[Vision2020] Ninety Years Ago Today (August 18, 1920)

[Tom Hansen]

Women stepped out of the kitchen and into the voting booth.

 

Courtesy of Politico at:

 

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=82013607-18FE-70B2-A89758C9DBA67
122

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Celebrating women's suffrage

By: Alice Germond

August 18, 2010 04:31 AM EDT 

 

In 1848, a group of fearless women gathered in Seneca Falls, N.Y., where
they declared women's fundamental equality with men, and set out to secure
our voting rights. In August 1920, after nearly 70 years and several
generations of work, the suffragists faced a final difficult battle in
Tennessee. 

 

They had already won passage of the 19th Amendment in Congress and secured
ratification of that amendment by 35 states; Tennessee's ratification, if
they could succeed, would give them the crucial number required to add the
amendment to the Constitution and guarantee American women the right to
vote. 

 

In the Tennessee House, the vote was close. In fact, it was tied,
deadlocked. Then, on the third round of voting, the youngest state
legislator changed his mind. He had just received a letter from his mother,
urging him to do the right thing. 

 

And so, on Aug. 18, 1920 - 90 years ago today - women won the right to vote
and make our voices heard in government. In the nine decades since, women
have made great strides in America. A higher percentage of us vote than men
and a majority of us vote Democratic. Approximately three-fourths of the
women in the U.S. Senate, House, and state legislatures are Democrats, as
well. And, as we all know, the speaker of the House, third in line to the
presidency, is Nancy Pelosi. Our college attendance is equal to men and we
are now presidents of great universities, we have joined the work force in
record numbers, and we work as doctors, soldiers, and plumbers as well as
teachers, nurses and owners of our own small businesses - and so do our
husbands and brothers. We have closed many of the gaps between women and
men. But there is still a long way to go to secure full equality - and that
is why President Obama and the Democratic Party fight to level the playing
field for women. 

 

Although women continue to earn less than men - just 78 cents on the dollar,
on average - President Barack Obama took immediate action to close that gap.
The very first bill the president signed after taking office was the Lilly
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which protects women against pay discrimination and
helps to ensure women receive equal pay for equal work. 

 

In addition, President Obama has championed flexible work policies like paid
sick leave, because he believes women should not have to choose between
keeping their jobs and caring for loved ones. Through a White House Forum on
Workplace Flexibility and through the creation of a White House Council on
Women and Girls, the president is working to better identify and address the
challenges faced by women in the workplace. 

 

At the same time, the president and his Democratic partners in the Congress
have enacted broad-based legislation that is not only helping America
overall, but is also giving particular benefits to women.

 

The Recovery Act, which has saved or created more than 2.5 million jobs
across America, also contains provisions that are specifically targeted to
help working women and families. For example, the act authorizes billions of
dollars in new funding for Head Start and other child care programs and
calls for unemployment insurance reforms that encourage states to cover
part-time workers and individuals who have recently reentered the work
force, categories which include millions of women. 

 

Similarly, the Affordable Care Act is an historic leap forward - for every
American, but particularly for women. Under the Affordable Care Act,
insurance companies will be prevented from imposing lifetime limits on
coverage for women. They will no longer be able to drop coverage for women
when they get sick, or pregnant. They will no longer be able to charge women
exorbitant out-of-pocket deductibles or co-payments. And they will no longer
be able to charge women more simply because of their gender. 

 

These are but a few examples of how we continue the fight for equality in
our country. On this 90th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th
Amendment, it is important to give thanks for how far we have come, and to
continue to move forward together. So I hope you'll join me in offering your
support for the president and Democrats in Congress as they to work to open
new doors of opportunity for women and men alike. And, I hope you will open
your hearts to the plight of so many of our sisters around the world who do
not share the freedoms we enjoy because of the hard work of our foremothers,
those heroic suffragists, almost a century ago.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Seeya round town, Moscow.

 

Tom Hansen

Moscow, Idaho

 

"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."

 

- The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America
ratified on August 18, 1920

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20100818/f43027ea/attachment.html