100 years of women voting
“From the first settlers who came to our shores, from the first American Indian families who befriended them, men and women have worked together to build this nation. Too often the women were unsung and sometimes their contributions went unnoticed. But the achievements, leadership, courage, strength, and love of the women who built America was as vital as that of the men whose names we know so well. ~ President Jimmy Carter’s Message designating March 2-8, 1980 as National Women’s History Week
The history of Women’s History Month goes back to 1978. That is when a Sonoma, California school district participated in Women’s History Week during the week of March 8th. March 8th is International Women’s Day, so it seemed appropriate, at that time, to begin the celebration of Women’s History Week around that day. While the participation of this Californian school district in Women’s History Week didn’t seem all that relevant at the time, it would become very relevant a year later in 1979. That is when a 2-week long conference about women’s history was held beginning July 13th, 1979. This conference was co-sponsored by groups such as the Smithsonian Institute, Sarah Lawrence College, and the Women’s
Action Alliance and when they learned of the celebration held in that Sonoma school district the prior year, they decided to get to work to create a National Women’s History Week.
By February of 1980, their work had made it all the way to the White House and a month later, U.S President Jimmy Carter would proclaim March 8th, 1980 as National Women’s History Week. A year later, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and Representative Barbara Mikulski co-sponsored a Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming Women’s History Week – beginning March 7th, 1982. Over the next several years, schools all across the country began to expand Women’s History Week into Women’s History Month. By the time 1986 arrived, 14 states had declared the month of March as Women’s History Month.
The National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress in 1987 to establish a Women’s History Month – which they did when they passed Public Law 100-09 on March 12th, 1987 – that designated the entire month of March as Women’s History Month. Over the next several years, Congress would pass more laws that request and authorize the President to proclaim March as Women’s History Month. And all U.S Presidents have issued annual proclamations to that effect ever since 1988. Today, it is celebrated by individuals and schools all over the country.
The National Women’s History Alliance selects and publishes the yearly theme. The 2020 Women’s History Month theme is “Valiant Women of the Vote.” The theme honors “the brave women who fought to win suffrage rights for women, and for the women who continue to fight for the voting rights of others.”