Well, good evening. Welcome to the william g. Mcgowan theater at the National Archives. Im debra wall. Deputy archivist of the United States and im pleased you could join us for tonights program, whether youre here in the theater or joining us through facebook, youtube, or cspan. Tonights discussion of womens suffragists and the men who supported them, the suffragents is part of the series events related to our current exhibit, rightfully hers, american women and the vote. Our partners are the 2020 womens Vote Centennial Initiative, and the one woman one vote 2020 festival, and we thank them for their support. Our special exhibit, rightfully hers, tells the story of womens struggle for Voting Rights, to secure these rights women activists had to win allies among men and influential positions. It was men who sat in the state legislatures that would ratify or reject the 19th amendment. Whose centennial we now celebrate. When rightfully hers opened in our Lawrence Obrien gallery last may,
In the lobby in front of the entrance. It has a photograph of the 1913 womans suffrage march looking up pennsylvania avenue toward the United States capital. It is overlaid with the photograph from the 2017 womens march from pennsylvania avenue as well. Its an intellect linticular so as you walk by, the image changes between the two. We really wanted to have it in the exhibit to help grab the publics attention and also to signal that this is an historic exhibit, but one that continues to have contemporary relevance today. So, lets head now into the gallery where rightfully hers is on display. So, this is the National Archives exhibition to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, but it is more than the 19th amendment exhibition. Thats because the 19th amendment landmark Voting Rights victory that it was for women did not give all women the right to vote. Millions of women were already voters by the time the 19th amendment was added to the constitution, but millions of wo
United states at that time, and according to the constitution, ofre was required 3 4 number states to ratify to make the night he could mimic part of because addition, and really the last battle came down to tennessee. State thatot another could ratify the 19th amendment, and if women were going to have the 1920t to vote in election, it all came down to tennessee. Host tennessee and also one key vote. This is the headline from the washington post, a mothers that are, a signs choice, and the incredible moment women won the right to vote. Their letter was written by the mother of henry t. Burn. Guest harry byrne was a in theator Tennessee State house that represented east tennessee. His district was not particularly supportive of the 19th amendment, and the governor session toa special consider the 19th amendment, so urn returned to nashville for that session. The vote counters, who were really good vote counters, really believe he did not have the votes to pass the 19th amendment in the
Amendment. Today our new exhibit, rightfully hers, american women and the vote, opened up stair in the lawrence f. Obrien gallery. This exhibit is a corner stone of our sentenal celebration of the 19th amendment. Which gave women the right to vote. The 19th amendment is rightfully celebrated as a major milestone made possible by decades of suffrage relentless Political Engagement and one critical piece of the larger story of womens battle for the vote. Rightfully hers begins with the suffrage that doesnt end with the 19th amendments ratification. The final section examines the Immediate Impact and the voting right struggles that persisted into modern day. And corrine porter, stand up, is the curator of that exhibit. [ applause ] one of the goals of the exhibit is to recognize both the broad diversity of suffrage activists and the many bases on which american women have been barred from voting. As susan ware does in why they march the exhibit looks beyond the familiar names such as susa
To vote, the National Portrait gallery, National Archives and the library of congress have created special exhibits. Curators talk about the Creative Process behind the exhibits including determining goals in selecting objects. The berkshire conference of womens historians and the womens Suffrage Centennial commission hosted this event. Im martha jones, a copresident along with tie i cant miles along the berkshire conference. Im happy to be welcoming all of you to this evenings conversation, and i have to extend the special embrace to our members tuning in from all over the world today. With this event, we begin a conference weekend, the big berkes 2020, not as we planned for in baltimore at johns hopkins. Instead, were being linked together by digital sound and image. I, for one, am grateful even for this today. The year 2020 marks 100 years since the 19th amendment, Legal Protection for womens votes became part of the u. S. Ko constitution. For us as historians of womens genders and