They make up the majority of our electorate, but until 104 years ago today, they could not vote in our American Democracy, when the United States Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, making today
NATIONAL WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE DAY!
It took America 144 years for America to be America for our women, and it was not even proposed by any political party until 1848 when the all-male Liberty Party made Women’s Suffrage a plank in their presidential campaign.
The Liberty Party was soundly drubbed, and it would be generations before women got the vote, thanks to the hard work of such as Susan B. Anthony, Nina Allender, Annie Arnell, Ida B. Wells, Victoria Woodhull, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and countless others, resulting in this short sentence being inserted into the U.S.Constitution:
“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.”
A quick glance at these heroines of yesteryear reveals the secret of their success: wearing large hats and larger frowns. The result was not a radical shift in America’s voting habits, proving that women can be every bit as fickle and uninformed as men voters, but at least our electoral failures are universal these days.
•Suggested Activities: Voting your interests.