Women have been fighting for an equal place in American society for many years. In 1848, the first Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. This week, 170 years after that first convention, women made big gains in the mid-term elections, winning nearly 100 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This beautiful sculpture, located in Seneca Falls, commemorates the first meeting between women’s rights activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. While Stanton, a resident of Seneca Falls attended the Women’s Rights Convention of 1848, Anthony was not in attendance. Anthony and Stanton first met in 1851, when Anthony was in town to attend an anti-slavery lecture given by William Lloyd Garrison. The two giants of women’s rights were introduced by dress reform activist Amelia Bloomer. In the sculpture, Bloomer and Stanton wearing the mode of dress Bloomer was promoting, a knee length dress over pantaloons, a style that soon became known as “bloomers.”
170 years after this meeting,women are still fighting for pay equality, the right to make decisions regarding their bodies, and other areas. Congratulations to the many women who have continued the fight for equal rights. Great inroads were made this week in the representation of women in the United States Government, but much more is left to be done. I wish the women who now have a voice in our government great success.
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