g the evil customs of the day; but
we do believe that were they en masse to discontinue the use of wine
and brandy as beverages at both their public and private parties, not
one of the opposite sex, who has any claim to the title of gentleman,
would so insult them as to come into their presence after having
quaffed of that foul destroyer of all true delicacy and refinement....
Ladies! There is no neutral position for us to assume...."[28]

The next day the village buzzed with talk of the meeting; only a few
criticized Susan for speaking in public, and almost all agreed that
she was the smartest woman in Canajoharie.

While she was busy with her temperance work, there were stirrings
among women in other parts of New York State in the spring and early
summer of 1848. Through the efforts of a few women who circulated
petitions and the influence of wealthy men who saw irresponsible
sons-in-law taking over the property they wanted their daughters to
own, a Married Women's Property Law passed the legislature; this made
it possible for a married woman to hold real estate in her own name.
Heretofore all property owned by a woman at marriage and all received
by gift or inheritance had at once become her husband's and he had had
the right to sell it or will it away without her consent and to
collect the rents or the income. The new law was welcomed in the
Anthony household, for now Lucy Anthony's inheritance, which had
bought the Rochester farm, could at last be put in her own name and
need no longer be held for her by her brother.

In the newspapers in July, Susan read scornful, humorous, and
indignant reports of a woman's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New
York, at which women had issued a Declaration of Sentiments,
announcing themselves men's equals. They had protested against legal,
economic, social, and educational discriminations and asked for the
franchise. A woman's rights convention in the 1840s was a startling
event. Women, if they were "ladies" did not attend public gatherings
where politics or social reforms were discussed, because such subjects
were regarded as definitely out of their sphere. Much less did they
venture to call meetings of their own and issue bold resolutions.

Susan was not shocked by this break with tradition, but she did not
instinctively come to the defense of these rebellious women, nor
champion their cause. She was amused rather than impressed. Yet
Lucretia Mott's presence at the convent