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…