I read the Keynote Address at the First Woman's Rights Convention by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
1. I think that she started with the reference to dress because the men thought that the women were only interested in having equal rights in how they dressed. Perhaps she was clearing up the intention of the meeting and that it was not as petty as modes of dress but it was far more serious. Maybe not equal dress but equal rights. The point I think she was trying to make with her reference to the apparel of certain members of the clergy was that attire of men is not dignified and the way the women dress was much more artistic.
2.The laws Stanton consider to be "a disgrace to a Christian republic" were the laws that kept women from being represented in the government, the laws that give men the power to chastise and imprison their wives, take her wages and property and even take her children if they separate. These laws were a disgrace because they were unjust.
3.The purpose I think Stanton had in referencing Joan of Arc was to show the feelings that women were having were the same that Joan of Arc felt. The women are ready to fight for rights just as Joan of Arc was ready to fight.
4. The consequences of female degradation that Stanton articulated is the population will not grow into a truly great and virtuous nation. That women are the foundation of a strong generation of people.
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