[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 189 (Tuesday, December 6, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S6994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING THE LEGACY OF WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE IN IDAHO

  Mr. RISCH. Madam President, today, I join my fellow members of the 
Idaho congressional delegation, Senator Mike Crapo and Representatives  
Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher, in honoring the fight that so many waged 
for women's suffrage by recognizing Idaho's role in securing the vote 
for women in Idaho 24 years before the passage of national women's 
suffrage legislation and by acknowledging the installation of the Idaho 
Women's Suffrage Commemorative Sculpture on Idaho's capitol grounds.
  Notably, 126 years ago, on December 11, 1896, the Idaho State Supreme 
Court ruled in favor of the women's suffrage cause when it unanimously 
upheld the Idaho Equal Suffrage Amendment. According to historic Idaho 
publications, Idaho became the fourth State in the Union to enfranchise 
women with the right to vote and the first to do so via a State 
constitutional amendment. Remarkably, Idaho cemented the value and 
importance of women in the Gem State through a highly visible action 
prior to the Equal Suffrage Amendment--the adoption of the Idaho state 
seal--designed by a young woman named Emma Edwards. According to the 
Journal of the State senate of the Idaho Legislature, on March 14, 
1891, the first Idaho State Legislature and Governor Norman B. Willey 
approved, for official use, Edwards' rendering of the Idaho State 
Seal--the only woman-designed State seal in the country. Idaho's all-
male legislature approved Edwards' design, thus enshrining the 
importance of women in Idaho's past, present, and future and further 
validating the important role art continues to have in commemorating 
significant historical moments in time.
  Edwards' design reflects Idaho's unlimited potential, and her 
depiction implies that women represent an equal half of that potential. 
Edwards assigned women's influence as symbolic of the ideals of justice 
and liberty. A woman's placement within the State seal suggests that 
women are integral to the protection of those ideals in Idaho. The 
inclusion of women in relation to Idaho's strongest and most prominent 
1890s-era industries, mining, timber, and agriculture, position women 
not only as recipients of Idaho's bounties, but also as essential for 
the successful stewardship of these valuable resources.
  Inspired in part by the Idaho State seal and the long-fought efforts 
of Idaho suffragists to enfranchise women of the Gem State and to serve 
as leaders in the fight to secure the vote for women nationally, the 
Idaho State Historical Society, in partnership with the Idaho 
Commission on the Arts and the Foundation for Idaho History, 
commissioned local sculptor Irene Deely to develop the Idaho Women's 
Suffrage Commemorative Sculpture. This sculpture, privately funded by 
the Idaho State Historical Society and the Foundation for Idaho 
History, embodies the spirit and legacy of the women's suffrage 
movement, universally represents Idaho women through time, and pays 
tribute to the Idaho Women 100 initiative. The sculpture's nameless 
woman walks metaphorically in the footsteps of those who came before 
her and then hands off her shoe to the future generations who will come 
after her. Deely noted, ``Fourteen unique styles of shoes spanning ten 
decades represent women through history, with a single shoe being 
handed off for subsequent generations to fill.'' The 14 shoes include a 
pair of contemporary moccasins made by Donzia, traditional Shoshone 
Bannock artisans, to represent the women of Idaho's five federally 
recognized Tribes. Variations of boots represent women's role in 
Idaho's agriculture and ranching industries and the military.
  On December 12, 2022, the Idaho State Historical Society will proudly 
unveil the Idaho Women's Suffrage Commemorative Sculpture that 
celebrates the story of Idaho women past, present, and future and their 
impacts in the Gem State. This new symbol of the strength and 
significance of Idaho women will be the only female figure featured on 
the exterior State capitol grounds. The sculpture's placement on the 
grounds of the Idaho State Capitol is a statement of the importance of 
women to our State, especially in reference to their place in making 
decisions that impact us all. We commend all those involved in this 
important project that will serve as one more opportunity to 
commemorate several moments in time that speak to women's suffrage 
history and the resiliency, perseverance, and determination of many in 
the fight for a singular, focused goal.

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