June 10, 1995 - Episode 316 - Women of Achievement and Herstory

      Event June 10, 1919: Illinois, Wisconsin, and Michigan became
the first states to ratify the 19th amendment to the US Constitution
that had been approved by the U.S. Congress and sent to the
various states six days earlier. 
      Final ratification of the amendment was August 26, 1920, when,
for the first time in US history, the U.S. Constitution included women's
right to the vote as free and equal citizens with that of men's rights. 
      The use of "gave" regarding the vote to women is ABSOLUTELY
INCORRECT and shows a decided misinterpretation of HIStory and the
U.S. Constitution.  No one "gave" women the vote; on the contrary,
the U.S. government took it away by abrogating voting rights to the
individual states until it later removed the "states-rights" barriers
for black men and then some 50 years later for women. 
      Women had been voters in several states in colonial days, but
in the late 1700s a number of the states rescinded women's rights. 
      Then in the 1787 U. S. Constitutional Convention, the right to
qualify voters was placed in the hands of the states which had
already deemed women unqualified to vote.  The one exception was
New Jersey, which fell into line in 1807. 
      It was when Carrie Chapman Catt devised "The Plan" in 1916 - 
to fight for the vote nationally, that the first recognition came that
only the federal government could or would guarantee women's rights
on a permanent basis.  Since then almost every guarantee of women's
rights has had to come from federal government action, often opposed
and fought against by state and local governments, including birth
control information, abortion rights, equal pay, equal insurance rates,
etc.  

06-10 Anniversaries ...............................................

      B. June 10, 1833, Pauline Cushman, actor and lecturer, served
as spy for the Union cause during the Civil War, even to dressing in 
Confederate uniforms.  She was captured and escaped twice. 
Captured a third time, she was condemned to death by hanging. She
became ill and her hanging was postponed by Gen. Bragg, who wished
to make an example of her, until "she was well enough to be hanged." 
Before the sentence could be carried out, Union forces drove back
Bragg's army and she was set free.

      B. June 10, 1835, Rebecca Ann Latimer Felton, a noted
suffragist, spent a lifetime aiding her husband to become a US
Representative from Georgia by writing his speeches and creating
and directing campaign strategy. She founded and edited a
newspaper and became one of the most respected political factors in
her state.
      Following the 1920 ratification of the 19th amendment to the
U.S. Constitution that enfranchised women to vote, the Georgia
governor who had vehemently opposed women's suffrage appointed
Felton to a temporary vacancy in the U.S. Senate in an attempt to
sway women's votes his way.  The appointment was intended to be
only symbolic because Congress had adjourned and a male successor
had already been duly elected and would take the seat when
Congress reconvened.  However, Felton, who was 87 years old when
appointed to the U.S. Senate, convinced the elected successor to delay
presenting his certification and on November 21, 1922, she became the
first woman to be sworn in as a United State Senator. She made a
brief speech and then turned her seat over to the gentleman from
Georgia. 

      B. June 10, 1898, Hattie McDaniel, film and stage actress, first
black woman to win an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mammy in
_Gone with the Wind_ (1939). Played the title role of Beuhla on radio.

Quotes du jour ...............................................

      "The only choice permitted us is either to be servants for $7 a
week or to portray them for $700 per week."
            -- Hattie McDaniel, who portrayed black servants in
            movies and on radio.

>>>(C) 1995 Irene Stuber, PO Box 6185, Hot Springs National Park, AR
71902, 501-624-5262 for direct fax or voice mail ID #300,
irenestuber@delphi.com. Distribute verbatim copies freely with
copyright notice for non-profit use. Don't let anyone tell you there
weren't notable and effective women throughout history.  They were
always there, but historians failed to note them in our histories so
that each generation of women has had to reinvent themselves.
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