BRIMSTONE, BOOZE AND THE BALLOT
Our provocative theatrical program in March 2013 explored why one suffrage leader was written out of history.
A special event at the Rosendale Theatre
The buzz associated with the “Brimstone, Booze, and the Ballot” program: Preview of the program. New York History overview. New Paltz blog highlights.
Women voters and lovers of American history discovered the inside story of two of the suffrage movement’s founders during Women’s History Month when the background struggle between suffrage leaders Susan B. Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage was revealed on stage at the Rosendale Theatre in Rosendale, NY on Friday, March 22, 2013.
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are celebrated as two of the founding mothers of the women’s suffrage movement. But who was Matilda Joslyn Gage? In her time she was considered a “founding mother” along with Anthony and Stanton. However, Gage was written out of history.
The background drama was explored by Sally Roesch Wagner, executive director of the Gage Center in Fayetteville, NY, and Deborah Hughes, president & CEO of the Anthony House in Rochester NY. They presented a compelling dialogue that explored the split between two of the three suffrage movement founders. The event was a joint presentation of the Susan B. Anthony House, The Matilda Joslyn Gage Center, and Votes For Women 2020.
The rupture between Anthony and Gage was revealed by the reading of correspondence between them. In a unique juxtaposition, Sally Roesch Wagner (Gage director) read Susan B. Anthony’s letters while Deborah Hughes (Anthony House director) brought Gage’s correspondence to light.
Deborah L. Hughes is a strong advocate for human rights and equal opportunity for all, especially those who suffer discrimination based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or economic circumstance. As an ordained minister and theologian, she brings a depth of knowledge and breadth of experience to this dialogue and special program.
Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner is one of the first women to receive a doctorate in the US for work in women’s studies and is a founder of one of the country’s first women’s studies programs. An author and lecturer, Dr. Wagner appeared in the Ken Burns’ PBS documentary “Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony” for which she wrote the accompanying faculty guide.