Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote Recognized in House

On September 15, the House approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Res. 1375) recognizing the 90th anniversary of the enactment of the 19th amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

Sponsored by Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN), the resolution contains several findings, including:

• The first Women’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848, sparking a decades-long struggle by women’s rights pioneers to gain the right to vote;
• A constitutional amendment granting women’s suffrage nationwide was first introduced in the United States Congress in January 1878;
• In 1919, the 66th Congress of the United States passed a resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution extending the right of suffrage to women; and
• On August 18, 1920, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted for ratification by a one-vote margin, passing the amendment in Nashville, Tennessee, becoming the 36th and final of the three-fourths of States needed to ratify the aforesaid amendment, entering it into the Constitution.

The resolution “recognizes the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution; honors the contributions and achievements of women in United States politics; and reaffirms its commitment to pursuing policies that achieve true political and social equality for women, commensurate with their role in life in the United States and society.”