Cady Stanton attended an epic tea party

The Boston event typically comes to mind when you think of a significant tea party, but there was at least one other tea-related gathering that was equally significant.

On July 9, 1848, Jane Hunt, a rich Quaker committed to social change, called Cady Stanton and three other women to her home in Waterloo, New York. The other ladies were Lucretia Mott, her sister Martha Wright, and Mary Ann McClintock. They talked about how women couldn't vote or own property, as well as how the Quaker religion stayed out of the anti-slavery and women's rights movements. It was resolved then and then to host a meeting to promote women's equality, albeit it is unknown who had the first idea.

Both women resisted being silenced, and several of the movement's more powerful men joined them. But ultimately, they were made to watch from the sidelines, embarrassed and enraged. Stanton wrote, "Mrs. Mott and I agreed to organize a convention as soon as we returned home, and to form an organization to advocate for the rights of women. As we went home arm in arm, remarking on the happenings of the day." But until Hunt invited them over for tea, Mott and Stanton had never had the chance to sit down together. The moment they did, their life's unhappiness erupted.