Honoring the great fight to win the vote : A reflection and charge
By JADE DAVIS , Esq . Shumaker , Loop & Kendrick , LLP
2020 has paused , slowed and
for some , accelerated the calendar year by way of the Coronavirus COVID-19 ( 2019- nCoV ) pandemic . Although we may all express mixed feelings as to what has transpired in 2020 and how 2020 changed the way we all live , work and engage — forever ; 2020 is here and for women , it is a testament to how far we have come . 2020 is the centennial anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment . Highlighting the centennial anniversary in October , during Breast Cancer Awareness Month , illustrates the testimony of women ’ s perseverance and how resilient we must be for each other and ourselves .
As an organization comprised of lawyers , judges and other legal professionals , this is our great opportunity to celebrate 100 years of women ’ s constitutional right to vote , to educate the public about the Nineteenth Amendment and the battle for women ’ s suffrage , and to promote law that ensures women ’ s full and equal participation in our democracy . Let ’ s take an abridged walk through our past by honoring the women who fought long ago for the rights we have presently to fuel the momentum toward continued glass shattering achievement in the future .
1848 First Women ’ s Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls , New York with only 68 women and 32 men adopting resolutions that called for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women .
1849 First National Women ’ s Rights Convention , Worchester , Mass .
1851 Former slave , Sojourner Truth , delivers her now infamous speech , “ Ain ’ t I A Woman ?”
1866 Formation of the American Equal Rights Association by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B . Anthony to petition for universal suffrage .
1867 Introduction of a Federal Women ’ s Suffrage Amendment .
1868 Ratification of the 14th Amendment .
1868 Suffragists split into the
Jade Davis , Esq . Shumaker , Loop & Kendrick , LLP
NINETEENTH AMENDMENT
National Woman Suffrage Association for constitutional voting rights and the American Woman Suffrage Association for women ’ s states ’ rights .
1870 Ratification of the 15th Amendment .
1871 Victoria Woodhull addresses the Judiciary Committee of the U . S . House of Representatives (“ House ”), arguing that women have the right to vote under the 14th Amendment . The committee rejects her argument .
1871 Anti-Suffrage Party founded to thwart women ’ s political participation .
1872 Susan B . Anthony registers and votes in the presidential election in New York . She is arrested , tried , and convicted in 1873 . Her defense , that the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment entitled her to vote , was unsuccessful .
1874 Minor v . Happersett , SCOTUS rules that the 14th Amendment does not guarantee women the right to vote . Citizenship does not give women voting rights , and women ’ s political rights are under individual states ’ jurisdictions , the Court determines .
1876 Susan B . Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage disrupt the official U . S . Centennial program at Independence Hall in Philadelphia , presenting a “ Declaration of Rights for Women .”
1877 Introduction of the Woman Suffrage Amendment into Congress , which later became the 19th Amendment to the U . S . Constitution .
1890 The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association ( NAWSA ), leading state-by-state campaigns to obtain voting rights for women .
1896 The National Association of Colored Women is formed with the goal of achieving equality for women of color .
1911 The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage ( NAOWS ) is organized .
1912 Theodore Roosevelt ’ s Bull Moose Party becomes the first national major political party to support women ’ s suffrage .
“ While the women ’ s right to vote was a great achievement , it also left much to be done , and some of that work remains unrealized . So , while the 19th Amendment shows us how much can be accomplished by active and engaged citizens , it also shows us how those citizens must remain active , engaged , and vigilant if they ’ re to keep what they ’ ve won .”
— John M . Gerrard Chief United States District Judge ,
District of Nebraska
1913 Suffragists organize a parade in Washington , DC .
1913 Formation of the Congressional Union for Women Suffrage .
1915 The Transcontinental Tour gathers over 500,000 signatures on petitions to Congress in favor of women ’ s suffrage .
1916 The Congressional Union is renamed the National Woman ’ s Party introducing some of the methods used by the suffrage movement in Britain such as demonstrations , parades , mass meetings , and picketing the White House .
1916 Jeannette Rankin of Montana is the first woman elected to the House .
1919 The Woman Suffrage Amendment introduced in Congress in 1877 is passed by the House and Senate and sent to the states for ratification .
1920 The League of Women Voters is formed .
1920 After Tennessee becomes the 36th state to ratify , the 19th Amendment to the Constitution is certified as law , guaranteeing that “ the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex .”
We can honor the legacy of our mothers , grandmothers , and greatgrandmothers , along with the men who supported the cause and voted
See VOTE , Page 17
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