This book was written for the 150th anniversary of the 1848 meeting that was the world's first organized demand for civil rights for women.
The first chapter, “In the Beginning, “ reads:
“It was a tiny ad placed in an obscure newspaper. The Seneca County Courier, a weekly paper delivered to farms in the cold country where New York State meets Canada, ran just three sentences in its edition for July 14, 1848. The simple announcement invited women to a discussion of ‘the social, civil, and religious rights of women.’
This little news release shook the world. If, today, you are a woman who wears pants, votes at election time, or signs a contract to rent an apartment or to get a credit card, then you are a woman who owes a debt to these women. If you assume that your paycheck will be written to you instead of to your husband, you owe these women. If you are a man who is proud to send his daughter off to college, you also owe these women. And if you would rather not take financial responsibility for your unmarried female relatives, you owe these women.”
Further excerpts from this seven-chapter, 280-page book, which also contains many illustrations, may be read at www.suffragist.com
The book may be ordered from MTM Publishing at 445 West 23rd St. #1; New York, NY 10011; 212-242-6930.