Resolved, That it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise.

This resolution comes from the Seneca Falls Convention (July 19–20, 1848) in Seneca Falls, New York—the first women’s rights convention in the United States. Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the convention’s “Declaration of Sentiments” and accompanying resolutions, modeled in part on the Declaration of Independence. The suffrage resolution was the most controversial plank: even some supporters of women’s rights feared that demanding the vote would discredit the broader program. After debate, the resolution was adopted, with notable support from Frederick Douglass, who argued that political equality was essential to securing other rights.

The statement casts voting not merely as an entitlement but as a moral obligation: women must “secure” the franchise for themselves. By calling suffrage a “sacred right,” Stanton elevates political equality to the level of fundamental principle, implying that denying women the vote violates natural or divine justice. The resolution’s phrasing also emphasizes agency—women are not asked to wait for benevolent reform from legislators but to organize and insist upon enfranchisement. In the broader rhetoric of women’s rights, this kind of language helped reframe suffrage as essential to self-government, legal protection, and full citizenship rather than a narrow political demand.