[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11]
[House]
[Pages 15792-15796]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF 19TH AMENDMENT

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 1375) recognizing the 90th anniversary of the 19th 
Amendment, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The text of the resolution is as follows:

                              H. Res. 1375

       Whereas full participatory rights by women are vital to 
     democracy in the United States;
       Whereas the right to vote of all women in the United States 
     was not guaranteed for 144 years after the Declaration of 
     Independence was signed;
       Whereas the Women's Rights Convention was held in Seneca 
     Falls, New York, in July 1848, sparking a decades-long 
     struggle by women's rights pioneers to gain the right to 
     vote;
       Whereas a constitutional amendment granting women's 
     suffrage nationwide was first introduced in the United States 
     Congress in January 1878;

[[Page 15793]]

       Whereas in 1919, the 66th Congress of the United States 
     passed a resolution proposing an amendment to the 
     Constitution extending the right of suffrage to women;
       Whereas the aforesaid amendment was then ratified by the 
     Legislatures of the States of Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, 
     Kansas, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Texas, 
     Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, Minnesota, New 
     Hampshire, Utah, California, Maine, North Dakota, South 
     Dakota, Colorado, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Oregon, Indiana, 
     Wyoming, Nevada, New Jersey, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, 
     Oklahoma, West Virginia, Washington, and Tennessee; and
       Whereas, on August 18, 1920, the Tennessee General Assembly 
     voted for ratification by a one-vote margin, passing the 
     amendment in Nashville, Tennessee, becoming the 36th and 
     final of the three-fourths of States needed to ratify the 
     aforesaid amendment, entering it into the Constitution: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the 90th anniversary of the ratification of 
     the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution;
       (2) honors the contributions and achievements of women in 
     United States politics; and
       (3) reaffirms its commitment to pursuing policies that 
     achieve true political and social equality for women, 
     commensurate with their role in life in the United States and 
     society.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) and the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. 
Blackburn) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.


                             General Leave

  Mr. COHEN. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 
legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to 
add extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Tennessee?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COHEN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  House Resolution 1375, introduced by the Honorable Jim Cooper of 
Tennessee, recognizes the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The 
19th Amendment, of course, is the Amendment that gave women the right 
to vote in this United States, and it was not until 1920 that women got 
that right to vote.
  We didn't start off as a perfect Union. It's taken a lot of time, and 
we're still working toward becoming that perfect Union.
  The 19th Amendment was ratified with the perfect 36th State, which 
happened to be Tennessee, the last State that could make it by three-
quarters of the States needed. There were 48 at the time. Thirty-five 
had done it. The rest had said they wouldn't. Tennessee was on the 
spot, and it became the perfect 36th and gave women the right to vote.
  It was an historic vote that took place in the Tennessee State 
capitol. Probably the most historic vote that's ever occurred in that 
capitol. One of which, a bas-relief on the wall, which I worked on 
getting placed there, commemorates that event when that vote took 
place.
  One of my relatives, Mr. Joe Hanover, managed the bill in the House. 
And the Senate, of which I was a member, and Lady Blackburn, the 
Congresswoman on the other side, was also a member of that esteemed 
body, the State Senate in Tennessee voted with overwhelming numbers to 
approve the resolution. It was in the House where sometimes they have 
problems--unlike what we experience here in Washington--where they had 
difficulty getting the votes together.
  And it was about an even vote until the last minute. And a Republican 
from upper east Tennessee named Harry Burn got a missive from his 
mother that said, ``Harry, do the right thing.'' And Harry did the 
right thing, and he cast that vote and it passed by one vote. So women 
have the right to vote because of the perfect 36th, the State of 
Tennessee in 1920, August of that year. And it was by one vote.
  So it's an important story not only of how far this country has come, 
because our Constitution, as great as it was, didn't give women the 
right to vote. It permitted slavery, didn't give women the right to 
vote, and a lot of other problems. And it took a lot of efforts and 
civil rights and women's rights and human rights and all to bring us to 
where we're getting today. We still have a ways to go. But it also says 
how important one vote is, because one vote made that difference.
  Prior to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, only a handful of 
States allowed women to vote at all, and that was in certain elections. 
But even those modest gains were the product of decades of struggle by 
women's suffrage supporters. There were early events, such as the 
Women's Rights Convention convened in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, 
and it helped encourage women's suffrage supporters to organize for 
full participatory rights throughout the State. And during the late 
19th century, thousands of women's suffrage supporters nationwide 
marched, lobbied, and engaged in peaceful civil disobedience in the 
name of equal voting rights.
  A resolution proposing an amendment extending the right of suffrage 
to women was first introduced in Congress in 1878, but it was not until 
1916 that almost all major women's suffrage groups united behind a 
constitutional amendment. Yes, it was 42 years--even longer than it 
took to amend the Tennessee Constitution to get a lottery--42 years it 
took to get this amendment to a vote.
  When New York enacted full women's suffrage in 1917 and President 
Woodrow Wilson announced his support for an amendment in 1918, the 
political tide finally turned in favor of a nationwide effort. And on 
June 4, 1919, the 66th Congress of the United States proposed to the 
legislatures of the several States the 19th Amendment to the 
Constitution.
  A year later on August 20, 1920, Tennessee became that perfect 36th 
State to pass and ratify that amendment, thus fulfilling the three-
fourth requirements.
  Today, House Resolution 1375 honors the generation of women's 
suffrage activists who persevered through adversity and doubt to secure 
the rightful place of women in our democracy. This resolution also 
serves to reaffirm this body's commitment nine decades later pursuing 
policies that achieve true political and social equality for women.

                              {time}  1620

  There is, of course, in the Rotunda a statuary of some of the great 
leaders in this movement. And I think it took years to get that placed 
in the Capitol on the second floor in the Rotunda to honor their work.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I thank the gentleman from Tennessee for his kind remarks about the 
19th Amendment. And as the only woman in our Tennessee delegation, and 
on behalf of the women from Tennessee who have preceded me in service 
to this body, Louise Reece, Irene Baker, and Marilyn Lloyd, I treasure 
the role that our State played in ratifying the 19th Amendment. I will 
note that we still in Tennessee have not had a woman from our State 
serve in the Senate, in that body, nor have we had a female take the 
office of governor in our State.
  We have all heard the story about that wonderful day in August 1920. 
And indeed, as Mr. Cohen was saying, it was a thrilling day in our 
State's history. This Chamber knows well the story of Tennessee 
Representative Harry Burn and how he received that message, how he 
changed the rose on his lapel to a yellow rose, and then how he changed 
his vote. And that was a swing vote that did indeed change history.
  I want to tell you about another swing vote that helped to set the 
stage in the suffrage story. And it is one that is important to our 
State of Tennessee, and it is one that transpired right here in this 
Chamber 91 years ago. Representative Thetus Sims was born in Wayne 
County, Tennessee. He lived in Savannah, Tennessee, and he practiced 
law over in Perry County, Tennessee. He later represented all of those 
counties and some others that today are represented by Mr. Davis and 
Mr. Tanner and Mr. Gordon, as well as the portions of his district I 
represent.

[[Page 15794]]

  Now, Mr. Sims was the first Member of this Chamber to occupy 217 
Cannon, which is the office that I now occupy in the Cannon House 
Office Building. Ninety-one years ago, before the 19th Amendment could 
go to the States for ratification, it had to be discharged from this 
Chamber. The first attempt to do that was in 1915, and it failed. 
Thetus Sims voted against the 19th Amendment at that point in time.
  Well, he had the opportunity to vote again on the 19th Amendment in 
1918. And it was a very dramatic day right here in this Chamber. It was 
perhaps one of the most important days that had transpired in this 
Chamber. Supporters of the amendment were unsure they had the votes to 
discharge the amendment. The galleries around us were packed with 
suffragettes. They were packed with journalists. Everyone was watching. 
On that day, Thetus Sims surprised the Nation.
  Between 1915 and 1918, the suffrage movement had heated up not only 
here in D.C., but all across the Nation. Riots had broken out here in 
D.C., and women were jailed for wanting the right to vote. The D.C. 
commissioner who put them behind bars was a gentleman named Louis 
Brownlow. Louis Brownlow was Thetus Sims' son-in-law. With such 
influences, it is hard to see how Thetus Sims could see his way to vote 
``yes'' on this amendment.
  But Louis Brownlow wasn't the only person talking to Thetus Sims at 
the family dinner table. Congressman Sims also had daughters. And in 
Washington, the Sims daughters were known as consummate hostesses. Back 
in Tennessee, everyone knew them for being crack shots with their 
rifles. Well, here in D.C. Elizabeth Sims was a suffragist leader. And 
her arguments evidently beat out those of her husband, Louis Brownlow.
  So the day finally came in 1918. And on his way to the vote, Thetus 
Sims took a very bad fall, and he broke his collarbone. He refused to 
have it set or to take pain killers for fear he would miss the vote. 
So, he came to the floor and he flipped his vote. He voted ``aye,'' and 
he became the hero of the day.
  Well, needless to say I am very proud of Thetus Sims' vote that day. 
I am grateful for how he represented Tennessee. And I am so pleased 
that he listened to his iron-jawed angel daughter, and that he voted 
for women. I am honored to represent much of that district now, and I 
am honored to occupy his office, 217 Cannon.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COHEN. Congresswoman Blackburn brings up some interesting 
history. And it reminds me Brownlow was probably related to Parson 
Brownlow, who was the somewhat reviled governor of Tennessee during the 
Civil War period. And Senator Henry said some very awful things about 
Governor Brownlow and the things he did to the women of Nashville and 
the jeopardy he placed them in. I am sure that was some kind of 
secondary reprisal as this relative of Brownlow jailed the women that 
wanted the vote. He had put the women in danger during the Civil War. 
And Senator Henry talked about that on many occasions on the floor, as 
I am sure you remember.
  I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Rhode 
Island (Mr. Kennedy).
  Mr. KENNEDY. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  I want to acknowledge the gentlelady from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) 
for her comments. You know, history is so important because it teaches 
us about the future. And we might think this is a 90-year-old piece of 
history dug up out of the past that we are just reflecting on. But we 
all know right now that it wasn't until this last three cycles that we 
had the election of the first woman Speaker of the House in the history 
of this great democracy, arguably one of the most powerful offices in 
the Constitution, leading the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy 
Pelosi. And that one of the first items she had to take on as a Speaker 
was the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay Act. So you know, we 
are talking about 90 years ago, and yet up until this day we are still 
fighting about whether women ought to get equal pay for equal work. 
That was not something that was a fait accompli in terms of a bill that 
would have been passed.
  But it just shows you we think we live in times where all of the 
great battles in the history of civil rights are behind us because they 
happened, oh, during the 1960s, or they happened back in the early 
1920s, or they happened way back then. You know what? They're happening 
now.
  We had an historic election in 2008, the election of the first 
African American President of the United States. When I go to my 
schools around my district, majority-minority, they finally say, ``We 
belong in America.'' Because just as it was empowering for women to 
finally know they had a legal seat at the table, it wasn't just the 
legalese that mattered, it was the spirit of the law. And what matters 
is the message that it sends to all of our people that this is a 
country that's in constant dynamic motion in terms of always trying to 
improve itself, expand the circle of opportunity for people who have 
been previously shunted aside in our country. And I think that it's a 
wonderful opportunity today to celebrate what makes us the greatest 
country on the face of the earth.
  We might not always get it right, but we're going to get it right 
because we're a country that moves forward, that has progress, that's 
constantly striving to make it better. People put us down all over the 
world. They put us down here all over our own country. We're the 
greatest country in the world. We're the model where everywhere people 
want to come here because of things like we're celebrating today. 
Because you know what? For most people in the world the notion of a 
political right is a foreign notion. The notion of equal rights is a 
foreign notion. Human dignity, human rights are foreign notions.
  We may not always get it right, but we ultimately will get it if we 
stick to it, and we remember things like this as guideposts as to how 
we need to continue the constant fight to move our country ever forward 
in the promise that Dr. King laid out in his ``I Have a Dream'' speech 
that we could all be treated as we ourselves would want to be treated 
someday. You know, because there but for the grace of God go each and 
every one of us. It's a human dignity issue.

                              {time}  1630

  One of the false things that keep us behind in life, perceptions, 
those are irrelevant when we talk about things like this because we 
finally recognize what makes our country great is we are not going to 
segregate, we are not going to discriminate. We are going to elevate 
every human being no matter their gender, their color, their creed, 
their disability or ability, for that matter.
  This is a country that's about everybody. As this President said last 
week, it's not us versus them. In this country it's all us, Barack 
Obama, President of the United States, and, boy, is he right. Girl, is 
he right.
  Thank God in America it doesn't matter if you are shut out because 
someday, because of our Constitution in this great country, we might be 
able to get a way in for everybody if they have something going against 
them. And the women fought the fight, African Americans, minorities, 
people with physical disabilities through the ADA. It's a constant 
fight. Everybody owes a debt of gratitude to everyone else for making 
our country a freer, more equal place for all people to live.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Smith) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. I thank the gentlewoman from Tennessee, a former 
member of the Judiciary Committee, for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 1375, recognizing the 90th 
anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
  Mr. Speaker, I support House Resolution 1375, which recognizes the 
90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and honors the contributions of 
women in United States politics.
  The 19th Amendment prohibits the Federal Government and the States 
from denying a citizen's right to vote on account of sex. It was 
ratified on August 18, 1920.

[[Page 15795]]

  For more than a century after our Nation's founding, women lacked the 
right to vote. However, throughout this time women participated in 
politics. Their many contributions paved the way for the eventual 
ratification of the 19th Amendment.
  Many women played significant roles in the abolitionist movement, for 
example. It was after Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were 
denied admission to an anti-slavery conference that they organized the 
first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848.
  The convention's Declaration of Sentiments stated that ``all men and 
women are created equal.'' This served as a foundational document in 
the women's suffrage movement that followed.
  After the 15th Amendment in 1870 outlawed the denial of a citizen's 
right to vote on account of race, women sought an amendment for women's 
suffrage.
  Such an amendment would not come for another 50 years. During this 
period, women continued to remain active in politics. They voiced their 
concerns not only with regard to women's rights, but also on behalf of 
other causes such as the temperance movement.
  In 1916, Jeannette Rankin, a Republican from Montana, was elected to 
the U.S. House of Representatives. She became the first female Member 
of Congress. While many women still did not have the right to vote 
throughout the country, Montana afforded women the right to vote at 
that time.
  Finally, in 1918 President Woodrow Wilson announced his support for a 
women's suffrage amendment. Congress passed the proposed amendment in 
1919. On August 18, 1920, the Tennessee General Assembly became the 
36th State legislature to ratify it, making it the 19th Amendment to 
the U.S. Constitution.
  In the decades that followed, women not only voted, but they slowly 
began to enter politics as State and Federal legislators and holders of 
elective executive posts.
  In 1931, Hattie Wyatt Caraway (Democrat, Arkansas) was appointed to 
the U.S. Senate, succeeding her late husband. She later became the 
first woman ever elected to the Senate, where she served two full 
terms.
  The women's rights movement grew significantly in the 1960s and 
1970s. But in 1979, women still only occupied 3 percent of the seats in 
Congress, 10 percent of the seats in State legislatures, and 11 percent 
of statewide elective executive offices, according to the Center for 
American Women and Politics.
  Today, while there is still room for much progress, women hold nearly 
17 percent of the seats in Congress and the number of women in State 
legislatures and statewide elective offices has more than doubled.
  House Resolution 1375 recognizes that the full participatory rights 
of women are vital to democracy in the United States.
  This resolution honors the historic impact of the 19th Amendment and 
the achievements of women in politics.
  It also reaffirms the commitment of the House of Representatives to 
pursuing this equality for women.
  I am pleased to support this resolution. I urge my colleagues to 
share their support as well.
  Mr. COHEN. I yield such time as he may consume to the author of this 
resolution, the gentleman who represents the area where this historic 
Amendment was passed in Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, the 
Honorable Jim Cooper.
  Mr. COOPER. I thank my colleagues. I appreciate their bipartisan 
effort on this important memorial resolution to honor Tennessee's 
historic role in making ratification of the Amendment possible.
  I want to point out that the State of Tennessee played this pivotal 
role, and I think it's very appropriate that the House commemorate the 
90th anniversary. I thank my colleagues for supporting this measure.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. I want to thank the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Cooper) for his leadership on this issue and for bringing forward this 
memorializing resolution for us to remind--it's a great way for us to 
continue to remind our citizens of the importance that our State played 
in passing the 19th Amendment. I thank Mr. Cohen for his leadership in 
managing the time and the preparation for presenting this Amendment 
today.
  With that, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, I too would like to thank Mr. Cooper for 
bringing this resolution. It's important that it be recognized on this 
occasion. I thank Mr. Smith, who was a distinguished leader. We like to 
think of Texas as southwest Tennessee, because we did so much to create 
it. So you are like a cousin and part of this great celebration. And 
Congresswoman Blackburn, who served with me in the Senate, she brought 
up the singular vote. She brought up the second one. I thought she was 
going to bring up the lottery, where she was one of my essential 22, 
and I continue to thank her for that.
  With the memory of Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan 
B. Anthony whose visages remain in the Rotunda, I would ask that we all 
vote positively in favor of this resolution and pass the resolution as 
presented here, H. Res. 1375. I ask for an ``aye'' vote.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1375, a 
resolution celebrating the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 
Nineteenth Amendment and honoring the contributions and achievements of 
women in U.S. politics and reaffirming the commitment of the House of 
Representatives on its efforts to pursue policies that achieve true 
political and social equality for women.
  As a strong supporter of equal rights, I am pleased to support this 
resolution commemorating the 90th anniversary of the ratification of 
the 19th Amendment, which extends suffrage to women. The ratification 
came 144 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence 
thanks to support from President Woodrow Wilson, the 66th Congress, and 
most importantly women's rights pioneers, who fought for women's 
suffrage for many decades.
  As a husband, father of two daughters, and grandfather to 
granddaughters, I am pleased to live in a country that values the 
founding principle of equality. The passage of this resolution can also 
serve as a reminder that discrimination and inequality still exist and 
that we can always strive for a more perfect union. I urge the passage 
of H. Res. 1375.
  Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to applaud the 
actions of the House of Representatives in recognizing the importance 
of the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment I strongly support H. 
Res. 1375, which recognizes the significance of women fully 
participating in democracy in the United States, honors the 
contributions and achievements of women in United States politics, and 
reaffirms the House's commitment to political and social equality for 
all women.
  On Election Day, in 1920, millions of American women had the chance 
to exercise their right to vote for the first time. Ninety years ago, 
on August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to our Constitution was ratified 
guaranteeing women the right to vote. As the House celebrates this 
special moment in history, it is important to remember the 
contributions of those leaders in the women's suffrage movement--Ida B. 
Wells, and Alice Paul.
  Some women, like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy 
Stone, were not alive in 1920 when women were granted the right to vote 
and participate in American politics. Nonetheless, they were women's 
rights activists who were at the heart of the women's suffrage 
movement. Their perseverance and persistence laid the ground work which 
led to the right of every American woman to vote.
  While there is still work to be done, women have made tremendous 
strides toward equality in the United States. At this very moment, we 
have three women sitting on the Supreme Court of the United States, a 
female Secretary of State, and a strong woman serving as Speaker of the 
House. Women are in leadership positions all over the country. In my 
home State of Georgia, DeKalb District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming was 
recently appointed, by the President, to be the next Southeast Regional 
Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency.
  Ultimately, women's rights are not just women's rights, but human 
rights that benefit the entire human race. This chamber must continue 
to ensure that equal rights apply to all Americans regardless of 
gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, or 
socioeconomic status.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly support H. Res. 1375 and urge my colleagues 
to do the same.
  Mr. COHEN. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1375, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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