House Approves Resolution Supporting National Suffragists Day - Women's Congressional Policy Institute

On May 8, the House approved, by voice vote, a resolution (H. Con. Res. 105) supporting the goals and ideals of a National Suffragists Day to promote awareness of the importance of the women suffragists who worked for the right of women to vote in the United States.

Sponsored by Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), the resolution acknowledges a number of historic events, including:

in 1869, women suffragists formed the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association, national organizations established to advocate for the right of women to vote;
on January 25, 1887, the Senate voted on women’s suffrage for the first time;
on August 18, 1920, ratification of the 19th amendment to the Constitution was completed, thus guaranteeing women in the United States the right to vote; and
July 19th is the anniversary of the first women’s rights convention.
“I am delighted to be here today in support of a resolution that I have reintroduced that would promote the goals and ideals of creating a day in honor of the women of America’s suffragist movement,” said Rep. Berkley. She continued, “The goal of this resolution is to recognize the anniversary of the inaugural women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. The suffragists are role models who inspired an entire generation and continue to inspire generations of young American women…While it may seem unbelievable to us now, it was not that long ago that women did not have the right to vote in our great nation. On July 19, 1848, the first public appeal for women’s suffrage was made, and a new movement was born for equality. We owe these suffragists a debt of gratitude for their efforts in their fight to give women the right to vote and to be full participating members in our nation’s political process. I hope that recognizing the anniversary of the inaugural women’s rights convention in 1848 will keep alive the memory of the struggle to win the fundamental right, the right to vote, for women. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.”

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) said, “It is difficult to imagine a time when our nation’s women did not have the privilege to vote. Thankfully, we have moved past those times to where we currently have the highest number of female Members in the history of the Congress. Although I think it is very difficult for people to realize, in the history of this Congress, we have had only 249 women, and 90 of them are serving now. As we all know, the struggle for women to achieve this came at great sacrifice. The fight lasted over many decades because of dedicated perseverance of many women. These pioneers were revolutionary in their fight for equality. They worked tirelessly, knowing there would be a future when women were seen as equal to men with the ability to vote. The historic Seneca Falls Convention, held in 1848, was led by a group of innovative women, including Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton…Their historic efforts came to fruition on August 18, 1920, when the Congress ratified the 19th amendment of the Constitution, thereby granting women the right to vote. The goal of the suffragist movement endured over 50 years. Schools around the world teach their students the rich history of the movement, and it is with pleasure that we promote continued awareness through a National Suffragists Day.”