JUNE 4

Women have fought for the right to vote since the founding of our country, as we can read in Abigail Adams's letter to her husband John Adams, dated March 31, 1776. This letter is housed at the Massachusetts Historical Society, and can be viewed on their website or in person (I've seen it!).

It only took 144 years, but woman got the right to vote. It took generations of women protesting, picketing, and advocating before the men in government agreed that women were equal citizens. Many of the suffragists died before the 19th Amendment was passed.

This year, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment! There are countless women to thank, but some of the biggest names are Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, and Alice Paul.

In July, 1848, women gathered in Seneca Falls New York to launch the suffrage movement. It was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Mary M'Clintock, Martha Coffin Wright, and Jane Hunt. (Susan B. Anthony was not at the convention, she did not get involved in the movement until 1851.) You can visit the 'Birthplace of Women's Rights' by going to Seneca Falls, NY. There is a National Historic Park as well as the National Women's Hall of Fame.

If you are in Washington, DC, you can go to the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument House, which was home to the National Women's Party - started by Alice Paul. The National Archives has an exhibit titled Rightfully Hers: Who Decides Who Votes on view, and the online National Women's History Museum offices are not far away in Alexandria, VA. Just this February, NPR reported that the Smithsonian may be adding a Women's History Museum in the near future. Contact your Congressional representatives if you want this to happen!

You can learn more about Women's Rights and the Suffrage Movement by reading What Is the Women's Rights Movement?, You Forgot Your Skirt, Amelia Bloomer!, and Bold & Brave: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote.

Dot image citation