A Lesson for Women (and men)

A history lesson for women.

The 19th Amendment, the amendment that gave women the right to vote, was passed in 1919. The women's suffrage movement in the United States started in the in the 1840s, a time when women were getting involved in American progressive movements like abolition and temperance. After Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony did their thing, Carrie Chapman Catt took the helm of the movement. She tried to work with the government to affect change, but the real champion, Alice Paul, started the National Women's Party right around the time the U.S. was getting involved in WWI. Alice was a part of the women's suffrage movement in Britain, where she met the WOMAN -- Emmeline Pankhurst.



This is Alice. Isn't she beautiful? If my name wasn't Alissa, I would name a kid Alice -- after this classy lady who dedicated her life to women's suffrage, and later, the Equal Rights Amendment (which still has not passed).

...So, back to the story. When Alice and her friend Lucy Burns took over, the US was starting to send soldiers to Europe to help out the Allies and to criticize the president during wartime was a major faux-pas (clearly, times have changed!). Nevertheless, Alice, Lucy, and their girls picketed the White House demanding the right to vote.



Read the signs - these women had some guts.



Anyway, as you might imagine, this didn't go over well with the general populace and these ladies got arrested and jailed.



They were taken to Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia where they were beaten and fed rotten food. After beating Lucy Burns, prison guards chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her there for the night.



This is Lucy. Don't you love this picture? You can see the how tired and worked she is, but her face is strong and determined. Apparently, she was a pretty spunky lady.

Some women, including Alice Paul, were imprisoned for several months. Eventually, Alice, and many of the other jailed suffragists, went on a hunger strike and were force-fed. Once this leaked to the media, the women were released.

In 1919 Congress reached the two-thirds majority in favor of the 19th amendment and sent the amendment to the states for ratification. Many states had voted down the amendment and the amendment needed one more state. Tennessee was the last state to vote and it was expected that the amendment wouldn't pass -- by one vote. However, a young Tennessee state representative, Harry Burns, cast the deciding vote after receiving a vote from his mother urging him to be a good boy and to vote in favor of women's suffrage. He did and the 19th amendment was all official in July of 1920. Go Harry.

I am inspired by these fearless women who fought for what they knew was their right. I applaud their dedication to a work that most people laughed at.

Girls, let's make sure we're registered to vote to show our gratitude to this country that (mostly) respects women and to show our gratitude the countless women who made it possible for us to exercise our membership in a democracy. And after we're registered, show up on November 4.