Blogging about suffrage history
& suffrage centennial events
Joint Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States Relative to Equal Rights for Men and Women Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission by the Congress: Article-- Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Section. 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. Section. 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification. When the Equal Rights Amendment fell short of ratification by 3 states, the fight to keep it alive began. The time limit for ratification by 38 states was removed, & the effort to convince 3 of the 15 states resumed. Since the mid 1970s states have created laws to protect equal rights. This is the excuse the 15 states use to not ratify the ERA. The problem with this argument is that should any of the laws passed by any of the 50 states be brought before the US Supreme Court, they could be found unconstitutional because equal rights are not guaranteed in the US Constitution. With the ERA in place, these state's laws could stand. Unless you make some noise, your representatives don't know what is important to you!
If you live in one of the 15 states that have not ratified the ERA, please contact your local representatives & implore them to reintroduce the ERA for ratification. Simply click on you state & a new window will open with your state legislature's website. Alabama Arizona Arkansas Florida Georgia Illinois Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Nevada North Carolina Oklahoma South Carolina Utah Virginia For more information: ERA FAQ
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Early this year, I was at work when one of the reference librarians mentioned that Post-Star journalist, Maury Thompson, had discovered that a suffrage play was performed in Glens Falls in 1916. Being that I am the resident suffrage buff, she thought I might be interested in talking with Maury about it. I did. I found a copy of the play on Internet Archive, & mentioned it might be fun to put on the play. The Post-Star ran with the story, & I was directing a play for the first time since high school. I hadn't even read it yet. Luckily, the play turned out to by funny, & relevant. There was already a lot of buzz surrounding Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948) Day, commemorating the Glens Falls native's unsuccessful run for POTUS in 1916. Todd DeGarmo, head of the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library, suggested we produce it in conjunction with the Hughes exhibition & the events being planned. Hughes was the first major party candidate to campaign on the idea that a federal amendment was needed to guarantee woman suffrage. Until that time, many politicians continued to support the state by state suffrage effort. He also had a group of women some called "the Hughsettes" who actively campaigned for him, travelling by train through the states where women already had the vote. I put out a casting call in late August, & enough people auditioned for me to fill the cast. On a shoestring budget, & a 5 week/6 rehearsal production schedule, we were able to pull of the one-night centennial production of The Revolt: A Play in One Act by Ellis Parker Butler (1869-1937), a banker, & prolific writer. In the end, I wound up working with much younger actors than I anticipated. These girls, ranging in age from 11-17, had very different skill levels. Some of the girls had never been on stage before. Some had more acting experience than me. I warned them that I was a collaborative director, & they took to that fairly well. They made suggestions regarding their characters, & helped with blocking. We were working with a small stage, & minimal props, but they were always thinking of ways to make the props work better, helping with the flow of the action. All-in-all, this was a great re-introduction to directing. I hope you like our production. 0:23 Suffrage Song: Vote For Women, Keep It Up
1:15 Pro & Anti Suffrage Cosplay 5:03 Suffrage Song: Bring It To Pass In the Year (1912) 6:27 Introduction to The Revolt, Glens Falls, & Charles Evans Hughes 8:21 The Revolt: A Play in One Act by Ellis Parker Butler Director (& suffrage singer): Tisha Dolton Cast (in order of appearance) Pauline: Catie LeCours Grandma Gregg: Sandi Rhodes Susan Jane Jones: Kayla Toney Kate: Amelia Elmen Grace: Rosalie Carlsen Edith: Merista Nichols Ida: Carynn Bohley May: Cecelia Bayard The Ideal Husband as himself "Oooo"s: Jereme Young Cosplay: Frieda Toth, Renee Miller, Jereme Young David Dismore is a one of the preeminent feminists in the country. Yes, he is a guy. Yes, he is the same age as my parents. Who cares? He writes these great suffrage history posts on his Facebook account. Friend request him. He will friend you back. & then you can read his very informative posts. They are #OnThisDayInHistory like you have never seen before.
Today's post is about the ill-fated 1915 NY State Suffrage referendum. It would be two more years before women gained the right to vote in NY. Hence the big push for planning centennial events next year. 70 days until the centennial year begins. I'll keep you posted! |
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