III 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 405 

Designating Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the site of the centennial commemoration of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 

States, in coordination with Vision 2020. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 17, 2016 

Mr. CASEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the site of the 

centennial commemoration of the 19th Amendment to 

the Constitution of the United States, in coordination 

with Vision 2020. 

Whereas the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the 

United States was ratified on August 18, 1920, guaranteeing women in the United States the right to vote; 

Whereas the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th 

Amendment will occur in 2020; 

Whereas Vision 2020, developed by the Institute for Women’s 

Health and Leadership at Drexel University, has 

launched the Vision 2020 Campaign for Equality— 

(1) to commemorate the centennial of women’s suffrage; and 


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•SRES 405 IS 

(2) to advance and achieve economic, social, and political equality for women in the United States by 2020; 

Whereas Vision 2020 is partnering with national associations 

and professional organizations that represent more than 

20,000,000 women and girls in the United States; 

Whereas in 2020, celebratory events will take place in cities 

all across the United States, particularly in cities in 

which monumental historic events and people shaped the 

women’s suffrage movement; 

Whereas Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which was home to historic women who played significant roles in the women’s 

rights movement, including Lucretia Mott, Alice Paul, 

Fanny Jackson Coppin, and Eliza Sproat Turner, should 

be designated as the headquarters and coordinating site 

to celebrate the centennial of women’s suffrage; 

Whereas the women’s suffrage movement was closely tied to 

abolitionism and many suffragists gained previous experience in advocacy as antislavery activists; 

Whereas the first major event in the women’s suffrage movement occurred on July 19, 1848, the date on which 

Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the 

first convention on women’s rights, the Seneca Falls Convention; 

Whereas in 1850, Lucy Stone organized the National Women’s Rights Convention and gave a speech that inspired 

Susan B. Anthony and others to join the cause for women’s rights; 

Whereas in 1851, Sojourner Truth gave her famous speech 

entitled ‘‘Ain’t I a Woman?’’ at a convention in Akron, 

Ohio; 


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Whereas in 1869, women suffragists formed the National 

Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman 

Suffrage Association, which were national organizations 

established to work for the right of women to vote that 

united in 1890 to form the National American Woman 

Suffrage Association; 

Whereas in 1872, Susan B. Anthony and a group of women 

voted in the Presidential election and were arrested and 

fined for voting illegally; 

Whereas in the late 19th century, the Senate voted on women’s suffrage for the first time; 

Whereas during the early 20th century, a new generation of 

women joined the women’s suffrage movement and devoted time to marches and other active forms of protest, 

including the first picket lines in front of the White 

House; 

Whereas women suffragists were often detained and sent to 

jail and some of those women who went on hunger strikes 

were aggressively force-fed; 

Whereas since the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the 

work begun by the suffragists continues to advance the 

equality of women in all political, social, economic, and 

cultural aspects of life in the United States, including 

shared leadership; and 

Whereas the contributions of women suffragists who fought 

for and won, for women of the United States, the right 

to vote should be celebrated on the 100th anniversary of 

the ratification of the 19th Amendment: Now, therefore, 

be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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1 (1) recognizes the crucial role that the ratifica2 tion of the 19th Amendment to the United States 

3 Constitution played in advancing the rights of 

4 women and promoting the democratic values at the 

5 core of the United States; 

6 (2) designates Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as 

7 the site of the national centennial commemoration of 

8 the ratification of the 19th Amendment; and 

9 (3) commends the efforts of Vision 2020— 

10 (A) to orchestrate, lead, and coordinate 

11 that momentous occasion in Philadelphia; and 

12 (B) to continue the fight for equality for 

13 women. 

Æ 


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