Some cultures honor their ancestors with rituals, others with prayers or similar rites. In America there are few such practices. In fact , more often than not , we tend to forget the names of those who have gone before. It is a rare occasion when we call forth the names of 'those whose shoulders we stand upon.'
Because March is WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH and March 8 is the INTERNATIONAL DAY of WOMEN it is fitting that we recall some of those names. There are far too many to recount all , even if we only limit it to one field or one country. And there are, of course, many who will remain anonymous because they have been rendered invisible by time or critics or prejudice. A few names may spark a memory from personal experience or a well designed history lesson. Consider this roster (in no particular order of chronology or importance):
- Amelia Earhart, Clara Barton, Rosa Parks, Maya Angelou, Marian Anderson, Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Sally Ride, Dorothea Lange, Marie Curie, Georgia O'Keefe, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Annie Oakley, Eleanor Roosevelt, Abigail Adams, Sacajewa, Sandra Day O'Connor, Frances Perkins, Janette Raskin, Margaret Mead, Rachel Carson, Pauline Fredericks, Barbara Walters, Madeline Albright, Jacquelin Cochran, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinheim, Mary Bethune, Margaret Sanger, Dr. Mary Walker, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Madam CJ Walker, ......
What you may not know is that women in most of America have had the right to vote for less than a century. Some of the women listed above fought , marched, were jailed or beaten to secure the franchise for all of us. Others were 'firsts' in male dominated fields and ALL were brave pioneers with a long list of achievements that should be honored.
The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was first introduced into Congress in 1878. It languished there until the House passed it on May 21, 1919. Two weeks later the Senate passed it. Wisconsin was the first to ratify it (June 10, 1919). Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify it (August 18, 1920) . Having satisfied the 3/4 rule (3/4 of the states must ratify an amendment in order for it to become law) it needed only one more thing...The then Secretary of State, Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920 and it became the law of the land. Wyoming had given women the right to vote while it was still a territory, in 1869, a detail often overlooked in the recollection of women's history in the US and a good 'trivia' detail to remember.
How many can you identify? Who would you add?