August 18, 2020

100th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 19th Amendment

Philadelphia Bar Association Honors the 100th Anniversary of the Ratification of the 19th Amendment

View Dr. Evelyn Higginbotham speech on the 19th Amendment's complex road to ratification at the 2020 Summer Quarterly Virtual Meeting.

Chancellor Hon. A. Michael Snyder (ret.) issued the following statement on on the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment:

As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the Amendment which gave women the vote, we must reflect on the efforts of the many women who risked insult, assaults, estrangement from family, and even arrest to do the right thing. Their efforts changed America for the better, sending us further on the journey to the day when all American children could think that one day, they might have the chance to be a mayor, a governor, a Senator, or even the President of the United States. Their efforts demonstrated that the principle of "One Citizen, One Vote" is at the core of our beliefs.

Now, we are faced with a different challenge, a different obstacle: Yet again, there are those who would attempt to abrogate this principle. Yet again, there are challenges to the efforts of many to protect the system of "One Citizen, One Vote." Voter suppression, in whichever form it takes, is a denial of the basic rights of a citizenry to vote and to have their vote counted.

We, the Philadelphia Bar Association, stand for the principle that a democracy requires the participation by all, and not just the participation by a chosen few. To vote is, in reality, to be allowed to speak. We will always defend that form of freedom of speech.

Happy 100th Birthday, 19th Amendment! May you live long and prosper!