Exhibit Extended Indefinitely
CORRECTION 12/1/12: This Exhibit is over. It was not extended indefinitely after all. 

by Olivia Twine

There’s an old hand-hewn wooden wagon on display at the New York State capital that’s the centerpiece of the exhibit “From Seneca Falls to the Supreme Court; New York’s Women Leading the Way.” Called “Spirit of 1776,” the wagon served as a moveable speaker’s platform during the suffrage campaign of the early 20th century, which resulted in the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 finally guaranteeing women the right to vote.

Tireless suffragist Edna Kearns used the horse-drawn vehicle in New York City and on Long Island where she promoted voting rights for women wherever there was an audience. The response was mixed. Women were routinely criticized for “neglecting” their husbands and children, but Edna’s daughter was seated proudly at her side and her husband, Wilmer, marched in the men’s division of the parades. And when Edna was organizing events away from home, Wilmer answered the phone and attended to suffrage correspondence.

The New York Times reported July 2, 1913 that the wagon, which came from the family of old-time Long Islander, Uncle Dan Hewlett, was presented to the State Woman Suffrage Association for campaign purposes. The Times stated:

“Mrs. Wilmer Kearns and Miss Irene Davidson, dressed as minute men, and little Miss Serena Kearns, in the back seat as Little Liberty carrying the stars and stripes, drove to Jamaica, where a meeting was held. The wagon was covered with painted inscriptions, placards and banners. The words “Spirit of ’76″ was fastened to the back, and beneath it another placard read: ‘If taxation without representation was tyranny in 1776, why  not in 1913?’”

Edna worked on New York State suffrage elections in 1915 and 1917. She picketed the White House and served as congressional chair for Alice Paul, whose courage was extolled in the film, “Iron-Jawed Angels.” These suffragists supported civil disobedience to keep the voting issue alive even when it became taboo after the outbreak of World War I. They challenged President Woodrow Wilson and insisted that the U.S. couldn’t justify fighting for democracy abroad when it wasn’t assured for all its citizens at home.

The Journalist Marguerite Culp-Kearns, Edna’s granddaughter, donated the wagon to the State of New York about ten years ago. The current exhibit features “Spirit of 1776″ and photos of Edna, her colleagues, and panels of contemporary New York State women who forged a path from the Declaration of Sentiments presented at Seneca Falls in 1848 to the Supreme Court of today. The Suffrage Wagon News Channel, or http://www.suffragewagon.org has been created by Culp-Kearns to help develop citizenship through news of the suffrage movement.

Now in its rightful place of honor in the New York State capital around the corner from the Hall of Governors (a display of portraits of the State’s 56 past male governors) “Spirit of 1776″ stands as a reminder of the intelligence, stamina and guts it took to secure a right that seemed obvious in the first place and which we may take for granted today. Voting is a hard-won civil right and the basis of our democracy, much more than a “privilege” like driving a car or traveling on a plane.

Beyond the  milestone  of the suffragists’ goal, the same determination is needed now to meet the challenge of the ongoing values crisis that plagues us. The contrast between our humane sense of fairness and the wreckage visible from unregulated corporate power is disconcerting. We can barely comprehend the choice we face. do we accept the unsustainable “doomsday economy” of inevitable environmental destruction for profit, or will we turn off the TV and do something about it? Can we talk?

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is to be congratulated for presenting this exhibit and for his initiative of promoting history as a basis for good citizenship. The Governor’s office recently confirmed that the response to “Spirit of 1776″ has been enthusiastic, and that the exhibit has been extended indefinitely. ++