Voting is not a Privilege….IT’S A RIGHT!
Today marks the 45th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day, designated in 1971 to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
But voting was only the beginning for some women’s rights advocates, who pivoted in the 1920s to the larger issue of enshrining equal rights in the Constitution. Penned by Alice Paul, the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced to Congress in 1923 by Rep. Daniel R. Anthony, nephew of women’s suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony.
Anthony’s 1923 proposal didn’t pass. In fact, it was very polarizing, even among women. Eleanor Roosevelt, for instance, opposed the ERA for many years. One of the major objections at the time was questioning how the ERA would impact protective labor legislation, rules that guarded against issues like unfair hours or dangerous work conditions for women.
The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. More information on the history of Women’s Equality Day can be found HERE:
http://www.nwhp.org/resources/commemorations/womens-equality-day/
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