Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences, 1815-1897

by Elizabeth Cady Stanton

This autobiography of Elizabeth Cady Stanton is in many ways also the story of the women's rights movement in the nineteenth century. Stanton devoted her life to the cause of advancing the political, legal, and social standing of women, and she became its most eloquent spokesperson. Whereas Susan B. Anthony, her "steadfast friend for half a century," had a gift for organizing and mobilizing women to take action, Stanton's talent was for publicizing the key issues of the movement and speech writing. This talent is evident on every page of this autobiography, which records as much about the cause that was her life's work as it does about her personal reminiscences.Here she vividly describes the momentous occasion of organizing the Seneca Falls Convention in the summer of 1848, her first speech before the New York State legislature, the preparation and delivery (by Susan B. Anthony) of the Woman's Declaration of Rights at the national centennial celebration in Philadelphia in 1876, writing the History of Woman Suffrage and The Woman's Bible, plus her views on theology, marriage, and divorce, as well as reminiscences of her parents, husband, and seven children. Two chapters are devoted to Susan B. Anthony, and there are many anecdotes about Lucretia Mott, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and other leading feminists of the day.This fascinating account of history in the making conveys the amazing commitment of all of these pioneering women's rights advocates, against the indifference and derision of what seemed to be a hopelessly patriarchal society. Through it all Stanton displays an unflagging, exuberant optimism and the determination that the noble goal to which she dedicated her life would someday be accomplished.This unabridged edition is enhanced by an introduction by Denise M. Marshall, trustee of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Foundation.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, Memoir, 19th Century, Feminism, Autobiography

475 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2002

About the author

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American social activist and leading figure of the early woman's movement. Her Declaration of Sentiments, presented at the first women's rights convention held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, is often credited with initiating the first organized woman's rights and woman's suffrage movements in the United States.

Before Stanton narrowed her political focus almost exclusively to women's rights, she was an active abolitionist together with her husband, Henry Brewster Stanton and cousin, Gerrit Smith. Unlike many of those involved in the women's rights movement, Stanton addressed a number of issues pertaining to women beyond voting rights. Her concerns included women's parental and custody rights, property rights, employment and income rights, divorce laws, the economic health of the family, and birth control. She was also an outspoken supporter of the 19th-century temperance movement.

After the American Civil War, Stanton's commitment to female suffrage caused a schism in the women's rights movement when she, along with Susan B. Anthony, declined to support passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. She opposed giving added legal protection and voting rights to African American men while continuing to deny women, black and white, the same rights. Her position on this issue, together with her thoughts on organized Christianity and women's issues beyond voting rights, led to the formation of two separate women's rights organizations that were finally rejoined, with Stanton as president of the joint organization, approximately twenty years later.

Reviews

[Joe Davoust · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am only rating this book for the quality of it's readability. I fully support all that the author has done and give five stars to the contribution she has made to this country by striving for equality for all.

As far as reading this book goes, I enjoyed the narrative of the author's life but that narrative really only covered half of the the book. The rest is just a endless list of names of people she came in contact with. It got repetitious and boring because of this, it became difficult to get through. Given the fact that every name mentioned is someone who has passed around a century ago, the importance of all but the most noteworthy was lost on me.

I say this not so much as a criticism of the book, but instead as a warning to those who may choose to read it. If you want to learn more about the author, her work and her unquestionable contributions, I would recommend instead something written by a modern author, who could better put the facts of her life into a context that has more meaning to us now.

[Angelique McGowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

A must read for everyone! A brilliant autobiography written by a brilliant and inspiring woman! Thank you Elizabeth for all your hard work! In 2018 we still have so far to go but the suffragettes led the way!!

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing - completely inspiring. I wonder if these women will ever know how much difference they made. I adore Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

[Cynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I read Elizabeth Cady Stanton's memoir, I was often floored at how perfectly circumstances influenced her life. It was as though her life's work was Intended. From being born in 1815 at the end of the Republican Period (Think:Republican Motherhood) to being young and impressionable during the The Second Great Awakening, being interested in abolition and women's rights, married to a like-minded man, and made friends with Susan B Anthony.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton didn't let things happen in her life. She made decisions, took action, brought change into the world. Her memoir shows her on the go crossing the Atlantic until she just couldn't, always working towards the improvement of women's lives.

[Jenny Yates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a powerful, resolute, confident woman, and it’s amazing what she got done. Hearing her voice, it becomes clear how much she believed in her own good sense, in every situation. Her own version of her story is not at all objective, and she leaves out anything that doesn’t make her look good. And it’s not always exciting, because she does a heck of a lot of name-dropping. Still, I found enough here to amuse me, and plenty of reasons to admire her.

[Leslie Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman who worked her entire life to the benefit of all womem

What a compelling. Exciting story of the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton by the woman herself. This brings her thoughts and reasoning to light. Her beloved husband had to be a saint to encourage her tireless work.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Dawn Snyder · Rating 4 out of 5]

she helped teach me what a joy it is be a feminist and showed me how necessary it was for me to embrace that part of me.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but it is a great women's history book. I guess I'm still courting 19c women.

[Pat Giese · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than once, Elizabeth's papa said "if only you were a boy", memorably after the death of her only brother at a young age. She takes up riding & reading with her papa's law interns to show him she can do what any boy can do, but papa doesn't notice. She is shocked to learn that the law does not permit her, as a girl/woman, to become a lawyer [or, anything other than perhaps a teacher.] She is quick to learn & realizes the law inherited from the English views women as chattel, even making her inheritance the property of her husband once she marries. Their very protestant church reinforces the women's subservient role. As a young woman, she associates with friends & relatives who discuss the issues of the day, especially at cousin Garritt's estate, Peterboro. These folks apparently come from wealth but are free thinkers. Most are abolitionists but not all.
ECS meets the tall & handsome Henry Stanton while sojourning at Peterboro. He is 10 years older than her but her father objects to the marriage for other reasons, primarily because he is not conservative enough. They marry anyway & leave for Europe where Henry is invited to a world conference on slavery. It is only when they arrive that they learn that the women delegates, many are Quakers like Lucretia Mott, will not be allowed to speak, primarily because of the objections from the clergy. It occurred to her before this time that the freedom they sought for America's slaves was not available to America's women.
ECS never mentions Henry even when she talks about having children & the joy of motherhood. She is proud of using her organization skills to set up their home each time they move. Once in Seneca Falls, NY, she meets Susan B Anthony & they become fast friends. Susan, a Quaker, is a tireless champion of women's rights as well as abolition & temperance. While ECS is often the one who is able to articulate an issue, it is Susan who bravely stands up at conventions to speak.
She takes a logical position about individuals themselves being responsible for the terms of divorce as they should also dictate the terms of marriage....not the federal or state gov't, nor the church /"ecclesiastics", nor men in general, especially when custody of children is an issue.
When she describes her trip to Kansas promoting women's suffrage in 1869, one can only admire the woman even more for her daring trek into the wild west, with crude accommodations & abundant vermin. When black men are being given the vote before white women, she is outraged....at those white men! She & SBA cover most of the nation with their educational lectures/ a "lyceum". Their persistence had to be admired, particularly because of the jeering & humiliation from some men that they experienced, including those in Congress. By 1876, they pressed forward to read aloud their Women's Declaration in Philadelphia for the nation's centennial.
She returns to the concept of religion's view of women as subservient & even does a review of the bible to identify statements that reinforce that notion. That project doesn't gain much momentum nor does she find a publisher. She & SBA spent years completing their three-volume "History of Women's Suffrage". Do we all need to look for that & read a few chapters?
In her advanced years, she travels back & forth to England & France, primarily to see her children & enjoy her grandchildren. But, while in Europe, she meets with her women friends who also push for women's right, often at "conventions". She continues to read extensively and seeks out others whose ability to have a conversation are like oxygen to her. As she reaches 80, she is more reflective but still writing to congress, articles for the newspapers & speeches. She was definitely a woman we all would have enjoyed meeting and getting to know. While women finally achieved the right to vote in 1920, long after ECS & SBA were dead, some of the issues they railed about are still present in our society today. We only need to take a look at the "ecclesiastics", priests & fundamentalists in particular, to see that women are still viewed as subservient handmaidens. While "you've come a long way baby", there is still much work to be done to achieve gender equality in our society & the world.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I waffled between 3 and 4 stars. The first part of this was really interesting. I highlighted several things I can point out to my students. The last half was not nearly as enjoyable. I realize she was putting in what she found most important about her life. However, reading all about her travels got a little redundant. I was really surprised that at the beginning of the book she talks about being happily married, but then doesn't even mention the death of her husband. Her older sister, yes -- her husband, no. Her kids barely get mentioned as well unless they were fighting for the cause or she was living with or visiting them. I was really turned off by how unimportant her family seemed to her. To me, family is more important than nearly everything else, so I just didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to. I also didn’t care for her attack in religion and the way she implied that all religious women are deluded and oppressed. (Okay, so she didn’t put it that way, but that’s how it felt...)

[Samantha Glasser]

“I have never wondered since that the Chinese woman allow their daughters’ feet to be encased in iron shoes, not that the Hindoo [sic] widows walk calmly to the funeral pyre; for great are the penalties of those who dare resist the behests of the tyrant Custom.”

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our son and I read this for school. He liked it very much and would recommend it. Interesting life.

[Dayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazingly confident woman who lead many movements leading to more humaneness in our system. If ECS were alive today, she would blow up Tic Toc every other day and not let any threat scare her away from her mission. Thank you ECS! I wish you were alive today to be our leader.

[Sam Dye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This great book is available at: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/wome...

It would be difficult to overstate the importance of this book written by this classically and experiential educated woman. She would sit in her fathers law office as a young woman listening to him give legal advice to women who had lost all of their possessions after the death of their husband because of an influential daughter-in-law who took advantage of the laws in order to force their husbands to take charge of the whole estate.

She studied greek and had read extensively by the time she was mature. To say that she was self-assured would be the understatement. She was an excellent observer and did not form an opinion based on anyone else's ideas. She was often more progressive than her best friend Susan B. Anthony. They formed a bond of action in women's suffrage. Unfortunately from their first women's conference in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848 it would be not until 1920 that women obtained the vote.

A priceless section of the book is about Elizabeth on the Lyceum circuit. She was snowed in but insisted on getting a sled with a good set of horses and bundled up made her speaking rounds without the help of rail travel which was incapacitated!

This book is filled with original thought about issues pertinent to today. I will read it multiple times.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book might be a chore, but it was actually delightful. Elizabeth Cady Stanton is an excellent and empathetic writer. As expected, she chronicles her work in the women's rights and suffrage movements, but she also documents her travels through the American West and Europe and tells countless anecdotes of interactions with famous people, friends, family, and travelers, all of which provides an interesting glimpse into life in the 1880s. It does drag a little when she gets into lists of people she's hanging out with at events and parties, but the good parts more than make up for those skim-able parts.

She is just as likely to impart a piece of wisdom, such as, "How little we understand the comparative position of those whom we often criticise," as she is to bitch about women's work. She's real pissed off about how much time women spend sewing and stressing over gifts: "This whole custom of presents at Christmas, New Year's, and at weddings has come to be a bore, a piece of hypocrisy leading to no end of unhappiness." It's easy to cheer along when she chastises some dipshit dude or scores a victory for women's rights and it's a little disheartening to realize some of her gripes about a woman's place in society still ring true today.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating autobiographical memoir of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's life (1815-1897); growing up in New York, organizing the 1st Women's Rights Convention in 1848 (Seneca Falls) and travelling the world, speaking and writing about women's rights. She grew up in a family where she was encouraged to think for herself, to read and learn and form her own opinions and valued that exchange of ideas between thoughtful people, both men and women. She was radical in her ideas that women should be allowed to own property, divorce for intemperance, go to college, VOTE and be treated as equals, including ordination, in the church. She also championed the rights of others, including the abolition of slavery and the rights of the Irish to have their own country. She lived at a time of so much change, and it's fun to read how her life was a pivotal part of many of these changes. She also had a quick wit and sense of humor, which makes this book fun to read, dedicated to Susan B Anthony, her best friend for the second half of her life. I bought it in the bookstore of the Women's Rights National Park in Seneca Falls, NY on November 12, 2012-which would have been her 197th birthday.

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandmother was born in January of 1920 to a mother who could not vote in most of the United States. By the time she was one, her mother could vote. This link to history in my own family is part of my fascination with women's suffrage.
I expected this book to be a bit dry, but historically important. I was half wrong. This book is full of interesting details about Mrs. Cady Stanton's life. We learn of her trials in promoting an end to slavery and the extension of the vote to women. But, we also read about the antics of her children. One of her sons fancied himself an inventor and tested his "life preserver" on a younger brother. This is the kind of thing my own children would have been involved in.
On the other hand, some of the views of this author on women's work and life are what we would consider dated. In one chapter, she says of a group of women that, if offended, they would hastily put on their bonnets and beat a retreat. The idea that a woman should not go out bare-headed is odd to us. I suppose that each generation has its own definition of what freedom is built upon the advances of those who came before.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed listening to the Librivox download of this immensely. Apart from its importance in the annals of women's suffrage history, her recounting of childhood and young womanhood in the mid-nineteenth century is a marvelous first person account of a lost time.

[Nicole C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very engaging autobiography of a pioneer of the women's suffrage movement. She truly was a woman ahead of her time, especially with regard to child-rearing. It's amazing that she lived such a long, fruitful life.

[toria (vikz writes) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found that this was an excellent read

[Chloe]

Read in class ("Women in America to 1900")

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting memoir from the legendary suffragist herself!