Will the United States be ready to celebrate its 2020 suffrage centennial in Seneca Falls, NY?

Clues to an answer to the above question may be found in the release of the first administrative wrap up of the history of the Women’s Rights National Historic Park in Seneca Falls, the key location for any celebration of 100 years of women voting in the United States. The 450-page publication, “‘All Men and Women are Created Equal’:  An Administrative History of Women’s Rights National Historic Park” has been researched and written by Dr. Rebecca Conard, Professor of History and Director of the Public History Program at Middle Tennessee State University. The book cites interviews with park officials, park records and federal agency archives to document the beginnings and growth of the national park in Seneca Falls and Waterloo, N.Y. between 1976 and 2011.  The book includes maps, photographs, charts and appendices. An electronic summary is available.

The report abstract noted: “In many respects, the major theme of this study is “relevancy.” Relevancy, at Women’s Rights National Historical Park, has been wrapped in the debate over whether or to what degree the  Park is an “idea” park. The language of enabling legislation left considerable room for debate. On the one hand, federal law enabled the preservation of specific properties in Seneca Falls and Waterloo that are associated with specific individuals who were key actors in launching the women’s rights movement in the mid- nineteenth century. On the other hand, the law framed the interpretive mandate broadly as ‘the struggle for equal rights for women’ without specifying beginning or end dates. Over the years, debates about interpretation have turned on various points, but almost always the issues related to the preservation and development of park sites: the Stanton, M’Clintock, and Hunt houses, the Wesleyan Chapel, and the Visitor Center.”

The report is a welcome contribution for those of us supporting and promoting the celebration of suffrage centennials. It should be noted, however, that New York State has not yet started planning its 2017 state suffrage centennial, and there is no official commitment (so far) to make it a priority. In addition, projects requiring Congressional funding have come to a standstill. They include the creation and funding of a Harriet Tubman national park and the “Votes for Women” federal heritage trail located in the Finger Lakes region, or what is also referred to as the “Cradle” of the U.S. women’s rights movement.