Celebrate the 250th anniversary year with Nancy B. Kennedy’s illustrated talk, “This Sacred Soil.” Return to 1776 when New Jersey drew up a surprising constitution that allowed “all inhabitants” of the colony to vote, opening the door for some women and free Black persons to cast their ballots. Meet these suffrage pioneers — some local to this area — who went to the polls for 31 years, until they were disenfranchised in 1807.

Then, take a whirlwind tour around the 13 colonies — 12 of which enfranchised only men — and meet women whose brave and selfless acts helped the Patriots win the American Revolution, despite having no voice in our developing nation. And when the Constitution was drawn up in 1787, women were not rewarded for their patriotism with a citizen’s right to vote, setting the stage for the later women’s rights movement.