Women’s History: Right to Vote had Beginnings in upstate New York

March marked Women’s History Month. And, many of the early crusaders who fought for the right to vote lived in upstate New York. Men and women helped this cause, but three upstate women in particular — Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Josyln Gage — are credited with shaping the national conversation in the mid and late 1800s, which led to Women’s Suffrage in 1920. All of the women were also abolitionists. 

Stanton, Anthony, and Gage were founding members of the National Woman Suffrage Association and served in various offices of the organization from 1869 to 1889. When the association formed, it had representatives from 19 states and focused on changing the U.S. Constitution.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was born in Johnstown and she helped organize the Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls. It was in Seneca Falls that she gave her famous speech, the Declaration of Sentiments, and declared that women should have the right to vote. She is often credited as beginning the organized women’s rights and suffrage movements in the U.S., and she traveled across the country to give speeches. In one of her most frequent speeches, “Our Girls,” she urged girls to get an education and earn an income if they needed to do so. She and Susan B. Anthony gathered 400,000 signatures with the Women’s Loyal National League for a petition to end slavery and ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. Her history is preserved in Seneca Falls at the Women’s Rights National Historic Park and the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls.

Matilda Joslyn Gage was born in Cicero. In 1871, Gage was one of many women who tried to vote, but was denied the right in Fayetteville. During the Civil War, she helped organize hospital supplies for Union soldiers and fought for an end to slavery. Her home in Fayetteville became a station on the Underground Railroad. Her relationships with Native American women convinced Gage and others that the subordination of women was not natural. She was also the mother-in-law of L. Frank Baum and she had a profound influence on his writing, especially with “The Wizard of Oz.” Her story is documented and preserved locally at the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation in Fayetteville. 

In 1872, Susan B. Anthony voted, but was arrested for doing so in Rochester. She argued that the Constitution gave her that right; however, she was denied a trial by jury and lost her case. She advocated for better pay for women. While working as a teacher in Canajoharie in 1848, Anthony discovered that male teachers were paid $10 a month and female teachers made $2.50. Her paper, “The Revolution,” argued for equal pay for equal work and she promoted a policy of purchasing American-made goods. Anthony is often remembered as being the first woman to appear on a dollar coin. Her entire history is preserved at the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester. Each of the women authored “A History of Women’s Suffrage” together. 

The movement wasn’t always unified. Strategies for achieving the right to vote varied, from challenging male-voting-only laws in court to passing suffrage acts in each state. Each effort had failures and successes along the way. However, Stanton, Anthony, and Gage, worked to see a change at the federal level that affirmed a woman’s right to vote. 

During the 1910s, protests, hunger strikes, and demonstrations were held throughout the country and suffragette groups had formed in many communities. A pivotal year for our country was 1917. U.S. declared war on Germany. New York granted women the right to vote, and by that time, other states had too. Suffragists decided to get behind the war effort to further their cause, and in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson declared his support for women’s suffrage. This eventually led to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The amendment was ratified in 1920. Unfortunately, Stanton, Anthony, and Gage did not live to see this day.

To commemorate the long-fought right-to-vote movement, the New York Legislature enacted a commission to facilitate celebrations of women’s suffrage across the state. Beginning in 2017 and through 2020, New York will celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage. The Women’s Rights National Historic Park, the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, and the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House, along with various state agencies, will be involved in planning the events. The events aim to educate the public about our state’s history but will also, hopefully, draw tourists and revenue for localities and inspire generations about the historic movement and pursuit of equal rights.

To learn more about the local women’s history museums, visit the Matilda Josyln Gage Foundation at http://www.matildajoslyngage.org/, the Women’s National Historic Park at http://www.nps.gov/wori/index.htm, and the Susan B. Anthony House and Museum website at http://susanbanthonyhouse.org/index.php. All of their stories are also preserved at the National Women’s Hall of Fame (https://www.womenofthehall.org).                             

William (Will) A. Barclay is the Republican representative of the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact him at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us, or (315) 598-5185.