ST PAUL, Minnesota — This month marks the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in America.
On August 26, 1920, lawmakers signed the 19th Amendment into the U.S. Constitution, upholding women's voting rights. The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is marking the event's 100th anniversary with an online exhibit, "Votes for Women."
The exhibit will premiere on MNHS's website Wednesday, Aug. 26.
"Really the 19th Amendment was only the beginning," said Michelle Witte, executive director for the League of Women Voters Minnesota which helped develop the exhibit.
"We really recognize that the 19th Amendment expanded radically women's rights to vote but... we know that women of color really could not access those rights until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Also, Native American women weren't citizens until 1924."
The exhibit shares the stories of more than 40 Minnesota women, MNHS said, "whose commitment to civic responsibility, as well as the many voices who have been left out, can inspire us to participate more fully in the democratic process."
"We often hear about Susan B. Anthony... we hear about the big Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention in 1848 and then you realize the 19th Amendment didn't happen until 1920 and that's 72 years. So you're like, well what would we do today if we knew it was going to take 72 years to come to fruition?" Witte said. "I think it's really powerful to take a moment and consider that call because so much of what our democracy asks us to do is to take the baton for the time we have and pave the way for others."
MNHS shared the names of some women whose stories will be told:
- Marguerite Newburgh, of South St. Paul, widely acknowledged as the first woman in the country to vote following the passage of the 19th Amendment when she cast her ballot in the early morning hours for a waterworks bond election;
- Nellie Francis, of St. Paul, an African-American suffragist who led the effort to enact a state anti-lynching statute in 1921;
- Hannah Jensen Kempfer, of Fergus Falls, who was one of the first four women elected leaders in Minnesota in 1922 and who served nine terms in the Minnesota House of Representatives;
- Sarah Burger Stearns, who founded some of the first suffrage groups in the state when she moved to Rochester in 1866 and Duluth in 1872.
"Historically, we really have moved rights forward significantly. But we're still a work in progress and moving them forward today," Witte said. "That's why I think it's really important for people to take time and really learn the history and really realize the relevance of history but also the lessons we can learn."
MNHS said the exhibit also features interviews from state civic leaders, sharing how different communities view the right to vote. It also includes voting resources and information about the League of Women Voters.
The society is also holding special programs throughout the fall, including a Facebook live event on Aug. 26, at 7 p.m., with authors Joan Growe and Lori Sturdevant. MNHS said the pair will talk about their new book, "Turnout: Making Minnesota the State that Votes."
The LWV Minnesota also has a virtual exhibit called, “A Century of Civic Engagement: The League of Women Voters Minnesota" that can be found here.
