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Kobi · 08-18-2013, 08:06 AM

This weekend we celebrate the anniversary of the 19th Amendment (ratified on August 18, 1920). Here’s what you need to know:

WHAT IT DOES

The 19th Amendment guarantees women the right to vote.

WHY IT WAS ADDED

Although women were active participants in America’s fight for independence, in the abolition and temperance movements, and in many aspects of political life throughout history, they they did not achieve a guaranteed right to vote until almost 150 years after the nation’s founding. By 1920, “We the People” included women at last.

The deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment was cast by a young Tennessee assembly member named Harry Burn, whose mother encouraged him to “be a good boy” and vote for suffrage.

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It still astounds me to think how recent 93 years is in the scheme of things.

It also astounds me to think of the lives of women, known and unknown, who paved the path to the vote. These were women who first had to get the patriarchy to see them as people rather than the property of their fathers and then husbands. These were women who were unable to own or inherit property, who were not entitled to keep their wages if they worked outside of the home, who had no right to their children in a divorce, who had no right to alimony or child support, who had no right to advanced education, who could not enter into legal contracts i.e. make a will without their husbands approval, who had no legal protections against rape (including marital rape), domestic violence, and reproduction.

It also astounds me that, in spite of their own hardships, these women continued to fight for the rights of other oppressed people, believing the more inclusive the struggle, the greater the opportunity for equal rights for all.

These are the women who demanded that the amendment giving the right to vote to recently freed slave males also include women. These are the women who were betrayed by the very men they fought to free, being told..."they had the vote through their husbands" and "they would have to wait their turn". Their turn came 50 years later.

These are the women who envisioned a different kind of life for women in this country and in the world. These women fought and sacrificed for the life we have come to know and sometimes take for granted.

These are the women who didn't live to see the fruits of their labor come true.

These are my heroes.

08-18-2013, 08:06 AM	#111
Kobi Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Biological female. Lesbian. Relationship Status: Happy Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Hanging out in the Atlantic. Posts: 9,234 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,840 Thanked 34,653 Times in 7,652 Posts Rep Power: 21474861	93rd anniversary of the 19th amendment This weekend we celebrate the anniversary of the 19th Amendment (ratified on August 18, 1920). Here’s what you need to know: WHAT IT DOES The 19th Amendment guarantees women the right to vote. WHY IT WAS ADDED Although women were active participants in America’s fight for independence, in the abolition and temperance movements, and in many aspects of political life throughout history, they they did not achieve a guaranteed right to vote until almost 150 years after the nation’s founding. By 1920, “We the People” included women at last. The deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment was cast by a young Tennessee assembly member named Harry Burn, whose mother encouraged him to “be a good boy” and vote for suffrage. ---------------------------- It still astounds me to think how recent 93 years is in the scheme of things. It also astounds me to think of the lives of women, known and unknown, who paved the path to the vote. These were women who first had to get the patriarchy to see them as people rather than the property of their fathers and then husbands. These were women who were unable to own or inherit property, who were not entitled to keep their wages if they worked outside of the home, who had no right to their children in a divorce, who had no right to alimony or child support, who had no right to advanced education, who could not enter into legal contracts i.e. make a will without their husbands approval, who had no legal protections against rape (including marital rape), domestic violence, and reproduction. It also astounds me that, in spite of their own hardships, these women continued to fight for the rights of other oppressed people, believing the more inclusive the struggle, the greater the opportunity for equal rights for all. These are the women who demanded that the amendment giving the right to vote to recently freed slave males also include women. These are the women who were betrayed by the very men they fought to free, being told..."they had the vote through their husbands" and "they would have to wait their turn". Their turn came 50 years later. These are the women who envisioned a different kind of life for women in this country and in the world. These women fought and sacrificed for the life we have come to know and sometimes take for granted. These are the women who didn't live to see the fruits of their labor come true. These are my heroes. __________________