[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 405 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 405

 Designating Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the site of the centennial 
 commemoration of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
               States, in coordination with Vision 2020.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2016

Mr. Casey submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Designating Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the site of the centennial 
 commemoration of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
               States, in coordination with Vision 2020.

Whereas the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified 
        on August 18, 1920, guaranteeing women in the United States the right to 
        vote;
Whereas the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment will 
        occur in 2020;
Whereas Vision 2020, developed by the Institute for Women's Health and 
        Leadership at Drexel University, has launched the Vision 2020 Campaign 
        for Equality--

    (1) to commemorate the centennial of women's suffrage; and

    (2) to advance and achieve economic, social, and political equality for 
women in the United States by 2020;

Whereas Vision 2020 is partnering with national associations and professional 
        organizations that represent more than 20,000,000 women and girls in the 
        United States;
Whereas in 2020, celebratory events will take place in cities all across the 
        United States, particularly in cities in which monumental historic 
        events and people shaped the women's suffrage movement;
Whereas Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was home to historic women who played 
        significant roles in the women's rights movement, including Lucretia 
        Mott, Alice Paul, Fanny Jackson Coppin, and Eliza Sproat Turner, should 
        be designated as the headquarters and coordinating site to celebrate the 
        centennial of women's suffrage;
Whereas the women's suffrage movement was closely tied to abolitionism and many 
        suffragists gained previous experience in advocacy as antislavery 
        activists;
Whereas the first major event in the women's suffrage movement occurred on July 
        19, 1848, the date on which Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton 
        organized the first convention on women's rights, the Seneca Falls 
        Convention;
Whereas in 1850, Lucy Stone organized the National Women's Rights Convention and 
        gave a speech that inspired Susan B. Anthony and others to join the 
        cause for women's rights;
Whereas in 1851, Sojourner Truth gave her famous speech entitled ``Ain't I a 
        Woman?'' at a convention in Akron, Ohio;
Whereas in 1869, women suffragists formed the National Woman Suffrage 
        Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association, which were 
        national organizations established to work for the right of women to 
        vote that united in 1890 to form the National American Woman Suffrage 
        Association;
Whereas in 1872, Susan B. Anthony and a group of women voted in the Presidential 
        election and were arrested and fined for voting illegally;
Whereas in the late 19th century, the Senate voted on women's suffrage for the 
        first time;
Whereas during the early 20th century, a new generation of women joined the 
        women's suffrage movement and devoted time to marches and other active 
        forms of protest, including the first picket lines in front of the White 
        House;
Whereas women suffragists were often detained and sent to jail and some of those 
        women who went on hunger strikes were aggressively force-fed;
Whereas since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the work begun by the 
        suffragists continues to advance the equality of women in all political, 
        social, economic, and cultural aspects of life in the United States, 
        including shared leadership; and
Whereas the contributions of women suffragists who fought for and won, for women 
        of the United States, the right to vote should be celebrated on the 
        100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes the crucial role that the ratification of 
        the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution played in 
        advancing the rights of women and promoting the democratic 
        values at the core of the United States;
            (2) designates Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the site of 
        the national centennial commemoration of the ratification of 
        the 19th Amendment; and
            (3) commends the efforts of Vision 2020--
                    (A) to orchestrate, lead, and coordinate that 
                momentous occasion in Philadelphia; and
                    (B) to continue the fight for equality for women.
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