Celebrating Suffrage is a story that spans hundreds of years. Join us to commemorate the centuries of striving, resisting, and persisting undertaken by Americans from all walks of life to ensure everyone is able to participate in our democracy.
15th or 16th Century – The Iroquois Confederacy, one of the earliest representative bodies in North America, is founded.
July 30, 1619 – The House of Burgesses meets for the first time.
March 31, 1776 – Abigail Adams writes to her husband John asking “I desire you would Remember the Ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors.” masshist.org/digitaladams/a…
July 1776 – The American Declaration of Independence formally severs the ties between Great Britain and her American Colonies.
March 4, 1789 – The Constitution of the United States goes into effect. Women in New Jersey were able to vote. washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/…
July 1848 – Women gather together at the Seneca Falls Convention, largely seen as the birth of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. history.com/topics/womens-…
December 10, 1869 – Wyoming territory passes the first women’s suffrage legislation.
1870 – The 15th Amendment grants African American men the right to vote. It would take almost a century for these rights to be fully realized. guides.loc.gov/15th-amendment
1878 – The Susan B. Anthony Amendment is introduced to Congress. Anthony died before seeing its passage. Today, women place “I voted” stickers on her grave to honor her contributions.
1893 – Colorado becomes the first state to amend their constitution to allow women to vote.
November 15, 1894 – The Equal Suffrage Association is formed in Buncombe County, NC.
1897 – The First Suffrage Bill is introduced to the North Carolina Legislature. It is sent to the Committee on Insane Asylums.
1913 – The North Carolina Equal Suffrage League is founded in #CLT.
1913- Ida B. Wells marches in the National Suffrage Parade demanding all women have the right to vote. pbs.org/wgbh/americane…
1919 – The United States Congress passes the Women’s Suffrage Amendment. It is then sent to the states for ratification.
1920 – The Nineteenth Amendment is ratified. North Carolina does not ratify until 1971. nps.gov/subjects/women…
1923 – The National Women’s Party introduces what eventually becomes the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. As of 2020 it still has not been ratified.
1924 – All Native Americans are granted citizenship, but many were still denied voting rights thanks to Jim Crow era intimidation.
1965 – The Voting Rights Act is passed in an effort to ensure the 15th and the 19th Amendments are fully enforced. history.com/topics/black-h…
1972 – North Carolina finally ratifies the 19th Amendment.
@JKPolkSHS @GastonMuseum @cmlibrary @LevineMuseum @HBGanttCenter @HistStagville @NCArchives @unccspeccoll @ncculture @NCmuseumhistory @CHMuseums @smithsonian @NMAAHC @AmRevMuseum what would you add to this list?
