Women’s Right to Vote anniversary event
Date: 08/28/2010
(Aug. 23, 2010) – The Center and the League of Women Voters of Sioux City (LWVSC) will commemorate the 90th birthday of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, August 28 at the Encounter Center on Sioux City’s Missouri Riverfront.
The 19th Amendment resulted in women’s right to vote in all U.S. election. The legislation was certified on Aug. 26, 1920.
On August 27, 1920, the first women to legally cast their vote in the United States were the women of Fairfield Township, Grundy County, Iowa.
They arose early that morning to cast their votes in a special school consolidation election. The fifth woman to vote was Ruth Grassley, mother of current U.S. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).
The event will comprise a program from 2:30 to 3 p.m. in the Stanley Evans Auditorium; and a display of memorabilia from the Suffrage Movement and the League of Women Voters from 2 to 4 p.m. Refreshments will served after the program.
Guest presenters will be Cali Westergard and Kortney Hedlund, Akron-Westfield eighth grade students, who completed a History Day Research Project and DVD on the life of Iowan Carrie Chapman Catt.
Cali is the daughter of Carl and Colleen Westergard. Kortney is the daughter of Troy and Deb Hedlund.
After a 72-year struggle by American women with the support of male voters, Catt led the final march to victory as President of the National American Women’s Suffrage Association in 1920. She founded the League of Women Voters that same year.
“Women have suffered agony of soul which you can never comprehend, that you and your daughters might inherit political freedom. Prize it!” Catt said.
Donna Wooldridge and Carolyn Goodwin, co-Presidents of (LWVSC) will introduce the program which will include an awards presentation; a review of the successes of the League of Women Voters through the years; and a “suffrage songs” sing-along led by LWV member and retired Sioux City Public School District Superintendent Larry Williams.
The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan political organization open to men and women of voting age. The LWV as an organization never endorses political candidates or political parties.
The LWV of Sioux City registers new citizens to vote at Naturalization Ceremonies, hosts public candidate and legislative forums, encourages citizens (members included) to be involved in the governmental and political process, and works to improve our system of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy.
The Betty Strong Encounter Center and adjoining Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center comprise a private, non-profit cultural complex built and sustained by Missouri River Historical Development, Inc. (MRHD). The Encounter Center honors the memory of political activist Betty Strong, a skillful and tireless community leader and first president of MRHD, who died in 2004. For more information, visit www.siouxcitylcic.com or call 712-224-5242.