History

The women’s rights movement began in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and one hundred supporters signed the Declaration of Sentiments asserting that “all men and women are created equal.”  Women in the state finally won the vote in 1917 and continued working toward the 19th Amendment and equal rights throughout the 20th century.  The New York State Museum holds artifacts from the early 20th century suffrage campaigns and efforts toward the Equal Rights Amendment.  Additionally, the Museum has artifacts that depict the lives of women living in New York in the 18th through 21st centuries.