f-government; therefore

_Resolved_, That it is their natural right and most sacred duty to
rebel against the injustice, usurpation and tyranny of our present
government.

WHEREAS, The men of 1776 rebelled against a government which did
not claim to be of the people, but on the contrary upheld the
"divine right of kings;" and _whereas_, The women of this nation
today, under a government which claims to be based upon individual
rights, in an infinitely greater degree are suffering all the
wrongs which led to the war of the Revolution; and _whereas_, the
oppression is all the more keenly felt because our masters, instead
of dwelling in a foreign land, are our husbands, fathers, brothers
and sons; therefore

_Resolved_, That the women of this nation, in 1876, have greater
cause for discontent, rebellion and revolution, than had the men of
1776.

_Resolved_, That with Abigail Adams we believe "the passion for
liberty can not be strong in the breasts of those who are
accustomed to deprive their fellow-creatures of liberty;" that, as
she predicted in 1776, "we are determined to foment a rebellion,
and will not hold ourselves bound by laws in which we have no voice
or representation."

WHEREAS, We believe in the principles of the Declaration of
Independence and of the Constitution of the United States, and that
a true republic is the best form of government in the world; and
_whereas_, This government is false to its underlying principles in
denying to women the only means of self-government, the ballot; and
one-half of the citizens of this nation, after a century of boasted
liberty, are still political slaves; therefore

_Resolved_, That we protest against calling the present centennial
a celebration of the independence of the _people_ of the United
States.

_Resolved_, That we meet in our respective towns and districts on
the Fourth of July, 1876, and declare ourselves no longer bound to
obey laws in whose making we have had no voice and, in presence of
the assembled nations of the world gathered on this soil to
celebrate our nation's centennial, demand justice for the women of
this land.

Miss Anthony, Mrs. Stanton and Mrs. Gage had long had in view the
preparation of a history of the woman's rights movement, which they
expected to be a pamphlet of several hundred pag