The isolation of every human soul and the necessity of self-dependence must give each individual the right to choose his own surroundings.The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities for higher education, for the full development of her faculties, her forces of mind and body; for giving her the most enlarged freedom of thought and action ; a complete emancipation from all forms of bondage, of custom, dependence, superstition; from all the crippling influences of fear - is the solitude and personal responsibility of her own individual life.The strongest reason why we ask for woman a voice in the government under which she lives; in the religion she is asked to believe;equality in social life, where she is the chief factor; a place in the trades and professions, where she may earn her bread, is because of her birthright to self-sovereignty; because, as an individual, she must rely on herself .
Ⅰ.About the Author
Elizabeth Cady, the daughter of Daniel Cady, a lawyer and politician, was born in Johnstown, New York , on 12th November, 1815.She studied law under her father, who later became a New York Supreme Court judge.During this period she became a strong advocate of women s rights .
In 1840 Elizabeth married the lawyer, Henry Bewster Stanton.The couple both became active members of the American Anti-Slavery Society.Later that year, Stanton and Lucretia Mott, travelled to London as delegates to the WorldAnti-Slavery Convention.Both women were furious when they, like the British women at the convention , were refused permission to speak at the meeting .
Stanton later recalled: “We resolved to hold a convention as soon as we returned home, and form a society to advocate the rights of women .”
However, it was not until 1848 that Stanton and Lucretia Mott organised the Women s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls.Stanton s resolution that it was “the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves the sacred right to the elective franchise”was passed, and this became the focus of the group s campaign over the next few years .
In 1866 Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B.Anthony and Lucy Stone established the American Equal Rights Association.The following year, the organisation became active in Kansas where Negro suffrage and woman suffrage were to be decided by popular vote.However, both ideas were rejected at the polls .
In 1868 Stanton and Susan B.Anthony established the political weekly,The Revolution, and the following year the two women formed a new organization , the National Woman Suffrage Association ( NWSA ).The organisation condemned the Fourteenth and Fifteenth amendments as blatant injustices to women.The NWSA also advocated easier divorce and an end to discrimination in employment and pay .
Another group, the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) , was also active in the campaign for women s rights and by the 1880s it became clear that it was not a good idea to have two rival groups campaigning for votes for women.After several years of negotiations, the AWSA and the NWSA merged in 1890 to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).Stanton was elected as NAWSA first president but was replaced by Susan B.Anthony in 1892 .
Stanton was also a historian of the struggle for women s rights and with Susan B.Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage, complied and published the four volume, The History of Woman Suffrage ( 1881 1902 ).Elizabeth Cady Stanton, whose autobiography, Eighty Years and More, was published in 1898,died in New York, on 26th October, 1902 .
Ⅱ.Words and Expressions
arbiter.n.仲裁者,判优器。
incidental a.of a minor or subordinate nature 伴随发生的,有非主要的或附属性质的。
subordinate v.to make subservient 使服从。
discharge v.to perform the obligations or demands of（anoffice,duty,or task) 履行义务。
emancipation n.liberation 释放,解放。
bondage n.奴役,束缚。
superstition n.迷信。
crippling a.临界的,极限的。
self-sovereignty n.自主。
Ⅲ.Notes to the Text
1.This article is a speech delivered by Elizabeth Cady Stanton on 20thFebruary, 1894 .
2.The author uses both the Protestant idea and the Republican idea tostrengthen the authority and supremacy of individuality and of course ofwomen s individuality .
3.Robinson Crusoe is the hero of Daniel Defoe s novel Robinson Crusoe.In1719, a shipwrecked English sailor who, by virtue of his own ingenuity,survives for years on a small tropical island .Friday is his male servant on theisland.Here, the author alters the gender of Friday from male to female onpurpose to emphasize the putting of women in a female world .
4.By using the image of Robinson Crusoe, the author advances her viewpointthat a woman s rights are to use all her faculties for her own safety andhappiness, just like a man .
5.Secondly, the author talks about the legality of women s equal rights withmen by turning to the fundamental principle of the government.Note howshe develops her argument , especially the logic .
6.By comparison and contrast , the author drives her viewpoint home thatwomen should enjoy equal rights with men .
Ⅳ.Text-Related Practice
A.Read the passage again and decide whether the following statements areTrue or False .
1.The author uses both the Protestant idea and the Domestic idea to strengthen theauthority and supremacy of individuality and of course of women s individuality .
2.Here, the author alters the gender of Friday from male to female on purposeto emphasize the putting women in a female world .
3.The fundamental principles of our Government mean the Protestant idea .
4.Herbert Spencer, Frederick Harrison and Elizabeth Cady Stanton uniformlysubordinate women s rights and duties to those incidental relations .
5.The author thinks a man s rights should be decided by his duties as a father,a husband, a brother or a son to show equality of men and women .
6.The strongest reason for giving woman all the opportunities for highereducation, for the full development of her faculties is the solitude andpersonal responsibility of her own individual life .
7.The sound reason why we ask for woman a voice in the government and thesociety is that women belong to the weak gender .
8.All in all, a woman has the right to pursue her own safety and happiness .
B.Find out the comparison and contrast in this article between men and women .