New York Anniversary

Last Tuesday was an election day for New Yorkers, but yesterday was the anniversary of a momentous day in New York election history--November 6, 1917, when New York state passed a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote.

Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party had been picketing the White House since January of that year, followed by arrests and continuing protests. Although the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, granting suffrage to all American women, was not ratified until August 1920, New York's amendment and a march of 25,000 women in late 1915 in New York City were major events in the last successful push for the vote. The Library of Congress American Memory collection features a fascinating photo and timeline glimpse into the all-important year of 1917 in the history of legal rights for women.



Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat