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Stay safe in the heat: Drink plenty of water, spend time in the shade, and visit the first aid station at Soissons Landing if you feel unwell. Click here for important warm weather visitor information.

Stay safe in the heat: Drink plenty of water, spend time in the shade, and visit the first aid station at Soissons Landing if you feel unwell. Click here for important warm weather visitor information.

New York His­tor­i­cal Soci­ety Presents-The Bat­tle for the Bal­lot: The Cen­ten­ni­al of Wom­en’s Suf­frage in New York

The sec­ond para­graph of the Unit­ed States Dec­la­ra­tion of Inde­pen­dence states that, We hold these truths to be self-evi­dent, that all Men are cre­at­ed equal, that they are endowed by their Cre­ator with cer­tain unalien­able Rights, that among these are Life, Lib­er­ty, and the Pur­suit of Hap­pi­ness.” For count­less years this cel­e­brat­ed sen­tence was a reminder of Amer­i­ca’s great­est tri­umph, and its most bit­ter irony. Although the Unit­ed States was found­ed on a dec­la­ra­tion of com­plete equal­i­ty for its cit­i­zens, this guar­an­tee was not uni­ver­sal and the treat­ment of women remained inher­ent­ly unequal well into the 20th cen­tu­ry due to gen­der bias­es. To enjoy such unalien­able rights, you had to be a man.

New York His­tor­i­cal Soci­ety’s exhib­it, the Bat­tle for the Bal­lot, hon­ors the Wom­en’s Suf­frage move­ment and its suc­cess in rec­ti­fy­ing one of the most egre­gious chap­ters in Amer­i­can his­to­ry. The repro­duc­tion of art and his­tor­i­cal arti­facts this teen curat­ed exhib­it demon­strates how the suf­frage move­ment devel­oped. Begin­ning at the mon­u­men­tal Seneca Falls Con­ven­tion and out­lin­ing the var­i­ous parades, protests and coali­tions that occurred over the next half cen­tu­ry, this exhib­it illus­trates that progress is not giv­en, but fought for with deter­mi­na­tion and a stead­fast resolve to right an obvi­ous wrong. 

As we cer­e­brate the 100th anniver­sary of Wom­en’s Suf­frage we applaud those who were instru­men­tal in the fight for ensur­ing that the unalien­able rights Amer­i­can cit­i­zens hold so dear apply to all. Bat­tle for the Bal­lot is made pos­si­ble by the New York Coun­cil on the Arts with the sup­port of Gov­er­nors Cuo­mo and the NYC State Legislature. 

Check Out the Exhib­it At: http://​untapped​c​i​ties​.com/​2017​/​07​/​21​/​b​a​t​t​l​e​-​f​or-th…