[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15487]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF PASSAGE OF 19TH AMENDMENT GRANTING 
                        VOTING RIGHTS FOR WOMEN

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, August 10, 2010

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in recognition of 
the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment of the U.S. 
Constitution on August 26th, granting voting rights for women. This 
day, also known as Women's Equality Day, marks a significant milestone 
in American history. I know that my colleagues join me in acknowledging 
the contributions that women have made to America and the importance of 
this landmark in history.
  The 72-year struggle of suffragists, from the First Women's Rights 
Convention in July 1848 to the passage of the 19th amendment on August 
26, 1920, bears witness to the sacrifice and dedication of the leaders 
of the early Women's Rights Movement.
  We must thank Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and the other 
courageous women who organized the First Women's Rights Convention in 
1848. Their early advocacy for voting rights, protection from domestic 
violence, the right to own property, and other social reforms that 
promote equality are the same goals that we seek for women today. The 
``Declaration of Sentiments'' speech that Mrs. Stanton delivered at the 
July convention called for ``all men and women'' to be recognized as 
created equal under the law. This is a sacred trust that we must 
continue to support.
  On August 26, 1970--the 50th anniversary--the National Organization 
of Women (NOW) called upon women nationwide to strike for equality in 
protest of the fact that women still did not have equal rights. In New 
York City, 50,000 women marched down Fifth Avenue to demonstrate in 
support of the women's movement, as did women in 40 other cities across 
America that day. U.S. Representative Bella Abzug addressed the New 
York City crowd and was instrumental in getting Congress in 1971 to 
officially recognize August 26th as Women's Equality Day.
  In 1776, Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams, sent an urgent message to 
her husband who was a delegate to the second Continental Congress. She 
stated, ``In the new Code of Laws, I desire you would remember the 
ladies.'' It took 144 years for women's equality rights to be 
sanctioned by Congress and I ask, Madam Speaker, that we take this 
opportunity to honor this 90th anniversary and the remarkable 
contributions that women have made to this country. The American people 
owe a debt of gratitude to the early suffragists for remaining 
steadfast in the face of overwhelming opposition to equal rights for 
all American citizens that our Constitution supports today.

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