Category Archives: Blog

December 14, 2013 · 1:51 pm

Nevada ready for its 2014 suffrage centennial

Nevada’s suffrage centennial officially started on October 31, 2013 and it will continue through 2014. Women’s right to vote was a long process beginning in 1869 when the Nevada State Legislature approved a constitutional amendment allowing women the vote.  The 1871 legislature failed to ratify the amendment as did the subsequent 12 legislatures.

For the next 40 years, women were as politically active as they could be by lobbying their male representatives and in some instances running for various school boards. In 1911, Nevada native Anne Martin, home from recent suffrage activities in Great Britain and Bird Wilson, a lawyer practicing in Goldfield spearheaded the campaign to get Nevada women the vote. Their dedication and hard work paid off when the 1914 legislature ratified the amendment and the voters approved that amendment in a general vote on November 3, 1914.  Women voted in Nevada for the very first time in 1915. Stay up to date with the Nevada Women’s History Project’s web site.

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December 1, 2013 · 5:02 pm

Suffrage celebrants in New Zealand, please move over!

As New Zealand celebrates its 120th anniversary of women voting, the awareness of a contender is putting suffrage centennials on notice. Those in New Zealand’s government take the 120th anniversary seriously with special events and programming. However, the Pacific island of Pitcairn claims the position of the first country granting women the right to vote 175 years ago in 1838. So women’s suffrage fans, take note. It boils down to the definition of “country,” as to which nation holds the distinction of being the first. Pitcairn claims that being a territory of the UK still entitles it to be called a country. And on November 29th they held their suffrage celebration with the men of the island preparing a feast for the women while greetings and best wishes poured in from all over the world. Pitcairn has 19 women and 17 men of voting age. Most of the island’s inhabitants are descendants of sailors who staged a mutiny on a British ship in 1789.

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November 16, 2013 · 2:04 pm

Centennial of suffrage “Better Babies” campaign inspires descendants!

Find out the entire story here.

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November 13, 2013 · 7:21 pm

Suffragist and abolitionist Harriet Tubman still center of attention in centennial of her death

Harriet Tubman historic site, Auburn, NYThe politics of the Harriet Tubman historic site in Auburn, New York becoming a national park is very much in the news. Since 2013 is the centennial year of Tubman’s death, there is considerable interest in this subject that was compounded when U.S. President Obama visited Seneca Falls, NY in August and then stayed overnight only a few miles from the Tubman home and museum without visiting it. The no-show ruffled some feathers, while others were more philosophical about the event. The Auburn, NY Harriet Tubman historic site is located in the “Cradle” of the women’s rights movement in the U.S. which is located in the Finger Lakes region of New York. A bill is in the U.S. Congress to make Tubman historic sites in NYS and Maryland one national park. The politics of this possibility are highlighted in these two accounts by Marguerite Kearns and Olivia Twine in New York History: Article #1. Article #2. Kearns and Twine can be found on LetsRockTheCradle.com

Photo: Hospital building on the Harriet Tubman historic site in Auburn, NY. 

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November 4, 2013 · 1:19 pm

Indiana and its centennial in 2013!

Play about Chicago women in suffrage movementThe state of Indiana was the first state east of the Mississippi to grant women the right to vote. That was back in 1913, so there isn’t much time before the big centennial baton moves on. The actual news items from the state itself give a flavor of what people there are saying about this occasion. There has been a play about Chicago women: #1. #2. Chicago historian Cecille Gerber who presented a special program. In this piece, she speaks about the importance of this centennial occasion. #1. #2. And the Illinois League of Women Voters turned out for a special celebration.

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September 1, 2013 · 2:50 pm

Centennial year of destruction of Margaret Fuller memorial on Long Island

Margaret FullerOne hundred years ago a huge storm on the Long Island coast destroyed the memorial erected to author, reporter, activist Margaret Fuller. She was an important influence to the suffragists of Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s generations and many women after that.  If there was a film to be made between now and 2020 (the centennial of women voting in the US), it should be about Margaret Fuller. Several excellent books have been published in the last few years to reviews of acclaim. Commentators note that Margaret Fuller’s story has romance, great characters, and all the elements of a good film, as well as having the potential of being a significant contribution to American history. The only problem is that not many people know about Margaret Fuller, and a potential film doesn’t fit the action genre. There are no car crashes, but there is a boat wreck at the end. Margaret not only rubbed elbows with Horace Greeley, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and Emerson, but they admired her mind and ideas and benefitted from knowing her. Several called her an inspiration.

So the idea of a film is out there circulating around. Anyone taking it on will have an uphill project, and a great film in the end. Another possibility is re-establishing the memorial to Margaret Fuller. A memorial to Margaret was established on the Long Island coastline at the turn of the 20th century, and it was destroyed in a big storm in 1913. So, it’s the centennial of the wrecking of the memorial. Seems like this could go on someone’s “to do” list for the upcoming 2017 New York State suffrage centennial. Raising money for some sort of a memorial would go a long way to bringing Margaret’s story to life if no one steps up to the challenge of a film about Margaret Fuller. And it would be a draw on Long Island for visitors and cultural tourism.

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August 17, 2013 · 12:22 am

Suffrage centennial brings controversy about Harriet Tubman in 2013

Harriet TubmanIf there’s any grave rolling associated with abolitionist and suffragist Harriet Tubman, it’s all about a video released by Russell Simmons. The video itself has been taken off the internet, but the edited versions circulating around give a feeling for the piece entitled “Harriet Tubman Sex Tape.” And it has been giving Harriet Tubman and her life renewed interest. The video has performers known to the general public, plus the internet is filled with commentary about what happened, who reacted and why. All of this is in the context of the centennial, or 100 year anniversary of Tubman’s death.

At the end of her life, Tubman campaigned intensely for women’s rights and even collaborated with Susan B. Anthony on lecture tours. Which makes this news update a suffrage centennial feature. The fuzz caused a Washington Post reporter to point out that Harriet Tubman has been trending on Twitter. Harriet Tubman lived in Auburn, NY and is buried there. It’s in the Cradle of the Women’s Rights movement in the United State, and Auburn is well worth a visit. If you don’t have plans to travel this fall, at least sign up for the blogging tour on LetsRockTheCradle.com  You can vicariously visit the town where Harriet made a mark. Think about it.

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August 4, 2013 · 4:07 pm

A suffrage centennial, here and there, opens doors!

Suffrage SoapboxWho says a suffrage centennial now and again doesn’t open doors? Not us. The UK is abuzz with news that UK performer Carey Mulligan has put everything aside to negotiate a role in “The Fury,” a feature film about the suffragette movement. It has been kicking around behind the scenes for a few years, and various suffrage centennials have rescued and brought the subject matter to the attention of the media biggies. The Votes for Women centennial, for example, kicked off this year with 100 years observance for Emily Davison with a documentary, plus all sorts of cultural and political events (including an opera). And now, there’s a suffragette sit com, “Up the Women,” that has been signed up for another season. We can’t see these programs, at least for now. But it certainly will stimulate the market when the wave of interest hits our shores. Meanwhile, Norway is having its suffrage centennial. See our coverage. Suffrage centennials are great, and even greater if they’re connected to what’s happening today. The Norwegian conference planned for November fits perfectly.

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June 30, 2013 · 7:01 pm

Remember the NYS Legislature Resolutions for Spirit of 1776 suffrage wagon in 2013!

Video. The “Spirit of 1776” is the name of a suffrage campaign wagon that’s part of New York State history. And it’s also representative of the national suffrage movement because it carries the theme that started in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Convention. The Declaration of Sentiments, written by Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others rewrote the 1776 Declaration of Independence to include women. In 1913 the “Spirit of 1776” wagon began its journey in Manhattan and headed to Long Island for a month of intensive grassroots campaigning. The women wore colonial costumes to deliver their message of “Taxation without representation was tyranny in 1776. Why not in 1913?” With the presentation ceremony in Manhattan covered by New York and Long Island papers, the horse-drawn wagon emphasized the theme of the “Spirit of 1776,” the wagon’s name and references to equality, what the activists insisted were the founding principles of the nation. Because social movements don’t always have artifacts and memorabilia that lend themselves to exhibition, this suffrage wagon has come to represent the national theme of the movement, the “Spirit of 1776,” that was repeated in suffrage speeches, events, literature, and visual rhetoric. For more information: #1. #2. #3. Image: Puck, Library of Congress. Reading by Amelia Bowen.

 

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