An important anniversary
Earlier this month, June 4th marked 107 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. The language was simple, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” It took 41 years, the time from when the Susan B. Anthony Amendment was first introduced to Congress in 1878 until its passage in 1919, for that one sentence to become law. Virginia Woolf, a literary hero of mine, once said, “The history of men’s opposition to women’s emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.”
Yes, Virginia.
Since Grit & Ghosts came out (a year and half ago, already!), I have been happily at work in the archives on my next project. This one did not take me back and forth across the country, as my research for Grit & Ghosts did, but primarily into the archives, reading through personal correspondence, article drafts, and notes from the campaign trail of the National Woman’s Party efforts demanding Congress pass the 19th Amendment. This next book, which will also be published by University of Nebraska Press-Bison Books, has been a journey to illuminate the lives of four young women who worked on that campaign, stood with protest banners outside the White House and on the steps of Congress, were repeatedly attacked by angry mobs as well as police, imprisoned, began to hunger strike as a matter of course, and eventually won their fight when the amendment was passed in June 1919 and ratified by the states in August 1920. This next book tells story of that emancipation through the lives of four young women, the opposition they faced at each step along the way, and how their lives changed in the ten years after ratification.
A thousand people in the street.
Does history organically, naturally repeat itself? Or have we failed to learn the lessons required to move on. As I pieced together the lives of Doris Stevens, Hazel Hunkins, Clara Wold, and Catherine Flanagan, as I read newspaper reports, personal accounts, the urgent telegrams that allowed me to craft the story of what happened before and after the 19th Amendment was passed, more Americans than ever began taking to the streets in acts of protest in the face of our own political turmoil. Some have been beaten, pepper-sprayed, arrested on dubious charges. Some have lost their lives. As Americans continue to fight for their rights to free speech, peaceful assembly, redress of grievances, and as some members of the press continue to fight for access to the affairs of State, to report on the doings of this Administration, I have found myself looking to four young women who believed the words “with liberty and justice for all” ought to include the enfranchisement of one-half of the nation’s citizens who were still excluded.
“I Voted Today” stickers.
When I went to my local polling place yesterday to vote in my state’s primary election, I thought about all those times I brought one or another of my kids with me to vote when they were little, and sharing the “I Voted Today” sticker I always happily received after submitting my ballot. I hope you got your sticker too!
Big reveal coming soon!
I’m really excited to share with you all some bits and pieces from my new book, as well as details and publication date. Stay tuned!
