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Seneca Falls, New York, is home to the first convention for women’s rights held in July of 1848. The idea was hatched across the Atlantic Ocean when several women had traveled there to attend the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. The women were told they were not allowed to attend. Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison were among the men who stood up for the women, and a compromise was reached where they were granted access to the meeting, but not able to participate. They also had to sit only in the back.

This got a few of the women talking about how their own lives were similar to slaves in that truly had no rights either. Women were not allowed to own property, attend college, or vote. It took over fifty more years, but women eventually were granted more rights to make them more equal.

One thing I found most interesting was how this network of social reformers in upstate New York worked together for change. Several of the prominent players were Quakers, and their religion was already structured in such a way that women were considered equal to men in the eyes of God. Though Quakers were not ones to get involved in political issues, they played a major role in the fight for equality for women and the freedom of slaves. Many of them opened their homes to runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad in spite of the risks to themselves.

William Seward, governor of New York, U.S. Senator, and Secretary of State under Lincoln and Johnson, was also involved in the Underground Railroad and hid slaves in his basement. His wife was friends with Harriet Tubman and he offered her some property when she escaped from slavery in Maryland. She eventually paid him back.

Harriet Tubman was one of the most fascinating, determined, and brave individuals of the time period. She was married, but she and her husband each had different owners. He eventually got his freedom because his mother bought it. When Harriet was talking about running away, at first he did not share her sentiments and seemed content with their lot in life. When Harriet refused to hold another slave while her master beat him, he got angry threw a heavy piece of iron and hit her in the back of her head. She ran away and then came back, only to hear that her master was planning on selling her a few days later.

So she left on her errands one day and did not return. She settled in Philadelphia and worked as a maid in hotels, and then moved to Canada, and finally settled in the Auburn area where she continued to serve others as she cared for the elderly.  She  had made multiple trips back to Maryland to rescue various family members, risking her life over nineteen times to bring others to freedom.

The trip down the Erie Canal on the Sam Patch was fantastic! The Sam Patch is a replica of a packet boat which only carried passengers along the canal. Originally, the canal was 363 miles long, forty feet wide and four feet deep. When it opened in 1825, it reduced the cost of shipping 90-95% and helped NYC become the center of commerce for the world. Actually experiencing being in one of the locks when the boat was raised and lowered was amazing! I had a concept of how locks worked, but now it is much more real. Our boat was raised and lowered twenty-six feet in about 5-6 minutes.

The "Sam Patch" packet boat

I plan to use the story of Harriet Tubman in my classroom and her example of bravery and caring for others enough to repeatedly risk her own life as part of character education. The Erie Canal is an integral part of New York’s rise to prominence and prosperity. Even though DeWitt Clinton was thought to be crazy for suggesting the canal in the first place (Clinton’s Folly), his vision teaches that ideas that are brilliant aren’t always well-received in the beginning. It often takes hindsight to appreciate the decisions and choices people make and how they impact others’ lives.

Gates of the lock closing

Rising to the top of the lock

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