Senator Farley Announces Final Passage Of Bill To Designate Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day

State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R, C - Schenectady) is pleased to report that the State Senate passed a bill (S.6269A) this week that would designate November 12th as Elizabeth Cady Stanton Day in New York State.

The State Assembly has also passed this legislation. The bill will be delivered to Governor Pataki for final consideration.

"March is Women's History Month and what a way to celebrate it," Senator Farley said. "Elizabeth Cady Stanton hailed from Johnstown, New York, which is in my district so I was terribly pleased to see this bill passed."

November 12th was picked as the day of commemoration because Ms. Stanton was born on November 12th, 1815. She was educated at the Johnstown Academy and at Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary. She became interested in the abolitionist cause, and spoke frequently on the subject of women's rights. In 1848, she circulated petitions that convinced the New York State Legislature to pass a bill granting property rights to married women.

In 1848, Ms. Stanton and Lucretia Mott convened a women's rights convention in Seneca Falls and drafted the "Declaration of Sentiments," which called for equal rights for women. An effective writer and orator, she worked closely with Susan B. Anthony to campaign across the country for women's suffrage. In 1854, Ms. Stanton received an unprecedented invitation to address the State Legislature, and her speech resulted in new legislation that granted women the rights to their wages and to equal guardianship of their children. She helped organize the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869, and in 1878 she drafted a federal suffrage amendment that was introduced repeatedly in Congress. The amendment, in substantially the same language, was finally adopted in 1919.

"Not only is she important in New York State and Fulton County history, Elizabeth Cady Stanton is a vital part of our Nation's history," Senator Farley said.

Ms. Stanton's biography is included in Senator Farley's "Women of Distinction" exhibit that is on display at the upper level of the Riverfront Center in Amsterdam throughout the month of March. The "Women of Distinction" exhibit also features information on some 40 historic New York women, from suffragists to geneticists, labor organizers to entertainers, whose contributions are still felt today and who stand as an inspiration to the next generation of inventors, explorers and achievers. This display is open to the public Mondays through Fridays during regular business hours.

A free booklet version of the display, which includes the information on Ms. Stanton, is available by calling Senator Farley's office at 455-2181 (Albany), 843-2188 (Amsterdam), 762-3733 (Johnstown) or toll-free at (800) 224-5201. There is also a salute to historic women at the Senator's website at www.senatorfarley.com.