August 18, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage. In 1852, Susan B. Anthony continued the process begun by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1848 at Seneca Falls.
When they began, women were considered “perpetual juveniles”. Once married, they had no legal existence and couldn’t even become guardians of their underage children if widowed. Wife beating was legal. Over 70 years many wrongs were righted, but the right to vote remained out of reach. Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul were there at the finish after also devoting their lives to the cause. Mrs. Catt chose a more conservative route, while Miss Paul was the more radical. But in the end, together they helped our country ratify the Nineteenth Amendment and women could finally cast their vote. The yellow rose depicted here being passed on to the next generation was a symbol for the suffrage movement. |
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