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The Noble Nineteenth
Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: 2020/06 - June | Photograph By: Marjorie Christiansen Photography
A hundred years ago, the Nineteenth Amendment passed both houses of the United States Congress, and then went to the states for ratification.
The fight had been long and hard won. Seventy years had passed since the Seneca Falls Convention, where hundreds of people had gathered in upstate New York to discuss the rights of women, including the right to vote. Forty years had passed since a federal amendment to the Constitution was introduced to extend the franchise to women. Suffragists had tried and failed to convince the courts that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments already did so. The rest of the country was unconvinced, too, and female suffrage remained a controversial cause in American politics.
Remembering not only what these women were fighting for but why they had to fight so hard, and who, exactly, was fighting against them, the Cashiers Historical Society is marking the anniversary with a full calendar of events: a series of lectures, a poster contest, an essay contest, a research paper competition, a two-day symposium, an historic exhibit at the Zachary-Tolbert historic site, and a Grand Celebration at the Village Green in August. Although some of the events have been postponed or cancelled due to the Pandemic, the Blue Ridge School Research Paper Contest sponsored by the George F. Crouch Foundation has been completed and the winners announced. Winners Kaitlyn Stewart and Tristan Biddix, graduating seniors at Blue Ridge, will each receive a $3,000 scholarship. Contestants were invited to write a paper on “History and Influence of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution.”
Kaitlyn, who has also received a softball scholarship will be attending Wesleyan University this fall. Moved by the courage and contributions of the women who convened for suffrage 150 years ago, Kaitlyn wrote about the Seneca Falls Convention of 1858.
Tristan Biddix will continue higher education at a later time. He was struck by the tenacity and persistence of the women who pushed aside the barriers and expanded the possibilities for all women by succeeding in getting the 19th amendment passed.
For more information and updates on upcoming Women of Valor events, please contact Susan Bianchi at (202) 577-8585 or [email protected] or Linda Benge at (512) 431-5849 or [email protected].
