Next year will be the 90th anniversary of the formation of the League of Women Voters. On February 14, 1920, with passage of the 19th amendment imminent, suffragists met to transform the movement into the LWV to help educate women to be responsible voters. On August 26, 1920, just days after Tennessee became the thirty-sixth (and last needed) state to ratify the amendment, the Secretary of State signed the proclamation enacting the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote
Because of this important history, next year, the LWV should plan to celebrate our ‘90th birthday’ on February 14 and continue the celebration to August 26, the 90th anniversary of “Women’s Equality Day” with passage of the 19th amendment.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others first seriously proposed women’s right to vote at Seneca Falls, N.Y., on July 19, 1848. Prior to this time, Susan B. Anthony was active in the women’s temperance movement. But when she met Stanton in 1851, they joined forces and worked together over the next half of the century – and what a force they were. Although they both died before the goal was reached, they lived long enough to see significant progress and were primarily responsible for the ultimate success. Carrie Chapman Catt, founder and early leader of the League of Women Voters, younger than Anthony and Stanton, entered the struggle later and became a leader in the suffragist movement that helped lead it to victory with passage of the 19th amendment.
The sacrifices these three made to win the right to vote for women is amazing and one that few people recognize today. In most cases, they gave their lives to the movement. Becoming public advocates meant that they were playing unconventional, unacceptable, inappropriate roles – to many they were pariahs. It is impossible to conceive of how difficult their lives were, what hardships they endured – public ridicule, terms in jail, and humiliation.
Text taken from League of Women Voters of United States. lwv.org – ‘Women’s Equality Day”
Let’s think of ways we can retell the story next year. Who wants to be on this committee?
