Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2020 - 7

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100 Years Later:
Berks women leading,
not just voting
By Joan E. London

I

n a letter in 1776, Abigail Adams
wrote to her husband, then a member
of the Continental Congress and the
future second President of the United
States, to "remember the ladies" in the "new
code of laws," and "be more generous and
favorable to them than your ancestors."
Perhaps at his peril, Mr. Adams did not
heed that advice. The women's suffrage
movement started in earnest in 1848
with the Seneca Falls Convention in
New York. Several state constitutions
afforded women the right to vote as early
as 1868 (Wyoming), but the right was not
guaranteed nationally until the enactment
of the 19th Amendment on August 26,
1920.
The right to vote was a hard-fought battle. Susan B. Anthony
was imprisoned for attempting to vote in 1872. There were at
times violent opposition: In 1917, the "Sentinels of Liberty"
picketed the White House, with 500 women arrested, and 168
sent to prison. Some engaged in hunger strikes, and were force
fed by feeding tubes. In that same year, the "Night of Terror,"
where 33 women were jailed for "obstructing sidewalk traffic,"
with many being beaten by guards. It was in part backlash against
such violence that changed public opinion, and caused President
Woodrow Wilson, who had previously opposed women's suffrage
to support it, citing women's help and support in the conduct of
World War I: "We have made partners of the women in this war...
Shall we admit then only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice
and toil and not to a partnership of privilege and right?"

Historical Images:
Library of Congress

Women have taken active and
prominent roles on the national and
regional stage in office. In Berks County,
we have had many talented women of
both parties and all political persuasions
serving in our legislature, in all levels of
government and political party offices.
In observation of the anniversary, they
reflected on the importance that the 19th
Amendment has had in the lives of all
women, and on their lives:

State Senator
Judy Schwank
(PA-11th District):
"Imagine! It was only 100 years ago that women finally
received the right to vote! I am continually inspired by the stories
of the suffragettes who sacrificed so much to guarantee that right.
Their hard fought victory reminds me that we must never take
for granted our right to vote. It is this generation's, and future
generations' duty to honor these courageous women by continuing
to work to secure the rights of all citizens." continued on next page
Spring 2020 | 7
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Berks County Bar Association The Berks Barrister Spring 2020

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