Commonwealth Museum Curatorial Proposal

Name: Amanda Tilden

Proposed Title: The Fight to Vote: Massachusetts Women & The Suffragist Movement
Curatorial Statement:
The purpose of this exhibit would be to expand upon the themes concerning
womens rights discussed in the permanent museum galleries. While many visitors likely
already know the stories of popular figures like Susan B. Anthony, this exhibit would
highlight the stories of Massachusetts women who were instrumental in the fight for
womens suffrage and womens rights yet are often left behind by history books. Women
to be featured include lawyers, teachers, writers, explorers, aid workers, civic leaders, and
nurses. Above all, each woman was a vocal supporter of giving women the right to vote
and active in promoting organizations related to this fight. By presenting a diverse group
of suffragists, the exhibit aims to educate the public on the varied range of women
involved in one of the most important movements in our nations history.
Relational Statement:
The focus of the Commonwealth Museum is the evolution of our rights in the
United States, specifically as influenced by and experienced in Massachusetts. The
Suffrage movement is touched upon through the story of Lucy Stone, but providing a
temporary exhibit such as this would greatly expand upon the issue, thus staying topically
relevant but also helping to enhance the museum experience. While monumental changes
in the evolution of Americans rights like the Revolutionary War and the Abolition
movement are heavily discussed, an exhibit focused on the Suffrage movement
individually would certainly enhance the well-roundedness of the education the
Commonwealth Museum provides. Given the primary demographic of the museum is
school-age students, specifically in the 9-14 range, the exhibit would be geared to this age
group while also being of factual interest to older visitors.
Object Proposal:
Margaret Fuller, Unknown. Library of Congress, 2002712183. Print.
Crystal Eastman, Bain News Service. Library of Congress, LC-USZ6262094.Photographic Print.
Fanny Bullock Workman, Maul & Fox. Library of Congress, LC-USZ62118944.Photographic Print.
Mary A. Livermore, J.E. Purdy. Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-93553. Photographic
Print.
Maud Wood Park, C.C. Catt. Bryn Mawr College Library, 34-05. Photographic Print.

Abby Kelley Foster, Unknown. Massachusetts Historical Society, 81.247. Engraving.

Mary Eliza Mahoney, Unknown. New York Public Library Schomberg Center, unknown.
Photographic print.
Text Samples:
Margaret Fuller Panel
Margaret Fuller was born in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts on May 23, 1810. Margaret
was a woman of many talents. Throughout her life, she served as a journalist, author,
teacher, and literary critic. She was a major proponent of providing women with
opportunities for education. As a suffragist, Fuller was most influential through the
success of her book Woman in the Nineteenth Century, published in 1843, in which she
argues a union cannot be true unless the two individuals are equal, and therefore women
must be independent and self-sufficient. Many regard this book as the first major feminist
work written in the United States. Rather popular, Fuller counted famous writers Henry
David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson as friends. Tragically, she and her husband,
Ossoli, died in a shipwreck in the summer of 1850.
Mary Eliza Mahoney Panel
Born in Roxbury, Massachusetts on April 16, 1845, Mary Eliza Mahoney held the
distinction of becoming the first African American woman to become a professionally
trained nurse. Mahoney began her training at the New England Hospital for Women and
Children, known today as the Dimock Community Health Center. Furthering her passion
as well as exhibiting her dedication to obtaining the rights of both blacks and women,
Mahoney helped to cofound the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses in
1908 with Adah B. Thoms. Not only was she the first official African American nurse, in
1920 she was one of the first women to register to vote in Boston. Mary lived a long life,
and died in 1926 at the age of 80.
Abby Kelley Foster Panel
Abby Kelley Foster was born on January 15, 1811 in Pelham, Massachusetts before
moving to Worcester, Massachusetts where she grew up. Known for her impressive
speaking abilities, Foster was a Quaker steadfast in her support of the abolition and
suffrage movements. Foster helped famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison found the
New England Non-Resistant Society in 1838. Foster made a career out of touring to give
speeches on behalf of the Anti-Slavery Society, an occupation that bothered many due to
her speaking on behalf of slaves as well as being a woman lecturing society. Foster was a
speaker during the momentous Seneca Falls Convention where she inspired female
leaders such as Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone. She was a woman willing to stand up
for her rights no matter the cost; in 1872, she and her husband, Stephen Symonds Foster,
refused to pay taxes on their property. The Fosters evoked the battle cry of our Founding
Fathers, claiming No taxation without representationwomen had no say in deciding
elected officials and therefore it could not be argued that Abby had any true
representation in the government. Ultimately their home was seized, and kindly rebought

for them by friends. Abby passed away on January 14, 1887, continuing to advocate for
womens rights until her death.

Design & Installation:

In total, the exhibit would consist of about ten panels. The first would serve as an
introduction, consisting of a brief background to the suffrage movement and why it began
to gain traction when it did. More specifically, it would also include a brief history of the
movement in Massachusetts and how the state was a hotbed of activity for equal rights
movements.
Following the introductory panel, each woman featured in the exhibit would have
her own panel featuring the image described in the Object Proposal and text in the vein of
the Text Samples featured previously. Potentially these panels might also feature images
related to the work of the women, such as pamphlets, petitions, or other photographs.
The ninth panel would feature other women not given a their own spotlight that
were still integral to the movement in more subtle ways, while the final and tenth panel
would provide concluding text. This panel would tie the previous panels together in a
way that summarizes the movement and the importance of the role each woman played in
securing womens right to vote.

Bibliography
"75 Suffragists." 75 Suffragists. University of Maryland. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://mith.umd.edu/WomensStudies/ReadingRoom/History/Vote/75suffragists.html>.
"African American Medical Pioneers: Mary Eliza Mahoney (1845-1926)." PBS. PBS.
Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/partners/early/e_pioneers_mahoney.html>.
"Crystal Eastman, 1881-1969." Crystal Eastman, 1881-1969. Cosmopolitan, 1 Dec. 1923.
Web. 25 Feb. 2015. <http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004679700/>.
"Exhibition Proposal." Wright Museum of Art. Beloit College. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<https://www.beloit.edu/wright/.../Exhibition_Proposal.pdf>.
"[Fanny Bullock Workman, Three-quarter Length Portrait, Standing, Facing Slightly
Left]."[Fanny Bullock Workman, Three-quarter Length Portrait, Standing, Facing
Slightly Left]. Maull & Fox. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97513258/>.
"MHS Collections Online: Abby Kelley Foster." MHS Collections Online: Abby Kelley
Foster. Massachusetts Historical Society. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.masshist.org/database/viewer.php?item_id=1089>.
"Margaret Fuller | Library of Congress." Margaret Fuller | Library of Congress. Library
of Congress. Web. 25 Feb. 2015. <http://www.loc.gov/item/2002712183/>.
"[Mary A. Livermore, Half-length Portrait, Seated, Facing Right]." [Mary A. Livermore,
Half-length Portrait, Seated, Facing Right]. J.E. Purdy. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/93510738/>.
"Maud Wood Park." Maud Wood Park. Bryn Mawr College Library. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
<http://www.brynmawr.edu/library/exhibits/suffrage/park.html>.
"Who Is Abby Kelley Foster?" Who Is Abby Kelley Foster? Abby's House. Web. 25 Feb.
2015. <http://www.abbyshouse.org/abby_kelley_foster>.