Elizabeth Cady Stanton, wife of a Seneca Falls (N.Y.) lawyer, joins another feminist leader, Mrs. Bloomer, in a campaign to permit women to own property and to keep the money they earn. The women become the laughing stock of the country and, moreover, because of the notoriety, Stanton's career as a lawyer and legislator faces doom. The issue nevertheless gains strength and momentum when 22,000 men sign the ladies' petition. It eventually passes the New York State Legislature and becomes law. The husbands of Mrs. Stanton and Mrs. Bloomer sign for relief, only to find that their wives are in the midst of a new campaign—to win voting rights for women.
