[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 104 (Friday, July 19, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1102]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     REINTRODUCING THE NATIONAL WOMEN'S RIGHTS HISTORY PROJECT ACT

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                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 19, 2013

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
reauthorize the National Women's Rights History Project Act, co-
sponsored by my upstate New York colleagues Representatives Tom Reed, 
Dan Maffei, and Richard Hanna. I originally worked with then-Senator 
Hillary Clinton to pass this bill into law in 2009. With the current 
authorization for the project set to expire this year, it is vital that 
Congress pass this reauthorization and ensure that the women who shaped 
our nation's history and fought for every woman'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, 
known as the Votes for Women Trail. 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 to fight for women's right to vote. She also 
fought to tear down the walls holding women back from higher education.
  In 1880, 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 of 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 pre-
eminent educational 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 93 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 blazed the 
trail that led us here today, where a record number of women serve in 
the 113th Congress.
  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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