When you think of the Women's Rights Movement, what do you think of? Many people probably think of the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. This convention was one of the more famous events of the Women's Rights Movement because it attracted hundreds of women including notable figures like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. What you may not know is that the Seneca Falls Convention was only one convention out of a series of conventions and speeches made across the Northeast; and the aforementioned suffragettes were only some of the figures who helped pave the way for Congress to pass the 19th amendment (albeit roughly 70 years later).
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Susan B. Anthony (left) & Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
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Mrs. Stanton, one of the more notable suffragettes, has a rather well-documented history New York's Capital Region. Mrs. Stanton was born in Johnstown, NY where she was educated at Johnstown Academy until the age of 16. Upon her graduation, Mrs. Stanton enrolled in the Troy Female Seminary that was run at the time by Emma Willard. Troy Female Seminary is now known as Emma Willard School, an rigorous preparatory school in Troy, NY. Through Mrs. Stanton's rigorous education aided in her ability to craft incredible, motivating speeches that would be delivered across the United States in the fight for women's rights. Mrs. Stanton is known for being the speechwriter behind many of Susan B. Anthony's incredible speeches. These two women, Anthony and Stanton, formed a long-lasting friendship soon after meeting each other in Seneca Falls, NY.
Susan B. Anthony, the other famous suffragette with a connection to Troy, was born in Massachusetts. Miss Anthony and her family moved to Battenvill, NY during her childhood and moved again to Rochester, NY when she was in her mid 20's. Ms. Anthony was very active with the women's rights movement and held numerous speeches in Ballston spa¹, New York City², Monticello³, and Troy⁴. Her speech in downtown Troy was hosted at Rand's Hall⁵ and titled 'Report on Educating the Sexes Together'. This speech, while snarky and progressive for its time, was written by Ms. Anthony's best friend- Mrs. Stanton. Anthony's speech spoke in-favor of educating both female students and male students together since they are fundamentally the same. In fact, it would seem as if Stanton was speaking her views through Anthony during some notable quotes of the speech.
"In fact, what has man ever done, that woman has not done also--
What does he like, that she does not like too? Are not our hopes & our
fears for time & eternity the same?"⁶
"In country schools, where boys & girls are educated together, sex is
lost sight of on the play ground, & in the recitation room... In studying Algebra &
Geometry, in reading Virgil or the Greek Testament, who ever found any feminine
way of extracting the cube root of x, y, z? Or any masculine way of going through the moods & tenses
of the verbs..."⁶
Though it may not seem like Troy, NY played a huge part in the Women's Right's Movement, simply hosting Anthony's speech and providing local newspaper coverage of their conventions helped advance women's rights. If you find yourself taking a stroll through Troy and want to visit the spot of Anthony's speech, look no farther than the corner of Congress and 3rd Street. Though Rand's Hall/Opera House burned down in 1922 and is no longer standing, perhaps you can still visit this spot and imagine the crowds of people listening to Anthony's riveting speech.
¹ "Miss Susan B. Anthony and other ladies are to hold a woman's rights convention for Saratoga Co. at the Court house in Ballston Spa, on Monday the 19th of February at 2 and at 7 o'clock P.M" Lansingburgh Democrat., February 22, 1855, Page 2
² "Resolved, that while the constant progress of education and industry prove that our efforts for women in these respects are not wasted, we yet proclaim ourselves unsatisfied, and are only encouraged to renewed efforts until the whole begained." Susan B. Anthony. 7th annual women's rights convention at Tabernacle NYC on Nov 25-26, 1856. St. Lawrence Republican., December 2, 1856³ "Miss Susan B. Anthony is to hold forth on Women's Rights, at Monticello, March 26th" Tri-states union., March 22, 1855, Page 2
⁴ Anthony, S. B. (1856). Report on Educating the Sexes Together. Report on Educating the Sexes Together. Troy. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss11049.mss11049-006_00572_00573/?sp=2&r=0,0.141,1.164,0.91,0
⁵ Sweet, O.P (1871). Sweet's Amusement Directory and Travelers' Guide: From the Atlantic to the Pacific. Urbana-Champaign, Illinois: Travelers' Publishing Company.
⁶ Susan Anthony's handwritten speech can be found by its digital ID here http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/ms997009.mss11049.042
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