The Declaration(s)

The Declaration of Independence is famous document known by most people. It stated that the people of America were free and had unalienable rights. It stated that America was independent from British rule. It is important to the American history. There is also a lesser known "Declaration" called the Declaration of Sentiments written in 1848. This declaration was written to give voice to the issue of women's rights during the time period. It is one of the first acts of feminism, though it probably wasn't called that at the time.
What I believe to be the best part about the Declaration of Sentiments is it's purposeful resemblance to the Declaration of Independence. The document is set up in almost exactly the same manner, even adopting most of the first two paragraphs of the D.I. This  was likely done to show the importance of the document, and also perhaps to mock the D.I. The Declaration of Independence does not exclude women from being created equal, yet for some reason they are not treated equally, and the D.S. wanted to make a point of this. Women want it known that they are tired of the unjust and reasonless oppression. The D.S. even goes as far as to bring up the problem that oppression towards women is not just a political issue but also a social one. Men can escape judgment from things that would deem women "improper" or "undesirable". The entirety of the Declaration of Sentiments has a tone of attitude in it, almost as if the women who participated in its creation saw the necessity of such a document ridiculous. After all, why would women be oppressed when the Declaration of Independence stated that all were created equal?
The strange bit about the Declaration of Sentiments is that some of the issues it addresses, are still relevant today. Women (and also men) continue to fight for equal treatment of the sexes. It's strange that this issue has not been resolved, even though it started so long ago.

(Sign Here.)