Womens Rights

National Historic
Site
Econ 1740
By: Austin Jaeger
 Womens Rights National
Historical Park Presentation
Table of Contents

Pg. 3 What the site stands for

Pg. 4 Location of the site and what
a visitor can expect to see when
visiting.
Pg. 5- The historic Importance of the
site
Pg. 6- The economic importance of
the site
Pg. 7 Why we should care about
and maintain the site
What is the Womens Rights national historic
site?

The Womens rights national historic site was officially enabled by congress
on December 28th 1980 A public law 96-607, Title XVI defined this parks
importance as follows: to preserve and interpret for the education,
inspiration, and benefit of present and future generations the nationally
significant historical and cultural sites and structures associated with the
struggle for equal rights for women. This law allowed the NPS to to
appropriate what would end up as nine different pieces of land that make up
over 7 acres of property.
Location of the site and what
a visitor will find at the site.
Location of the site:
The Womens Rights 1.
National Historical Park is
2.
located in Seneca Falls and 3.
Waterloo, New York.
4.
The site is approximately
seven acres in size and 5.
encompasses four
continuous historic sites.
A Visitor can expect to see:
There are 4 different sites in the park
1. The Elizabeth Cady Stanton House
(Seneca Falls)
2. The Wesleyan Chapel (Seneca Falls)
3. The Thomas and Mary Ann Mclintock
house (Waterloo)
4. Richard P. Hunt and Jane C. Hunt House (
Waterloo)
There is also a visitor center and an
education center on the property.
 The Historical Importance of the
Womens Rights National Historic Site
On July 9th 1848 a social gathering or otherwise known as a
convention at the time, was called in the paper by five women to
discuss the social, civil, and religious rights and condition of
women in Waterloo, New york. This convention was planned to be
held on July 19th and 20th at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls,
New York. This convention was considered a success because it
brought over 300 people to it. This convention began a snowball
effect that would effectively lead the Womens rights activists on
the road to the Declaration of Sentiments which now made it lawful
for women to educational opportunities, the right to propert, the
right to earnings, and most importantly, the right to vote.
 The Economic
Importance of the
Womens Rights
National Historic Site

Among the obvious implications of preserving this historic site in New York there were other
factors that helped forward the designation of this park, and that was to attempt to revive
the economy of the business district in Seneca Falls through heritage tourism. There was a
rapid decline in business centers post-war due to new land use policies that largely focused
on suburbanization.
It should not come as a surprise to know that while the United States was addressing gender
inequality at a federal level, the government was also passing the NHPA (National Historic
Preservation Act) which now officially enacted federal funding for national historic sites and
would now be able to give private land owners incentives to preserve historical landmarks.
The economic importance of the Womens
Rights National Historic site continued..
The revitalization of the rapidly failing Seneca Falls business district was a
major contributor to the creation of the Womens rights National Historic
Site. As stated by August Sinicropi we could not go much longer without
being recognized as the birthplace of the womens rights movement, due
to the movement itself, the fact that it . . . had made incredible leaps in the
60s and 70s. Community leaders got together with many national
historians and womens rights leaders and began down the path of
preserving the many sites where so many important Womens rights
activities had taken place, they reached out for federal recognition and
funding and would finally receive that recognition in December of 1980.
 Why Should We Care?
The Womens rights movements may have gained a lot of momentum on those
days in 1848 at this special site but I believe it goes without saying that today in
America women are still to this day fighting for their rights. As sad as that may
be it is true, you see it in the news every day, with the many womens marches
happening a crossed the country after our newly elected president took office.
Women throughout the country still are being paid marginally less on average
than men and are continually visualized as more of a sex object than that of an
equal in the media. It seems the fights the women of the 1800s were trying to
fight still have not been won and that is why it is more important than ever to
recognize places like the National Womens Rights Historic site so that the
children of our future can be educated on these issues that still have not been
resolved.