The suffrage campaign wagon used in the NYS suffrage campaign was called the “Spirit of 1776.” When the state suffrage organization received the wagon in 1913 as a donation from I.S. Remson, the Brooklyn wagon company, it already had that name. And it just so happens that the name coincided with this precise theme used by the suffragists since 1848 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton sat down to write the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls, NY for the first women’s rights convention.

The theme used consistently throughout the 72-year movement was simple –that the women were carrying on the unfinished business of the American Revolution. By rewriting the Declaration of Independence to include women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton touched on a tender chord that maintained a momentum over the years.

The music video from Soomo Publishing “Too Late to Apologize” boils down the Declaration of Independence into a few minutes. In its time, the women of the nation noticed the double standard and they spent until 1920 proving their point. The suffragists used the “Spirit of 1776” theme in their speeches, writings, and literature.

When Edna Kearns took the “Spirit of 1776” out on the road on Long Island and New York City for suffrage campaigning, she didn’t hesitate to raise the issue of taxation without representation being tyranny.

Using music video to bring historical topics to the attention of large numbers of people seems to be a speciality of Soomo Publishing. Their take on the Declaration of Independence is a case in point, and they use video to strengthen the impact of curriculum materials.

ALSO, take a look at the suffrage parody music video (also from Soomo). It’s terrific.

Stay up to date by subscribing to Suffrage Wagon News Channel. Check out the Summer 2012 newsletter of Suffrage Wagon News Channel.