Delco re:View Winter 2020 - 18

www.DelcoBar.org

Dedicated to the
Advancement of Women
in Law

The Women in the Law Committee
welcomes its new co-Chair,
Mary J. Walk

D

edicated to the advancement of women in law practicing in
Delaware County by providing an open forum to discuss issues
facing women in the legal profession, fostering leadership
among its membership, and providing networking and educational
opportunities.
March 2020. Women in the Law Committee CLE Seminar
Celebrating Women's History Month (1.0 Substantive Law CLE Credit
Hour)

The 100-Year Anniversary of the
19th Amendment: The Road to Ratification

Pictured (L to R): Lisanne L. Mikula;
Pamela A. Lee Van Blunk; Tiffan T. Griffin;
Hon. Stephanie H. Klein; Mary J. Walk; and
Mary Jo B. Gisdorf

18 | Winter 2020

Marking both the Centennial of the 19th Amendment and Women's
History Month, the Women in the Law Committee of the DCBA hosted
Mary Walton, author of A Woman's Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle
for the Ballot and former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter. Ms. Walton
covered the process, politics and persuasion in play during Ms. Paul's
hard-fought effort to secure ratification of the 19th Amendment before the
1920 election.  Discussion included the brilliant campaign waged by the
National Woman's Party to achieve women's right to vote. 
On June 4, 1919, the U.S. Senate followed the House of
Representatives in approving the 19th Amendment, six years after Alice
Paul's hard-fought campaign had begun. Ratification was far from
assured. Where once her National Woman's Party had sought ayes from
Congress, now there were 36 legislatures, representing three-quarters
of the states, to persuade. Some were quick to approve. But many were
not in session, and recalcitrant governors refused to issue a call. The
South was united in opposition. By June 1920, however, 35 states had
ratified. Delaware would surely be the 36th. But suffragists experienced a
devastating loss to anti suffragists in a fiercely contested battle. It all came
down to Tennessee. *
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