a husband is a job in and of itself, yet somehow this woman was able to do it all.
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| Lucretia Mott. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony Monument. |
Works
Cited
"Module 04: How Did Abolitionism Lead to the Struggle
for Women 's Rights?" Evidence Detail :: U.S. History. N.p., n.d.
Web. 14 Feb. 2017.
History.com Staff. "Lucretia Mott." History.com.
A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.
"Lucretia Mott." Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 02 Apr. 2014. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.
Photos: Google Images
I decided to read your article about Lucretia Mott because her name was familiar to me from somewhere, I'm still not sure where though. Her determination and dedication to stand up for the advancement and progression of society was so absolutely inspiring. I thought it was extremely strange that even though she was fighting for an end to discrimination and slavery, she was discriminated against for her gender. That's quite the irony. You mentioned that her speaking skills were her most skilled attribute, which reminds me of Ziauddin Yousafzai, from his daughter’s autobiography, I am Malala. Ziauddin has the voice and power to influence even the worst of men. Now, one thing I was wondering was whether she was assigned to you or you had previously taken an interest in her story? Because to me, I feel as if her name is not very well known.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I decided to write about Lucretia Mott because I had never read about her before yet she was associated with so many other prominent figures in history that are well known. Thanks for the comparison to "I am Malala," I have not read that yet but definitely will now.
DeleteThis is another woman that I have never heard of, although she is from Massachusetts. I'm glad I read this article because this woman was strong and multi-talented. She worked for equal rights despite the standards at the time and the violent acts against her because of her views. She is yet another woman that tried to stand up for female rights and was discriminated against, and her ideas were shot down because she was a woman. She reminds me of Antigone, whose views led to violence against her. It also reminds me of Malala, who had many views and was a great speaker but was dismissed for being a woman. She spoke out despite the possible consequences that she faced, like how Malala spoke out many times, knowing that terrorists could attack at any moment. What made you choose Lucretia Mott and how did you find out about her? Was there anything specific that interested you about her story as you researched her?
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! We were given a short list of possible women to write about or we could select someone else. I ultimately ended up picking Lucretia Mott because she had so many noble contributions to women's history that I feel were not accredited for. I think I was most interested in the Anti-Slavery Convention in London. It's the smaller events in history that sparked the big events.
DeleteThat is very true! She seems very influential and ahead of her time. Most women would not have done what she did for rights at the time. It is upsetting that she did get acted against for things that would soon be a reality. I'm very glad you chose her because I did not know much about her, and this article taught me a lot. Thanks!
DeleteReading this article both makes me inspired and disheartened. Lucretia Mott was clearly an amazing woman who should be recognized for her actions, and yet for the most part, she was not. She's part of multiple groups that have been ignored in history as she is a Quaker woman who was against slavery. Most history books gloss over Quakers and only point out leading male figures, even today, but these other people and women are important to. I just do not see why we ignore amazing people like Lucretia. In her great speaking skills, Lucretia certainly reminds me of Malala Yousafzai. Both woman have stood by their beliefs and worked for them against the obstacles they faced. One of those obstacles was clearly their gender being viewed as the inferior sex, but the each used their voices to create power for themselves and their views, eventually gathering the momentum to help the women of their time. Both women are also incredibly brave, speaking out despite the risks, Malala even publishing a book about her life and struggle to further her cause. Was there anything specific about Lucretia Mott that sparked your interest and do you agree with her decision to instead give her own speech?
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! That is absolutely right. We typically don't read much about Quaker's and when we do we hear about the male figures. Some of your classmates mentioned that Lucretia reminded them of Malala and while I haven't read that book yet I understand the general concept being Malala exposed her life and all she endured from being a woman in her culture. I enjoyed reading about the Quaker life style and agree with the majority of her beliefs so she was interesting to research!
DeleteI hadn't heard of Lucretia Mott before today. Not from history textbooks, not from history-related websites, and not once in the never-ending hours I've spent online. I have to say that the omission of someone with such important accomplishments from every U.S. History class or unit I've done up until now is a mistake on the part of editors, especially considering how relatively long ago the Women's Rights Movement was and the impact that Mott's actions must have had on it as a precursor. Her actions remind me of those of Malala Yousafzai, whose book I am Malala I read last summer. Both of them stood up for their beliefs on rights in societies predominantly ruled by men and had their opinions heard. As I said, I've never heard of Lucretia Mott before this, so where did you come across her name and history?
ReplyDelete-Nick F
Thanks for reading! I completely agree that editors neglect to share some large components of women's rights history. It is important to recognize the small events that made change possible. It was refreshing to research women when we read so much about men. Our class was given a short list of possible women to choose from. We could select one from there or look elsewhere. I chose from the class list!
DeleteMuch like my peers who have commented above, I did not know about Lucretia Mott or her role in history before reading this blog. However, what she did and how she stood up for her beliefs, especially in such an oppressive time period, are both impressive and inspiring. I also think it was very modern of her to stand against slavery at such an early time in American history. Mott reminds me of the character Atticus Finch from the novel "To Kill a Mickingbird" by Harper Lee. Much like Atticus, Mott bravely defended her beliefs despite other's harsh criticisms. She did not let anyone keep her quiet, and she was well respected, hard working and unbiased, just like Atticus. I am interested to learn whether or not her work had any long lasting impact on how slavery was treated. As Mott seems to be a lesser known activist, was it difficult to find detailed information on her and her life?
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I love the "To Kill a Mockingbird" reference. It wasn't too difficult to find information about Lucretia. There were definitely a limited amount of sites, and I do wish some articles went in greater depth. Mott contributed a long lasting impact with women's rights for sure.
DeleteIt never ceases to amaze me whenever I read stories of activists. Even though the people being discriminated against, slaves, don't look the same as
ReplyDeleteLucretia Mott. She continued to fight the battle for their freedom. I can only imagine the trials and challenges she must have gone through during her lifetime.
Lucretia is certainly a real life Atticus Finch. Her decision to fight for the rights of even those that are different from herself is similar to Atticus. Not only that, both
Atticus and Lucretia suffered for advocating for others. It's also pleasant to know that Lucretia was from Massachusetts. History truly was being made here.
Why did you choose to write about Lucretia in particular? Or, how did you come to know about her work? She certainly seems to be an underrated person. I
hope that in the future she receives more recognition.