[DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS]. WOMAN'S RIGHTS CONVENTION IN THE LONG-ISLAND DEMOCRAT. NEW YORK: 1848

Bifolium (21 1/5 x 15 7/8 in.; 550 x 402 mm) with the subscriber's name, Adrian Onderdonk written at the top right. 4 pp., extracted from a bound run of the paper;spine irregular from binding with minor repairs, occasional spotting.

Printed on the front page, fifth column, a report headed "A Curiosity", printing of the Seneca Falls Woman's Rights Convention’s “Declaration of Sentiments." The Declaration of Sentiments, introduced on July 19th with only women in attendance, was debated and signed on July 20, 1848 by 68 women and 32 men—roughly a third of some 300 attendees at the first women's rights convention to be organized by women. The main author was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who modeled it upon the Declaration of Independence. Although there are various summaries of the convention in period newspapers, this is one of very few containing the full text of the Declaration, including the opening remarks, all of the "Sentiments", as well as the full closing remarks. The location of the original Seneca Falls Declaration is unknown. Frederick Douglass, whose attendance at the convention and support of the Declaration helped pass the resolutions, said the document represented the "grand movement for attaining the civil, social, political, and religious rights of women." Douglass’ North Star issue of August 11, 1848 is the other paper noted for printing the Declaration in full.

Other content includes acts of New York’s legislature (p1), anti-slavery (p 2-3), Annual dinner of the Long Island Railroad Company, a note headed “Heavy load” reporting on immigrants from Friesland who landed in New York before emigrating to Holland, Wisconsin. A particularly scraggly one was reported to have been wearing a belt with six thousand ten guilder coins. The agent reported that most in the party had similar belts.

Pages 2-3 report on The Free Soil Convention in Buffalo, N.Y. When the Democratic party nominated Lewis Cass over former President Martin Van Buren, Van Buren broke from his party to lead the Free Soil Partly ticket. Van Buren knew that they wouldn’t win but hoped to split the Democratic vote and throw the election to the Whigs. He succeeded, receiving enough votes to deny New York to Cass, which was enough to provide Whig Zachary Taylor's margin of victory in the electoral college.