Starting from the American Revolution, history has proved that the American people will always fight to protect their basic human rights- it’s in their identity. Because of this, there has been many movements to protect these rights when they are attacked. One of the first would be the Abolitionist Movement to abolish slavery. Likewise, the Women’s Rights movement was based on the social oppression of women.  The Women’s Rights and Abolitionist movements had similarities and differences rated to the goals they had, the tactics they implored, and the successes and failures they faced. 

The Abolition and the Women’s Rights movements both consisted of a common goal: to grant the members of their particular groups a free and ultimately better life. The Abolition movement focused on granting slaves their freedom. However, it also hoped to end social discrimination and segregation between people of white and black color. The Women’s Rights movement fought to provide women the right to vote. It also protested the lack of educational and economic opportunities for women. In both of these movements their primary concern was to grant the people concerned the right to freedom. Women were not physically enslaved, but socially they were. Towards the beginning of the Women’s Rights movement they did not have the right to: divorce, own land, vote, etc. The Women’s Right movement and the Abolition movement provided men and women alike, the opportunity to join together and fight for their basic human rights. 

Both of these movements had extraordinary successes as well as failures. One of the most well known effects of the Abolition Movement is the American Civil War. However, another effect is the 13th Amendment. It was passed in 1865 and banned the use of slavery in the United States. Nevertheless, an additional side-effect of this was the beginning of a long battle that would eventually lead to the Civil Rights movement. One of the many successes of the Women’s Rights Movement was the 19th Amendment. It was passed in 1920 and, finally, granted women the right to vote. This would only be the beginning of a long battle to promote equal rights between men and women. One failure of the Women’s Rights movement was to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. It was ratified in the Senate in 1972, but failed to become an amendment because not enough states voted to ratify it. 

Throughout history we see many different groups of people fight for their rights in many different ways. The Abolitionists used the media as their primary way to attract people. At the time, the railroad was a technological advancement that changed the way that information was transferred in America. Because of this the use of novels and newspapers was extremely popular, especially when trying to advocate for something. Another tactic that the Abolitionists used was religion. Abolitionists realized that slavery was a sin, because it was morally wrong, so they used this to an advantage and called slave-owners sinners. 

The Women’s Rights tactics were very different. They used petitions, parades, pageants, street-speaking, and demonstrations at first. They later moved on to picketing the White House and many got arrested. This however proved to many men that they were serious about what they were advocating and increased the support they had. They also used conventions as a way to gather support. One of the most important is the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. There were many positive outcomes of this convention but the most notable was the Declaration of Sentiments, written by Cady Stanton. Stanton connected women’s rights to the American identity by basing the document off the Declaration of Independence. Going as far as to say, “We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men and women are created equal...”. These and other connections to the Declaration of Independence changed the way men looked at the Women’s Rights movements and many moved on to become strong supporters of this movement. 

Both the Abolitionist and Women’s Rights Movements were very successful and changed life in America. Because of the driven individuals who chose to fight for the rights of others, all men and women, no matter their race, religion, or color, are equal and women are now closer than ever to attain equal rights, in every way. Both movements had similarities and differences in the goals they had, the tactics they beseeched, and the successes and failures they encountered along the way. By comparing the two, one has a better understanding of the goals they each hoped to achieve. It also allows us to see why there were both successes and failure in these movements.