On this day, October 23, in 1850

The First National Women's Rights Convention was held at Brinley Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts. The conference was viciously attacked by mainstream media as an event unworthy of public attention, and a huge percentage of the audience rejected the radical ideas that women could and should demand political power. The presenters discussed inequalities from voting and property rights, to marriage and education. While this era of western feminism has been appropriately critiqued for its Eurocentric ideals, this particular national forum was a huge step towards the future of women's rights in America and was an inspiring collaboration between feminists and abolitionists alike.