SR0070 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Pioneer and crusader Susan Brownell Anthony paved the way for the first women's movement in the United States and led that movement for more than 50 years, which culminated in the adoption of the 19th Amendment that gave women the right to vote in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts to Quakers Daniel Anthony and Lucy Read Anthony, who shared a passion for social reform; and

WHEREAS, Susan B. Anthony fought to end slavery and played an active role in the Underground Railroad; and

WHEREAS, Along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869; they also produced The Revolution, a weekly publication that lobbied for women's rights, and a three volume History of Woman Suffrage; and

WHEREAS, Susan B. Anthony was tireless in her efforts, giving speeches around the country to convince others to support a woman's right to vote; she took matters into her own hands in 1872 when she illegally voted in the presidential election; and

WHEREAS, Susan B. Anthony was arrested and tried unsuccessfully to fight the charges; she remained determined to fight for women's suffrage and argued that "the right women needed above every other … was the right of suffrage"; and

WHEREAS, Susan B. Anthony and the National Woman Suffrage Association gathered enough influence to lobby the U.S. Congress for a constitutional amendment and saw the introduction of the first women's suffrage amendment to the United States Constitution in January 1878 which stated, "The Right of citizens to vote shall not be abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."; and

WHEREAS, The women's suffrage amendment to the United States Constitution was introduced in every session of Congress for the next 41 years; and

WHEREAS, Susan B. Anthony died on March 13, 1906; while women still did not have the right to vote at the time of her death, her last public words were "Failure is impossible"; and

WHEREAS, It was not until 1920, 14 years after Susan B. Anthony's death, that the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving all adult women the right to vote, was passed; the House of Representatives of the Sixty-Sixth Congress of the United States passed the 19th Amendment on May 21, 1919, and the Senate passed the 19th Amendment two weeks later; and

WHEREAS, On June 10, 1919, Illinois became the first state to ratify the amendment, and, on August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution; and

WHEREAS, In recognition of her dedication and hard work, the U.S. Treasury Department placed Susan B. Anthony's portrait on one dollar coins in 1979, making her the first woman to be so honored; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare February 15, 2019 as Susan B. Anthony Day in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recognize the importance of Susan B. Anthony's contribution to the women's suffrage movement and all that came after her; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we will continue to make sure that no Illinois citizen's vote will be discouraged based of race, sex, religion, or creed.