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Happy Women's Equality Day!

It may be one of those holidays that’s printed on your desk calendar but that often goes by unnoticed. August 26 is Women’s Equality Day, a celebration of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which first gave women full voting rights in 1920.

In President Bush’s official proclamation of this year’s holiday, he wrote: “As we look back on the journey to women gaining suffrage, we remember the sacrifices of people like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. More than 160 years after the Seneca Falls Convention, we celebrate the spirit, leadership, and hard work of those pioneering women. We also recognize the women who continue in this tradition by acting as role models in their communities, helping raise the next generation of Americans, leading in their professions, and serving in the Armed Forces protecting our country. These women are continuing on the path set by those who came before them, so that all Americans can realize the great promise of our Nation.”

With that in mind, here are a few links—culled from About.com—that might be interesting to those of you who want to know more about the suffragist movement and the history of this holiday:

• American Women’s Suffrage Movement Timeline: A state-by-state listing of the gradual expansion of women’s franchise in the United States.

• Not for Ourselves Alone: Written back in 1999 when the documentary was new, this article reviews the Ken Burns documentary on the relationship of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. For Women’s Equality Day, why not rent a copy and watch it—or buy a copy and donate it to your local school or library?

• The Long Road to Suffrage: 1920 marked the end of a long road, begun in 1848, to win the vote for women. Read this overview of the steps in that long struggle.

• August 26, 1920: The end of the battle to win the vote for women in the United States came when a young Tennessee legislator voted as his mother urged him to vote. Article also includes links to other material on this site about the long battle for woman suffrage, biographies of key suffrage activists, and photos of the suffrage struggle.

• Woman and the Republic: It may seem obvious today why women should have been given the vote, but it was controversial before 1920. Here’s one of the most well-reasoned anti-suffrage documents to come out of that long struggle. Read it through for an interesting insight into why it took so long to win the vote.

• Dorothy Kenyon Bridges: From historian Louise Bernikow, a history of Women’s Strike Day on August 26, 1970, and the role of Dorothy Kenyon. Women’s Strike Day in 1970 – in the U.S. and in Paris – was a forerunner of Women’s Equality Day.

• Bella Abzug Quotations: A few choice quotes from the woman who, as a U.S. Representative in Congress, helped push through the initial proclamation of Women’s Equality Day.

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