The National Archives hosted the event in conjunction with their centennial exhibit, rightfully hers. American women and the vote. Tonights discussion is part of a series of programs related to our recently opened exhibit, rightfully herself. American women and the vote. Rightfully hers commemorates the anniversary and tells of womens struggles for Voting Rights towards equal citizenship, explores how women across the spectrum of race, ethnicity and class advanced the cause of suffrage and follows struggles for Voting Rights beyond 1920. The decadeslong fight for the vote in the 19th and early 20th century engaged large numbers of women in the political process. A critical part of that campaign was getting their message out to the nation and shifting Public Opinion to support their cause. Tonight well learn about the Suffrage Movement the communication machine and how it contributed to the movements success. To introduce our panelists id like to welcome nancy tate to the stage. Since 2
We know he did and he was attempting to put a marker down. This wont be forgotten and will come back. In the center we have the two africanamerican to served in the senate. By the muchrounded larger numbers of African Americans who served in the house. There is joseph rainey, the first africanamerican in the house. And it takes it all the way around to all of them who were there. I find it so poignant in that, when this was printed no one knew how long would it be. Did they think 20 years would be a long time . Did they think it would be just a moment. What did happen in this print it looks terribly damaged, like it has had a hard life. As if at some point someone took this and pasted it on probably a wall. Underneath that is wallpaper. Underneath the print and on top of the board is wallpaper. It was perhaps painted on someones wall. In sort of recognition of the things that happened. We acquired it in d. C. It may have never left the nations capital, unlike black representation that
Tvs american artifacts we visit the Cannon House Office building to see artifacts that tell the story of africanamericans in congress in the 20th century. Im farar elliott. And im matt waz knsniewski. We wanted to talk about africanamerican representation in the 20th century. We have a lot of artifacts from the house collection that have to do with that and a lot of history to cover. And the last africanamerican to be elected in the 19th century leaves in 1901, george white of north carolina. And then its a long time before another africanamerican comes into the house. And that is Oscar Depriest from illinois. And we have a couple of really rare artifacts from Oscar Depriest from the 1920s and 30s. But before i launch into them, because i love them so much, matt, tell us a little bit about Oscar Depriest and how he got into congress. So, theres a long period, almost three decades, after George Henry White leaves congress where theres no africanamericans who serve in either the house or
2011. It is about an hour. Thank you very much. It is wonderful to be here again. I love this venue. I get lots of good questions, which we will save time for at the end. This is an interesting occasion for me. This is the first time i have been in front of an audience talking about Andrew Johnson. Forgive me if i say jefferson occasionally. I had to write that and do a spell check to make sure i didnt have jefferson where i should have had johnson, because the temptation was actually quite great. If someone had told me a number of years ago that i would have written a book about Andrew Johnson, i would have said you are crazy. Its not that i dont think hes interesting. He really is. Not that i didnt know anything about him. But for most of my career as a historian, i have tried to avoid the period of reconstruction. It sounds strange for someone who writes about slavery, which is a difficult topic to write about, but i find it easier to deal with the 17th century and 18th century, and
Which arose, which for me, gave the book a larger scope than i had originally intended. The quotations that are in the book, the slogans and catchphrases, up until 1955 were easy for me to remember because i am a child of the forties. That is what i learned in school. That is how we learned history in school. The books that we took out of the library, as fourth and fifth graders, or the way that history was taught. When i got to graduate school in the sixties, i discovered that some of my fellow students who came from overseas would come to meet periodically, as one woman did, and said, who is this joe and why should he say it aint so . So i told her the story. Then much later, a friend of ours whos an immigrant doctor from south africa, came to me and said, why do my patients, when they see me, say whats up doc and laugh maniacal . I had to tell them that story. But i also realized that if people who were hundred 30, who i was working with, had no real idea anymore of what these sloga