Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902) was a pioneering American leader in the women's rights movement, best known for formulating the first organized demand for women's suffrage in the United States. She was a writer, lecturer, and chief philosopher of the women's rights and suffrage movements. Stanton co- organized the historic 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, where she introduced the "Declaration of Sentiments," a document modeled on the Declaration of Independence that called for equal rights for women, including the right to vote
. Born in Johnstown, New York, Stanton received a strong education and studied law in her father's office, which exposed her to the legal inequalities faced by women. She married Henry Brewster Stanton in 1840, and together they attended the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention in London, where she was outraged by the exclusion of women delegates. This experience galvanized her commitment to women's rights
. Stanton worked closely with Susan B. Anthony for decades, co-founding the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869, and served as its first president. She was also active in abolitionism and other social reforms. Stanton was a powerful orator and writer, addressing issues such as maternity, divorce law, married women's property rights, and temperance. Though she opposed the 14th and 15th Amendments for excluding women from suffrage, her advocacy laid critical groundwork for future women's rights advances
. She traveled extensively on the lecture circuit, spreading her message of female independence and equality, and edited the NWSA’s journal The Revolution. Stanton died in 1902, before women won the right to vote nationally, but her leadership and writings were foundational to the women's suffrage movement in the United States
