[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 109 (Thursday, July 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION TO REAUTHORIZE THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S RIGHTS 
                            HISTORY PROJECT

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                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 19, 2012

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation 
that will reauthorize the National Women's Rights History Project. I 
originally worked with then-Senator Hillary Clinton to create this 
project, and with the authorization for the project. With its current 
authorization set to expire in Fiscal Year 2013, it is vital that 
Congress pass this reauthorization and ensure that the women who have 
shaped our Nation's history, and fought for women's rights, are 
remembered and honored for generations to come.
  The National Women's Rights History Project will establish an auto 
route linking sites significant to the struggle for women's suffrage. 
It will also add to the National Register of ``Places Where Women Made 
History,'' a variety of historic sites that were home to pivotal 
moments in our Nation's struggle for gender equality. Finally, this 
Project will establish a public-private partnership network to offer 
financial and technical assistance for educational programs about the 
history of the fight for women's rights.
  On this day in 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Mary 
Ann M'Clintock convened the first women's rights convention at Wesleyan 
Chapel in Seneca Falls, New York. This event marked the beginning of a 
72-year struggle for women's suffrage. During the convention, 68 women 
and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments, which set out radical 
notions such as women's freedom to own property, receive an education 
and earn fair wages.
  I am especially proud that it was in Rochester, New York, where Susan 
B. Anthony fought so hard for the rights that women throughout this 
country rely on today. Among her many efforts, Susan B. Anthony 
established the Equal Rights Association to refute ideas that women 
were inferior to men and fight for women's right to vote. And in 1900, 
Anthony fought to tear down the walls of higher education. Twenty years 
earlier, a woman launched a brave petition to be the first female 
student at the University of Rochester. For almost twenty years, the 
petition was flatly denied--until 1898, when the University said that 
women would be allowed if they raised $100,000 for the school. In 
today's terms, that is equal to $2 million.
  By June 1900 a group of women had managed to secure $40,000, and the 
University decided that women would be allowed to enroll if they could 
raise another $10,000 by September. Scrambling to reach the new goal, 
the women were $8,000 short a day before the deadline. With hours 
remaining, Susan B. Anthony stepped forward and raised $6,000 from 
friends and family before pledging her own life insurance policy to 
raise the final $2,000 and throw open the doors of higher education in 
Rochester.
  Now, more than 100 years later, the University of Rochester is home 
to the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies--one 
of the preeminent institutions in the world.
  These are the stories of incredible courage, dedication, and 
unyielding belief in equality that the National Women's Rights History 
Project is designed to honor.
  The fight for women's rights and equality still continues today. It 
was just 92 years ago that women were finally granted the right to 
vote.
  The struggle for women's suffrage was never easy and it is vital that 
we honor the sacrifices and commitment of those who have led us here 
today.
  Reauthorizing the National Women's Rights History Project Act will 
ensure that this important civil rights story is celebrated for 
generations to come. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and 
reauthorize the National Women's Rights History Project.

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