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Remember the Ladies: The Women's Rights National Historical Park

© Meg Greene Malvasi

Who would have thought a ladies' tea party would have led to this? As Elizabeth Cady Stanton looked out across the filled church room, she continued her speech, speaking so softly that at times it was difficult to hear her. "To have drunkards, idiots, horse-racing, rum-selling rowdies, and silly boys fully recognized while we ourselves are thrust out," she declared, "is too grossly insulting to the dignity of woman." Speaking more forcefully, she exclaimed, "The Right is ours. Have it we must. Use it, we will."

In 1998, Women's History Month commemorated a very special anniversary. One hundred fifty years earlier, in the sleepy little village of Seneca Falls, New York, the First Women's Rights Convention met. This momentous event, planned by five women meeting for tea, marked the first organized meeting ever held for the promotion of women's rights.

But did you know that in Seneca Falls the Convention is remembered everyday? On December 8, 1980, Congress authorized the creation of the Women's Rights National Historical Park located in Seneca Falls to commemorate that historic occasion and its participants. The National Park Service is responsible for the upkeep, protection, and conservation of the site.

Three places in the 2.99 acre park played important roles during the early days of the women's rights movement. Known as the "Birthplace of Women's Rights," the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel was the site of the First Women's Rights Convention. Here 300 hundred men and women attended five meetings during the two-day affair on July 19 and 20, 1848. In order to protect the remaining original portions of the building, the National Park Service requested a special building design that would protect the church.

Close by the Wesleyan Chapel is Declaration Park. Here, set into a large 100 foot water wall is the entire text of the "Declaration of Sentiments." People from all over the world come to see and read this famous document. Written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, the "Declaration" was modeled after Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence.

But these women authors wanted something different. Stating that "all men and women were created equal" the "Declaration" demanded equal legal and educational rights for women. It also demanded something else--the right to vote. By the convention's end, roughly one third of its participants (68 women and 32 men) signed the document. Their names are also found on the wall.