Frederick Douglass Quotes on Womens Rights

Frederick Douglass Quotes on Womens Rights Frederick Douglass was an American abolitionist and former slave, and one of the most famous 19th-century orators and lecturers. He was present at the Seneca Falls Womens Rights Convention of 1848 and advocated for womens rights along with abolition and the rights of African Americans. Douglass last speech was to the National Council of Women in 1895; he died of a heart attack suffered the evening of the speech. Selected Frederick Douglass Quotations [Masthead of his newspaper, North Star, founded 1847] Right is of no sex - Truth is of no color - God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren. When the true history of the antislavery cause shall be written, women will occupy a large space in its pages, for the cause of the slave has been peculiarly womans cause. [Life and Times of Frederick Douglass,1881] Observing womans agency, devotion and efficiency in pleading the cause of the slave, gratitude for this high service early moved me to give favorable attention to the subject of what is called womans rights and caused me to be denominated a womans rights man. I am glad to say I have never been ashamed to be thus designated. [Life and Times of Frederick Douglass,1881] [A] woman should have every honorable motive to exertion which is enjoyed by man, to the full extent of her capacities and endowments. The case is too plain for argument. Nature has given woman the same powers, and subjected her to the same earth, breathes the same air, subsists on the same food, physical, moral, mental and spiritual. She has, therefore, an equal right with man, in all efforts to obtain and maintain a perfect existence. Woman should have justice as well as praise, and if she is to dispense with either, she can better afford to part with the latter than the former. Woman, however, like the colored man, will never be taken by her brother and lifted to a position. What she desires, she must fight for. We hold woman to be justly entitled to all we claim for man. We go farther, and express our conviction that all political rights which it is expedient for man to exercise, it is equally so for women. [At the 1848 Womens Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, according to Stanton et al in [History of Woman Suffrage] A discussion of the rights of animals would be regarded with far more complacency by many of what are called the wise and the good of our land, than would be a discussion of the rights of woman. [From an 1848 article in the North Star about the Seneca Falls Womens Rights Convention and its reception by the general public] Should the females of New York be placed on a level of equality with males before the law? If so, let us petition for this impartial justice for women. In order to insure this equal justice should the females of New York, like the males, have a voice in appointing the law makers and the law administrators? If so, let us petition for Womans Right to Suffrage. [1853] On putting a priority, after the Civil War, on votes for African Americans males before women in general] When women, because they are women, are dragged from their homes and hung upon lampposts; when their children are torn from their arms and their brains dashed upon the pavement;... then they will have the urgency to obtain the ballot. When I ran away from slavery, it was for myself; when I advocated emancipation, it was for my people; but when I stood up for the rights of women, self was out of the question, and I found a little nobility in the act. [About Harriet Tubman] Much that you have done would seem improbable to those who do not know you as I know you. Quote collection assembled by Jone Johnson Lewis.

Top 6 Environmental Issues

Top 6 Environmental Issues Since around the 1970s, we have made great progress on the environmental front. Federal and state laws have led to greatly reduced air and water pollution. The Endangered Species Act has had notable successes protecting our most threatened biodiversity. Much work has to be done, however, and below is my list of the top environmental issues we are facing now in the United States. Climate Change While climate change has effects that vary by location, everyone is feeling it one way or another. Most ecosystems can probably adjust to climate change up to a point, but other stressors (like the other issues mentioned here) limit this adaptation ability, especially in places that have lost a number of species already. Particularly sensitive are mountain tops, prairie potholes, the Arctic, and coral reefs. I argue that climate change is the number one issue right now, as we all feel the more frequent extreme weather events, the earlier spring, melting ice, and rising seas. These changes will continue to get stronger, negatively affecting the ecosystems we and the rest of biodiversity rely on. Land Use Natural spaces provide habitat for wildlife, space for forests to produce oxygen, and wetlands to clean our freshwater. It allows us to hike, climb, hunt, fish, and camp. Natural spaces are also a finite resource. We continue to use land inefficiently, turning natural spaces into corn fields, natural gas fields, wind farms, roads, and subdivisions. Inappropriate or nonexistent land use planning continues to result in suburban sprawl supporting low-density housing. These changes in land use fragment the landscape, squeeze out wildlife, put valuable property right into wildfire-prone areas, and upset atmospheric carbon budgets. Energy Extraction and Transportation New technologies, higher energy prices, and a permissive regulatory environment have allowed in recent years for a significant expansion of energy development in North America. The development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has created a boom in natural gas extraction in the northeast, particularly in the Marcellus and Utica shale deposits. This new expertise in shale drilling is also applied to shale oil reserves, for example in the Bakken formation of North Dakota. Similarly, tar sands in Canada have been exploited at much accelerated rates in the last decade. All these fossil fuels have to be transported to refineries and markets through pipelines and over roads and rails. The extraction and transportation of fossil fuels imply environmental risks such as groundwater pollution, spills, and greenhouse gas emissions. The drill pads, pipelines, and mines fragment the landscape (see Land Use above), cutting up wildlife habitat. Renewable energies like wind and solar a re also booming and they have their own environmental issues, particularly when it comes to positioning these structures on the landscape. Improper placement can lead to significant mortality events for bats and birds, for example.   Ã‚   Chemical Pollution A very large number of synthetic chemicals enter our air, soil, and waterways. Major contributors are agriculture byproducts, industrial operations, and household chemicals. We know very little about the effects of thousands of these chemicals, let alone about their interactions. Of particular concern are endocrine disruptors. These chemicals come in a wide variety of sources, including pesticides, the breakdown of plastics, fire retardants. Endocrine disruptors interact with the endocrine system that regulates hormones in animals, including humans, causing a wide array of reproductive and developmental effects. Invasive Species Plant or animal species introduced to a new area are called non-native, or exotic, and when they rapidly colonize new areas, they are considered invasive. The prevalence of invasive species is correlated with our global trading activities: to more we move cargo across the oceans, and we ourselves travel overseas, the more we carry back unwanted hitchhikers. From the multitude of plants and animals we bring over, many become invasive. Some can transform our forests (for example, the Asian longhorned beetle), or destroy urban trees that have been cooling our cities in the summer (like the emerald ash borer). The spiny water fleas, zebra mussels, Eurasian water-milfoil, and Asian carp disrupt our freshwater ecosystems, and countless weeds cost us billions in lost agricultural production. Environmental Justice While this one is not an environmental issue in itself, environmental justice dictates who feels these issues the most. Environmental justice is concerned with providing everyone, regardless of race, origin, or income, the ability to enjoy a healthy environment. We have a long history of unequal distribution of the burden posed by deteriorating environmental conditions. For a multitude of reasons, some groups are more likely than others to be in close proximity to a waste disposal facility, breathe polluted air, or be living on contaminated soil. In addition, fines levied for environmental law violations tend to be much less severe when the injured party is from minority groups. Follow Dr. Beaudry: Pinterest | Facebook |  Newsletter | Twitter | Google