Our first stop today was the museum near where the first women’s rights convention was held. This site is maintained by the rangers of the Eastern National Park System. Our guide was Meghan; she was young and knowledgeable and easy to listen to. This museum was full of information on women’s rights through the years, from the very beginning with Elizabeth Cady-Stanton to the present. The information was given on posts in the upstairs of the museum. I had no idea so many women worked so hard to “set us free.”
The next stop on the tour was the home of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Viewing a picture of Stanton when she was older, she reminded me of “anyone’s grandmother.” She hardly seemed the type that would raise a protest sign or cause any trouble, but it seemed she did plenty to help the cause of women’s rights. She and Lucretia Mott met in 1840 in London and formed a fast friendship when they were denied admittance to a convention. Eventually, the women were allowed to sit in the back of the building where the men’s convention was held, and they were to remain quiet and unseen by the men there. Together they decided they were treated much like the slaves. They planned to have a convention of their own, but that wouldn’t happen for 8 years. It was fascinating to learn that Stanton had a large family of her own and wore many hats during her life. She was fortunate to have married a man who supported all her endeavors.
Third stop on today’s tour was the M’Clintock home. I had a hard time following this leg of our journey. I went into the house and viewed some of the contents in the cases. I gather this woman was a friend of Stanton’s and Mott’s, and she certainly had her hands full with children, husband, etc. The women’s convention was planned at the M’Clintock home, I do remember reading/hearing that.
Next on the tour was the home of William Seward, former NY governor, NY state senator, U.S. senator, etc. This was a place I could have stayed in much longer! The home was absolutely gorgeous, I was so impressed that a family would keep so many of their things, and was awed by the fact that Wm. III decided that the house should be a museum and not pass down to more family members. The story of Seward was extremely interesting: from marrying the daughter of a judge and then living with his father-in-law for 27 years, to becoming involved in politics, to the story of his being attacked on the night Abe Lincoln was assassinated; he lived a very full life and contributed much to America. He is best-known for the purchase of Alaska. At one point during his life, that was referred to as “Seward’s Folly.” Little did we know at that time how valuable Alaska would become to the rest of the country. I guess he knew all along what was at stake–forests, lakes, all kinds of natural resources would be available. I had some knowledge of Seward prior to today, but WOW!! It will be so easy to project to my students how valuable he became over the years to America’s progress. And the fact that his house was in his family until 1951–students will more readily relate to something like that because it’s closer in proximity to our time.
Lastly, we settled in for a 1.5 hour tour of the Erie Canal and it was definitely worth the time. The boat ride was relaxing, the surroundings peaceful and beautiful, and going through the lock was very educational. Our tour guide was entertaining, the music was fun to listen to, and all in all, it was a great part of the day.
Although we had a lot crammed in today, the information we were presented with will be extremely helpful in our 8th grade curriculum. We cover women’s rights during this year and we also cover Roosevelt and the building of the Panama Canal, so explaining to students how we went through the lock at the Erie Canal will be GREAT! We can compare the Erie Canal to the Panama Canal and I can show them the pictures I took going through the lock.
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