[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 51 (Thursday, March 26, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E444]
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

                        Thursday, March 26, 2015

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation to 
reauthorize the National Women's Rights History Project Act, along with 
my upstate New York colleagues Representatives Richard Hanna, Paul 
Tonko, John Katko and Tom Reed. I originally worked with then-Senator 
Hillary Clinton to pass this bill into law in 2009, but it has not 
received appropriations since that time. The authorization for the 
project has expired, and 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.
  It is fitting that we reintroduce this bill during March, which is 
Women's History Month. 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 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.
  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 114th 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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