The Writer’s Almanac tells me that “on this date in 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote.”
The first national constitutional amendment had been proposed in Congress in 1878, and in every Congress session after that. Finally, in 1919, it narrowly passed both houses of Congress and was sent to the states to be ratified. Most Southern states opposed the amendment, and on August 18, 1920, it all came down to Tennessee…It was a close battle and the state legislature was tied 48 to 48. The decision came down to one vote: that of 24-year-old Harry Burn, the youngest state legislator.
Progress: it happens in spite of ourselves. Let’s keep it going.