Today marks the 95th anniversary of the vote that gave women full voting rights in national and state elections.
The 19th Amendment to the Constitution was not an easy victory for the tens of thousands of women involved in the suffrage movement.
The women’s suffrage movement had been waging a battle for equal voting rights for more than 70 years leading up to that crucial vote on Aug.18, 1920.
The ratification vote came down to one vote, from one state: Tennessee.
Mary Knecht of the League of Women Voters’ Wichita Metro Chapter says that one vote was enough for a two-thirds majority to pass the 19th Amendment.
"The 36th state was Tennessee and it was one young legislator who had received a note from his mother saying, 'Son, I know you will do the right thing,' and so that was one vote," Knecht says. "We had presidents that have been kept from being impeached because of one vote."
The new law securing women’s voting rights went into effect on August 26, 1920.
Knecht says the League of Women Voters is a non-partisan group that works to get people registered to vote and provides programs that help educate and inform voters.
The League of Women Voters Wichita Metro Chapter is marking the 95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with a special program on Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the WSU Hughes Metroplex. The event will feature former U.S. Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker and Jill Docking, a recent candidate for Kansas Lt. Governor.
--
Follow Deborah Shaar on Twitter @deborahshaar.
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.
