City of Middleton PROCLAMATION Honoring & Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage in the United States

Whereas, June 10, 2019, marked the 100th anniversary of Wisconsin leading the nation as the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote; and

Whereas, women fought for the right to vote for at least 72 years before it was granted and persevered in the face of resistance; and

Whereas, the national constitutional amendment for women's suffrage passed overwhelmingly in the Wisconsin Assembly 54 to 2 and in the Wisconsin Senate 25 to 1; and

Whereas, to be the first state, Wisconsin raced with Illinois and Michigan, hand-delivering the certification moments before the Illinois messenger arrived; and

Whereas, the necessary 36 states soon ratified the 19th Amendment, and half of the U.S. population was enfranchised on August 26, 1920; and

Whereas, the fight for women's suffrage, from the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, to enfranchisement, lasted 72 years, with women from all walks of life, political views, and demographic backgrounds asking for the right to voice their opinions at the polls; and

Whereas, Wisconsin women by the thousands advocated for the right to vote on the streets, in newspapers, and in the state and federal capitals; and

Whereas, Wisconsin-born Carrie Chapman Catt led the national movement, meeting with President Woodrow Wilson to secure his support for suffrage in light of women's contributions during World War I; and

Whereas, Wisconsin women, like former First Lady Belle Case LaFollette and Reverend Olympia Brown, garnered national attention for their suffrage efforts; and

Whereas, it took male allies to support women in their endeavor to vote, for it was sons, husbands, and fathers who ultimately heard the calls of women and took the historic Wisconsin vote on June 10, 1919; and

Whereas, women are running for office in unprecedented numbers, and many current politicians, both male and female, remember that they follow in the footsteps of these great suffragists; and

Whereas, the Wisconsin Women's Suffrage Association was empowered by the slogan “Women's Suffrage Yesterday, Today and Forever,” and Wisconsin still embodies this principle today.

Now, therefore, as Mayor of the City of Middleton together with the Middleton Common Council, City staff and volunteer committee members, I proclaim, honor and celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage in the U.S. on August 26, 2020. May all Middleton voters always cherish and exercise the right to vote.

This proclamation was adopted at a regular meeting of the Middleton Common Council on the 18th day of August 2020.

Gurdip Brar, Mayor

Copyright © 2020 City of Middleton. All Rights Reserved.
7426 Hubbard Ave, Middleton, WI 53562
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