first to pass on a couple's intention to be married. Separate meetings declined by the 19th century and were eliminated later. Having authority over any business at all – let alone authority over men (in the form of approving or denying marriages) – was a radical move in the 17th century, and gave women then-rare experience in running organizations. Concerning the introduction and much later dissolution of separate meetings, one historian writes, "On balance, and in the long run, I believe that the separate women's meeting was good for women; indeed, it may be said to have been a cradle not only of modern feminism but of the movements of abolitionism, women's suffrage, and peace activism, all of which were, and are, enlivened by the presence (even predominance) of Quaker female leaders." In the United States Quakers were heavily involved in the 19th-century movement for women's rights in the United States. Susan B. Anthony, who was born into a Quaker family, is a prominent example. She founded the American Equal Rights Association. The Progressive Friends, a radical Quaker group which supported women's empowerment, were formed shortly before the Seneca Falls Convention. The landmark 1848 Seneca Falls Declaration was in large part the work of Quaker women, and has numerous Quaker signatories, well out of proportion to the number of Quakers in American society at large. Lucretia Mott, who co-wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, was one such individual. Their influence was felt at the Rochester Women's Rights Convention of 1848 not long after the Seneca Falls Convention. Radical abolitionist Quakers, including those who were conductors on the Underground Railroad, exhibited principles of gender equality through their aggressive recruiting of both men and women. The tradition of Quaker involvement in women's rights continued into the 20th and 21st centuries, with Quakers playing large roles in organizations continuing to work on women's rights. For example, Alice Paul was a Quaker woman who was a prominent leader in the National Woman's Party, which advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment. See also Daughters of Light Ordination of women References Further reading “Women in the Society of Friends”, by Janet Scott in A Quaker miscellany for Edward H. Milligan, edited by David Blamires, Jeremy Greenwood and Alex Kerr, published by David Blamires (1985) Quaker practices Christianity and women Women's rights in religious movements History of women in the United States