Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other women's rights activists chose the Declaration of Independence as a framework for their Declaration of Sentiments because it was a powerful and well-known document that declared the equality and rights of all people. They believed that its famous words "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" applied to women as well as men, and that women were entitled to the same rights and freedoms as men. By using the Declaration of Independence as a model, they sought to draw attention to the fact that women were being denied these fundamental rights, and to call for an end to gender discrimination and inequality.