Events - Month View

#OnThisDay in 1971, the 26th Amendment was ratified, giving adults aged 18 through 21 the right to vote. The 26th Amendment was enacted in response to Vietnam War protestors who argued that soldiers who were old enough to fight/die for their country should be old enough to vote.

The amendment was passed by Congress (proposed) on March 23, 1971, and ratified on July 1, 1971.

Learn more:

-- National Constitution Center: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxvi

-- National Archive: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27

#OnThis Day, Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements, and racial segregation in schools, employment, and public accommodations.
#CivilRights #VotingRights

Timeline:
-- 1866 Johnson vetos CRA of 1866, but veto is overridden by Congress (define citizenship and guaranteed citizens equal protection)

-- 1875 Grant signs CRA of 1875 (guaranteed African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations, public transportation, and prohibited their exclusion from jury service)

-- 1883 SCOTUS rules 7-1 that CRA of 1875 is unconstitutional

-- 1957 Eisenhower signs CRA of 1957 (forms the Civil Rights Commission)

-- 1960 Eisenhower signs CRA of 1960 (guaranteed qualified voters the right to register to vote

-- 1964 Johnson signs CRA of 1964 (prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and employment)

-- 1968 Johnson signs CRA of 1968 (guaranteed equal housing opportunities)

-- 1991 Bush signs the CRA of 1991 (expanded the rights of women and disabled persons)

Resources:

-- Johnson Library: http://www.lbjlibrary.org/exhibits/civil-rights

-- National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/summer/civil-rights-act-1.html

-- Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/civil-rights-era-timeline.html

Join us celebrating the birthday of Gertrude Bustill Mosell. Gertrude wrote a weekly advice column, "Our Women‘s Department," which was the 1st women‘s column in the history of the African-American press. She fought for equal rights and encouraged women to join the suffragist movement.

Learn more:

-- Article: https://suffragistmemorial.org/african-american-women-leaders-in-the-suffrage-movement

-- Book: https://books.google.com/books?id=CHx5tY6wQSMC&pg=PA37&lpg=PA37&dq=Gertrude+Bustill+Mossell&source=bl&ots=W1sLIooEOO&sig=ACfU3U1M6Q9DfnX2OJmLRn4pJBdGJaT7yQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi1hL-J18zpAhURC6wKHbR1CXc4FBDoATAFegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=Gertrude%20Bustill%20Mossell&f=false

-- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Bustill_Mossell

-- Penn University Archive: https://archives.upenn.edu/collections/finding-aid/upt50m913

-- NPS: https://www.nps.gov/articles/african-american-women-and-the-nineteenth-amendment.htm

The 4th of July marks the birth of the United States of America as a nation, recalling the Declaration of Independence made in 1776. The Continental Congress of the thirteen American colonies had actually passed a resolution of independence from the British Empire on July 2nd, but subsequently debated the additional declaration which explained its decision. The American Revolution had already been underway since 1775, and continued to 1783 in victory for the new United States.

Join us in celebrating the birthday of Jenny Bland Beauchamp. She wrote one of the first articles on woman suffrage published in Texas.

Learn more: https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fbeaj

#OnThisDay in 1868, Titus H. Mundine was the 1st Texas legislator to propose the enfranchisement of women and African Americans.

"Every person, without distinction of sex, who shall have arrived at the age of twenty-one years...shall be deemed a qualified elector." -- Titus H. Mundine

Learn More:
Titus – http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmuvf
1868-69 Constitutional Convention – http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mjc04
Woman Suffrage – http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/viw01

#OnThisDay in 1868, the 14th Amendment was ratified. It granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former and recently freed slaves. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The amendment was passed by Congress (proposed) on June 13, 1866 and ratified on July 9, 1868.

Resources:

National Constitution Center: https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xiv

National Archive: https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/amendments-11-27

Mary McLeod Bethune (Birthday)

Join us in celebrating the birthday of Mary MCLeod Bethune who contributed to the women’s suffrage movement through her activism and writing.

Learn more:

NPS: https://www.nps.gov/mamc/learn/historyculture/mary-mcleod-bethune.htm

Women‘s Vote: https://www.womensvote100.org/the-suff-buffs-blog/2020/5/4/mary-mcleod-bethune-true-democracy-and-the-fight-for-universal-suffrage?fbclid=IwAR2sHG_Gb3ue4UpAFdSYiWe95TNmK0HJE-_pnIiWUwYVp88PNlRd9Hu9SHg

Join us in celebrating the birthday of Ida Wells Barnett. Ida was a civil rights activist and founded the Alpha Suffrage Club in 1913. She criticized mainstream (white) suffrage organizations for their exclusion of women of color. During the 1913 Women‘s March on Washington, Wells and other African-American women were told to march at the back of the procession. Wells refused, waiting until the procession started and then joining the block of women that represented her state.

Learn more:
-- Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fySmIinC0MU&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3orBtlRs5Vhx0pCTMSgBTd6jU4wZ-xCXOv_9WVKweq8RGPZ8rWDuNR6kE
-- Hidden Figures: https://buff.ly/2TPhL88
-- NPS: https://www.nps.gov/articles/black-women-and-the-fight-for-voting-rights.htm
-- Time Mag: https://time.com/5792441/the-suffragists-100-women-of-the-year/
-- Smithsonian Mag: https://buff.ly/2Xd2mjQ
-- PBS: https://buff.ly/2Ag4b7c (1 hr 9 minutes in)
-- Ida‘s Writing; https://buff.ly/2Uv75vG

Join us in celebrating the birthday of Alice Dunbar Nelson. Alice was active in the emerging civil rights and woman suffrage movements. In 1915, she was the field organizer for the Middle Atlantic States in the campaign for women‘s suffrage. During World War I, Dunbar-Nelson served as a field representative of the Woman‘s Committee of the Council of National Defense.

Learn more:
-- University of Delaware Library: http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/findaids/dunbarne.html
-- Smithsonian: https://blog.library.si.edu/blog/2020/03/12/an-unsung-legacy-the-work-and-activism-of-alice-dunbar-nelson/#.XsnsXmhKhPY
-- NPS: https://www.nps.gov/articles/black-women-and-the-fight-for-voting-rights.htm
-- Hidden Figures: https://www.brandywine.org/museum/hidden-figures-suffrage-movement
-- Black History: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/dunbar-nelson-alice-ruth-moore-1875-1935/

#OnThisDay in 1848, the 1st women‘s rights convention was held in the US. It took place in Seneca Falls, New York. The meeting launched the women’s suffrage movement.

Learn more:


-- Constitutional Center: https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-the-seneca-falls-convention-begins
-- Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/july-19/
-- White House Archive: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/find-the-sentiments
-- NPS: https://www.nps.gov/articles/black-women-and-the-fight-for-voting-rights.htm

#OnThisDay, Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act (CRA) of 1964, which made discrimination based on race, religion, sex, national origin, and other characteristics illegal. In addition, unlike the CRA, the ADA also requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities and imposes accessibility requirements on public accommodations.

Celebration of signing of ADA

#OnThisDay, Bush signs a 25-yr renewal of the Voter Rights Act (VRA) on Juyly 22, 2006.

UPDATE: The VRA was successfully challenged in June 2013 (Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder). The Supreme Court struck down (in a 5-4 ruling) Section 4(b) as outdated and not “grounded in current conditions.” As a consequence, Section 5 is intact, but inoperable, unless or until Congress prescribes a new Section 4 formula.

The #VRA is a landmark federal law enacted in 1965 to remove race-based restrictions on voting.

1965 - Johnson signs VRA

1970 - Nixon signs 5-yr renewal

1975 - Ford signs 7-yr renewal

1982 - Reagan signs 25-yr renewal

2006 - Bush signs 25-yr renewal

2013 - Shelby v. Holder challenges VRA

Learn more: https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43626.pdf

Resources:

Johnson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNjlwwf2K9g&feature=youtu.be

Nixon: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-signing-the-voting-rights-act-amendments-1970

Ford: https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0005/1561605.pdf

Reagan: https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/research/speeches/62982b

Bush: https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2006/07/20060727.html

Shelby v. Holder: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-96_6k47.pdf

VRA Timeline: https://www.aclu.org/voting-rights-act-major-dates-history

Prior challenges: https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/msdelta/ch3.htm

Current status: https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/Minority_Voting_Access_2018.pdf

Join us in celebrating the birthday of Lucy Burns. Lucy was an American suffragist and women‘s rights activist. She spent more time in prison because of her activism than any other American woman suffragist. She and Alice Paul were co-founders of the National Woman‘s Party.

Learn more:

National Parks Service: https://www.nps.gov/people/lucy-burns.htm

Watch Iron Jawed Angels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzoXTo4-hws

Join us in celebrating the birthday of Mariana Thompson Folsom. Mariana was a leader in the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWS) and asked Lucy Stone in 1885 for assistance in establishing a state (Texas) suffrage society.


Learn more:
-- TSHA History: https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffo43
-- TSHA Image: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/suffrage/battle/folsom-lecture.html
-- Unitarian Oral History: http://www.liveoakuu.org/services/rev-mariana-thompson-folsom-1845-1909/
-- Bullock Museum: https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/what-is-feminine
-- TSL - Personal Diary Entry: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/suffrage/battle/mariana-diary.html
-- TSL - Letter from Lucy Stone: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/exhibits/suffrage/battle/stone-folsom-1.html