House Concurrent Resolution 65

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING AND CELEBRATING THE YEAR OF 2020 AS THE COMMEMORATIVE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE RATIFICATION OF THE 19TH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, WHICH PROVIDED WOMEN WITH THE UNALIENABLE RIGHT TO BE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS IN THE NATION'S AND STATES' POLITICAL PROCESSES AS MEMBERS OF THE VOTING ELECTORATE, AND ENCOURAGING THE CITIZENS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI TO OBSERVE ITS RECOGNITION.

WHEREAS, the year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing and protecting women's constitutional right to vote; and

WHEREAS, this historic centennial offers an unparalleled opportunity to commemorate a milestone of democracy and to explore its relevance to the issues of equal rights today; and

WHEREAS, from 1919 to 1920, the Sixty-Sixth United States Congress debated, and State legislatures considered, an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to provide suffrage for women; and

WHEREAS, the impetus of the movement for women's constitutional right to vote began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home to historic women who played significant roles in the women's rights movement, including Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, Fanny Jackson Coppin and Eliza Sproat Turner, who tied the women's suffrage movement closely to abolitionism, as many suffragists gained previous experience in advocacy as antislavery activists; and

WHEREAS, the first major event in the women's suffrage movement occurred on July 19, 1848, when Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the first convention on women's rights, the Seneca Falls Convention, and thereafter, several events ensued during the following years, including: the 1850 National Women's Rights Convention organized by Lucy Stone, whose speech inspired Susan B. Anthony and others to join the cause for women's rights; the delivery of Sojourner Truth's famous "Ain't I a Woman?" speech in 1851 at a convention in Akron, Ohio; the formation of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association in 1869, which would ultimately unite in 1890 to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association; and the 1872 arrests of Susan B. Anthony and a group of women voters who casted ballots in the Presidential election, and fined for voting illegally; and

WHEREAS, during the early 20th century, a new generation of women joined the women's suffrage movement and devoted time to marches and other active forms of protest, including the first picket lines in front of the White House, actions which led to some women suffragists being detained often and sent to jail, some of whom went on hunger strikes and were aggressively force-fed;

WHEREAS, a proposed women's suffrage amendment was first introduced in the United States Senate in 1878 and was brought to a vote, unsuccessfully, in 1887, 1914, 1918 and 1919, before finally being approved by the House of Representatives, on May 21, 1919, and followed by the Senate a few weeks later on June 4; and

WHEREAS, within days, on June 10, 1919, the legislatures of Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin each voted to ratify the amendment, and fourteen months and fourteen days later, on August 18, 1920, the State of Tennessee, Mississippi's immediate northern neighbor became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, therefore solidifying the support of three-fourths of states necessary under Article V of the Constitution of the United States for the amendments formal inclusion as an essential component of the Constitution; and

WHEREAS, however, it approximately 64 years would elapse before the State of Mississippi would certify its ratification of the 19th Amendment on March 22, 1984, after having initially rejected the amendment on March 29, 1920; and

WHEREAS, the introduction, passage, and ultimate ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States were the culmination of decades of work and struggle by advocates for the rights of women across the United States and worldwide.

WHEREAS, since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the work begun by suffragists continues to advance the equality for women and ensure women could more fully participate in their democracy, in all political, social, economic and cultural aspects, and through positions of shared leadership, demonstrate the fundamental change in the role women play in the civic life of our Nation; and

WHEREAS, the centennial offers an opportunity for citizens and noncitizens alike, in the United States, to learn about and commemorate the efforts of the women's suffrage movement and the indomitable spirit of perseverance exhibited by these courageous women, upon whose shoulders our mothers, sisters and daughters continue to stand upon, in their continued pursuits of shaping and reshaping our democracy in equity and equality; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the Mississippi Legislature to acknowledge the commemorative programs, activities and sites that provide the citizens of the great Magnolia State with opportunities to learn about the women's suffrage movement and to commemorate and honor the role of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, further fulfilling the promise of the Constitution of the United States and promoting the core values of our democracy:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby acknowledge and celebrate the year 2020 as the commemorative Centennial Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provided women with the unalienable right to be active participants in the nation's and states' political processes as members of the voting electorate, and encouraging the citizens of the State of Mississippi to observe its recognition.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the Women's Foundation of Mississippi and to members of the Capitol Press Corps.