copyright © 2007 Betsy L. Angert
August 26, 1920 is a date that lives large in history. Those of the female persuasion may be more familiar with the day; however, few mark it on their calendars. They may instead honor the occasion on the first Tuesday in November, or on another Tuesday in the Spring of the year. On August 26, 1920, women received the right to vote. Since that date the weight of womanly wisdom is exercised on election days. |
For many decades, women, typically single adult females, did not honor the inherent privilege their predecessors fought to provide. A colonial woman believed the right to vote was a vital liberty. Today, more and more women acknowledge women's suffrage is significant.
Women, older people, and married people are more likely to vote.
Among citizens, women were more likely than men to vote in the 2002 election (47 percent compared with 46 percent) . . . Although men historically have voted at higher rates than women, women's rates surpassed those of men in the entire 18-and-older population for the first time in the Presidential election of 1984. This trend coincides with a number of other social changes for women in recent decades. Educational attainment and the labor force participation rate, both strong correlates of voting, have risen dramatically among women.
These trends point to increased levels of political involvement by women, including voting participation.
It began in 1776, prior to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. As our forefathers assessed the future of the colonies, so too, did our foremothers. In 1776, Abigail Adams as the Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, penned a note to her husband, John, who attended. Missus Adam asked that he and the other men gathered together to work on the historic document, "Remember the Ladies." She thought John responded with humor; others thought his remark a bone of contention. John inscribed; The Declaration's wording specifies, "All men are created equal." Then and today, some say, what of women.
For many decades more, "The Cult of Domesticity" dominated the American culture. Then, in 1821, Emma Hart Willard founds the Troy Female Seminary in New York. This was the first endowed educational institution solely for girls.
Twelve years later, in 1833 Oberlin College was the first college in the United States to enroll men and women. In 1841, Oberlin awards the first academic degrees to three women. Early graduates include Lucy Stone and Antoinette Brown.
1836
Sarah Grimke begins her speaking career as an abolitionist and a women's rights advocate. She is eventually silenced by male abolitionists who consider her public speaking a liability.
1837
The first National Female Anti-Slavery Society convention meets in New York City. Lucretia Mott, a Quaker activist, is instrumental in organizing the convention, having had the experience of being denied membership in earlier anti-slavery organizations because she was a woman. Eighty-one delegates from twelve states attend.
1837
Mary Lyon founds Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, eventually the first four-year college exclusively for women in the United States. Mt. Holyoke was followed by Vassar in 1861, and Wellesley and Smith Colleges, both in 1875. In 1873, the School Sisters of Notre Dame found a school in Baltimore, Maryland, which would eventually become the nation's first college for Catholic women.
1839
Mississippi passes the first Married Woman's Property Act. The drum beat on. The rhythm was slow. The path towards authentic progress was slower still. In 1868 and 1869 respectably, women were shunned and gained ground. Females were denied rights and given their full due.
1868
The Fourteenth Amendment is ratified, which extends to all citizens the protections of the Constitution against unjust state laws. This Amendment is the first to define "citizens" and "voters" as "male."
1869
The women's rights movement splits into two factions as a result of disagreements over the Fourteenth and soon-to-be-passed Fifteenth Amendments. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony form the more radical, New York-based National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA).
Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and Julia Ward Howe organize the more conservative American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which is centered in Boston. In this same year, the Wyoming territory is organized with a woman suffrage provision. In 1890, Wyoming was admitted to the Union with its suffrage provision intact. The fissure grew among women and within the States. There was support for a voting standard in some regions; others rejected the idea outright. Attempts to obtain the provision, failed and succeeded. Women remained undeterred. During the following year and for five years hence . . .Several women--including Virginia Louisa Minor, Victoria Woodhull, and Myra Bradwell--attempt to use the Fourteenth Amendment in the courts to secure the vote (Minor and Woodhull) or the right to practice law (Bradwell). They all are unsuccessful.
In the subsequent three years efforts to secure full rights for women did not wane. Finally, in 1878, a Woman Suffrage Amendment is introduced in the United States Congress. However, it would be another forty-one [41] years before the amendment would pass in both houses. The words ratified in the Bill passed in 1919 were identical to those proposed two score earlier. The text did not change, times did.
More than a century after Abigail Adams expressed her concern, womankind were awarded equal rights, in 1919, females were granted some liberties. Officially, following ratification by the necessary thirty-six states, the Nineteenth Amendment was adopted on August 26, 1920.
Today, on the anniversary of this rite of passage, I wish all women well. Each election day, as you exercise your right to cast your ballot, please remember the women before you that worked for centuries to ensure that you had the freedom to speak.
Suffrage Sources . . .
Voting Registration in the Election November 2002. U.S. Census Bureau. July 2004
Wooing the Single Women Vote. Women's Voices. Women's Vote. January 15, 2004
American Memory. Library of Congress. |
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