In 1886, the Statue of Liberty came to America.

If Liberty had been a real woman, she would have had no voice in her new country. She could not vote or run for office.

The men in charge of unveiling the statue in New York Harbor even declared that women could not set foot on the island during the welcoming ceremony.

That did not stop New York suffragists Matilda Joslyn Gage, Lillie Devereux Blake, and Katherine ( Katie ) Devereux Blake. They wanted women to have the liberty to vote and participate in government. They were determined to give the new statue a voice. But, first, they had to find a boat.

Matilda, Lillie, and Katie organized hundreds of people and sailed a cattle barge to the front of the day’s ceremony-making news and raising their voices for LIBERTY.