Tag Archives: 19th Amendment Centennial

19th Amendment Moment: Native American Women in Historic Oregon

By Cathy Meyer

The story of Native Americans, who some considered inferior to whites, was revealed through Oregon newspapers articles. The children were forcibly removed from the reservation to boarding schools. The purpose of the schools were to “legally” assimilate Native Americans into white American society by converting them to Christianity and preparing them for work limited to manual labor or domestic servitude. Inequality was built into a system that kept the Native Americans from access to a better workforce and independence. One of the four remaining boarding schools today is the Chemawa Indian School. In 1880 Forest Grove did not want it there so it was moved north of Salem.

Many whites’ perception of Native Americans as being incapable of being educated evolved, only within the limited view of assimilation. Oregon newspapers praised the Native American girls and young women with racist undertones reinforcing the belief that they were suited only for servility. While white women were making great strides into the white-collar workforce, Native American women didn’t have the preparation for advancing to better jobs.

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Commemorating Aug. 26 Women’s Equality Day (and 19th Amendment)

Women’s Equality Day, observed on August 26 every year, commemorates the certification of the ratification of the 19th Amendment by then-Secretary of State (US), Bainbridge Colby, on August 26, 1920.  If you remember, the 19th Amendment was ratified by the required 36th state, Tennessee, on Aug, 19, 1920. This year, August 19, 2020, marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification, and August 26 marks the 100th anniversary of the certification, the date that the applicable US government official reviewed the documents and issued a proclamation that the amendment was formally adopted according to the requirements and is now part of the US Constitution. (So many dates…so much legalese!).

Bella Abzug, 1971 (Wikimedia: Library of Congress, ppmsc.03683)

A bit of history: Representative Bella Abzug championed a bill in the U.S. Congress in 1971 to designate August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day.” The bill said that “the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote.”

Milestones:

  • 1971: Bella Abzug files the first resolution in Congress to recognize Women’s Equality Day
  • 1972: President Richard Nixon issues Proclamation 4147 in recognition of the day
  • 1973: Bella Abzug files a 2nd resolution to recognize Women’s Equality Day
  • 1973: On Aug 16, the US Congress approved H.J. Resolution 52 that designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day

Since then: every US President has issued a Proclamation in recognition of August 26, as do most State Governors and many mayors.

Additional resources:

Your 19th Amendment Moment: Black Women’s Suffrage in Oregon

Meet Harriet “Hattie” Redmond (1862-1952)

By Cathy Meyer

Courtesy Oreg. Hist. Soc. Research Library, bb09628

As I attempted to educate myself about Oregon history, I found inspiring stories of women in our “backyard” fighting for the right to vote. Even though Black women were excluded from white suffrage groups, the impact of their support to the movement was significant. In 1896, African American women organized local women’s clubs and eventually on the National scale with Mary Church Terrell as the first president of the National Association of Colored Women. In 1916, the NACW passed a resolution to support the woman suffrage amendment.

There were many influential African American women that fought for the right to vote in Oregon and the nation. Harriet “Hattie” Redmond was one of them.

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Your 19th Amendment Moment: Women’s Suffrage in Oregon

By Cindy Parker

The fight for Women’s Suffrage here in Oregon took 42 years and 6 different votes, more than any other state. Led early on by Abigail Scott Duniway, it took another generation to finally succeed in 1912, incidentally the same year as Eugene-Lane AAUW was founded.

Esther Pohl Lovejoy was the second woman graduate of the University of Oregon medical school (1894) and appointed the first woman city health officer in Portland. Her dedication to public health was underscored by the death of a young son, Freddy, due to contaminated milk. She and others recognized that “men do not have society’s best interests at heart” and in order to achieve the goals of pure food, clean water, and safe workplaces women needed to be able to influence policies through the ballot.

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AAUW Eugene-Lane County Featured on KXCR 90.7 Radio in Florence!

CHECK US OUT ON KXCR 90.7 FM RADIO!

AAUW’s Wendy Cook, SMJ House’s Leah Murray, and KXCR Program Manager Larry Bloomfield converse about AAUW, the SMJ House, the 19th Centennial, Kappy Eaton, and a host of other fun tidbits. (28 minutes)

KXCR Interview