HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRO-2020-002 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment of the US Constitution ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROCLAMATION RECOGNIZING THE 100T " YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE
19T " AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
WHEREAS , an organized movement to enfranchise women began in July 1848 at a convention in
Seneca Falls , New York ; and
WHEREAS , through the efforts of brave and courageous women referred to as suffragists who
sacrificed family , personal life and financial resources for over seventy years to gain equal rights for women ,
especially the right to vote ; and
WHEREAS , women and men of all colors and cultures supported the women ' s suffrage movement
in order for women to gain the Constitutional right of having a voice in making the laws that govern them ;
and
WHEREAS , Chapel Hill resident Barbara Bynum Henderson , UNC class of 1902 (AB & MA ) , Phi
Beta Kappa , organized and was elected president of the Equal Suffrage League of North Carolina in 1913 ,
and was unanimously re - elected for a second term in 1915 ; and
WHEREAS , Barbara Bynum Henderson carried the battle for women Is suffrage to the North Carolina
General Assembly when a special session was called to consider woman suffrage % and
WHEREAS , the woman ' s suffrage movement led to the passage of the 19t " Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States in 1919 , with ratification by the states by the summer of 1920 ; and
WHEREAS , North Carolina delayed ratifying the 19th amendment until 1971 ; and
WHEREAS , the National Woman Suffrage Association dissolved in 1920 to create the League of
Women Voters of the United States in order to register voters and educate all voters ; and
WHEREAS , the League of Women Voters of North Carolina was launched on October 7 , 1920 on
the steps of the Guilford County Courthouse by Gertrude Weil , a politically active and tireless young woman
from Goldsboro , North Carolina ; and
WHEREAS , more than 120 , 000 women were registered to vote in North Carolina by 1920 ; and
WHEREAS , women today constitute a majority vote in the State of North Carolina and the United
States and are running for office in higher numbers and more active in the election process than ever before
in history ,
NOW THEREFORE the Orange County Board of County Commissioners does hereby recognize the
100t " anniversary of women gaining the right to vote ; and
FURTHERMORE that Orange County Board of County Commissioners does hereby recognize the
1001 " anniversary of the founding of the League of Women Voters in the United States and in North Carolina
and applauds the members of the League of Women Voters for the impact its historic accomplishments
have made on public engagement and the civic life of the community , the state and the nation .
"cizl c'z'
' I F _IJN1
This the 10t " day of March , 2020 .
Penny Rich , Chair
,3 Orange County Board of Commissioners