Men actively supported the First Women's Rights Convention and the ensuing women's rights movement. Richard Hunt encouraged the convention organizers to action. At the convention, James Mott and Thomas M'Clintock chaired sessions, while M'Clintock, Ansel Bascom, and Frederick Douglass offered remarks. Douglass fiercely defended women's right to vote; in an excellent and appropriate speech, he ably supported the cause of woman. Thirty-two men signed the Declaration of Sentiments under the title, The following are the names of the gentlemen present in favor of the movement. Reform-minded men argued for legal change, funded speakers and publications, and voted for new laws to benefit women. Men remain important allies in the women's rights movement. The speedy success of the cause depended upon the zealous and untiring efforts of both men and women, according to the convention report of 1848.