PRINTER'S NO. 4143
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
947
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY MALONEY, BARRAR, BERNSTINE, BIZZARRO, BROWN,
DELLOSO, DONATUCCI, HILL-EVANS, HOHENSTEIN, ISAACSON,
KAUFFMAN, LONGIETTI, MACKENZIE, MERSKI, MILLARD, MIZGORSKI,
MURT, PICKETT, READSHAW, ROAE, ROTHMAN, ROZZI, SANCHEZ,
SCHMITT, SONNEY, STAATS, WILLIAMS, YOUNGBLOOD, MENTZER,
BOBACK AND NEILSON, JULY 14, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, JULY 14, 2020
A RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the
19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
WHEREAS, The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution
granted American women the right to vote, a right known as
women's suffrage, and was ratified on August 18, 1920; and
WHEREAS, The original 13 states passed laws that prohibit
women from voting; and
WHEREAS, In 1866, The American Equal Rights Association was
founded by Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and others,
its mission was to promote equal rights with an emphasis on
gaining the right to vote for women through passage of a
constitutional amendment; and
WHEREAS, After Susan B. Anthony cast her first vote as an
attempt to test whether the 14th Amendment would be interpreted
broadly to guarantee women the right to vote, she was tried and
convicted of "unlawful voting"; and
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WHEREAS, In 1890, two rival women's voting rights groups, the
National Women's Suffrage Association and the American Women's
Suffrage Association merged to form one organization, the
National American Women's Suffrage Association to work for
passage of a constitutional amendment to guarantee women the
right to vote; and
WHEREAS, In 1896, leaders of the more than 100 African
American women's clubs united to form an organization, National
Association of Colored Women, to promote equality for women,
raise funds for projects that benefit women and children and
oppose segregation and racial violence; and
WHEREAS, In 1913, the Congressional Union, later renamed the
National Women's Party, founded by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns,
set as its goal the passage of a federal constitutional
amendment that would give women the right to vote; and
WHEREAS, In 1915, a petition with 500,000 signatures in
support of an amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote was
given to President Woodrow Wilson; and
WHEREAS, Though several states waited more than 40 years to
ratify the Amendment, Pennsylvania was the 7th state to ratify
the Amendment on June 24, 1919; and
WHEREAS, The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920
when the agreement of three-fourths of the states was obtained;
and
WHEREAS, In 1920, the National American Woman Suffrage
Association established the League of Women Voters to encourage
women to use their newly acquired right to vote; and
WHEREAS, Since the monumental victory in 1920, women have
taken their rightful place serving in Pennsylvania's
Legislature; and
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WHEREAS, The Archives of the House is highlighting other
amazing women who have served the people of Pennsylvania;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives commemorate the
100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to
the United States Constitution.
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