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DemDaily: On This Day
August 18, 2016
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O
n this day in history, the states ratified the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution -- giving women the right to vote.
Although Congress passed the bill on June 4th, 1919, it was not officially ratified until fourteen months later when, on
A
ugust 18, 1920
, Tennessee became the 36th state to approve the amendment, providing the three-fourths majority needed for ratification.
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First-term Tennessee State Rep Harry Burns, 22, who cast the deciding vote, switched to yes
after receiving a telegram from his mother.
He had to escape out a House Chamber window
to avoid angry protesters.
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The ratification was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's voting rights and the brave leadership of a few extraordinary individuals.
In 1838, Kentucky authorized women to vote in school elections and its reforms were later copied by other states. The Seneca Falls Convention of
1848 in upstate New York played a pivotal publicity role -- when
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott publicly engaged like-minded men and women in discussion on female inequality in social and political spheres.
In 1913, the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration,
Alice Paul and
Lucy Burns led a
women's suffrage parade of 5,000. Covered by national media, it drew the issue to the attention of the country. B
y 1914 eleven states had given women voting rights.
Paul and Burns then formed the Congressional Union, later the
National Woman's Party, whose goal was to convince Congress to pass a women's voting bill. They tried (and failed) during the
1916 elections, and Congress finally voted to pass the bill in 1919.
On
July 28, 2016
Hillary Clinton became the official nominee of the Democratic Party, and the first woman in history to run for President from a major political party.
On
November 8, 2016 she will become the first woman President in history.
Other Resources on the History of the Suffragette movement & the Women's Right to Vote
Connecting you to The Party
Connecting you to Each Other
Kimberly Scott
Publisher
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The Olympic Medal Count! The USA Women's Gymnastics is #1 in the world!
USA: 31 Gold, 32 Silver, 31 Bronze
UK: 21 Gold, 21 Silver, 13 Bronze
China: 19 Gold, Silver 15, 21 Bronze
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Sources: National Constitution Center, CBS News
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