I know some of my more Neanderthal friends may still be ruing the day that the fairer sex were finally allowed to vote in this country but i for one am celebrating it today. 90 years ago 36 (really?) of the 48 states voted to ratify the 19th amendment to our constitution which states "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex". Ok 12 didn't ratify at the first go which for back then maybe was just an indication of how our culture was. However looking deeper into the data we find that some states including the state i grew up in took several years and even decades to actually ratify this amendment.
the list of states are with their dates of ratification listed
Maryland (March 29, 1941 after being rejected on February 24, 1920; not certified until February 25, 1958)
Virginia (February 21, 1952, after being rejected on February 12, 1920)
Alabama (September 8, 1953, after being rejected on September 22, 1919)
Florida (May 13, 1969)[6]
South Carolina (July 1, 1969, after being rejected on January 28, 1920; not certified until August 22, 1973)
Georgia (February 20, 1970, after being rejected on July 24, 1919)
Louisiana (June 11, 1970, after being rejected on July 1, 1920)
North Carolina (May 6, 1971)
Mississippi (March 22, 1984, after being rejected on March 29, 1920)
I wont try to draw a parallel with the geographical location of these states and the logic behind waiting for up 64 years in Mississippi's case to ratify this amendment, but i do have a more salient question. Has the sentiment in these states really changed over the past 90 years? It wasn't astonishing that these states would reject the preposterous idea that a woman could actually be trusted to vote nor is it a coincidence that these states almost unanimously (representatives from both parties) voted against the civil rights act of 1964.
As a progressive I must state that without the Northern Republicans support this legislation never would have passed. It is a fallacy that it was the Democrats that delivered this legislation when in fact it was a bi-partisan bill that LBJ signed into law.
Lets recall what was going on in 1964, we were just 18 months out of nearly going to war with the Russians just less then a year after our president was slain in Dallas, racial unrest was building and a little strip of land in Vietnam would come to a defining moment for our country. With all of this we came together in a bi-partisan way and got Civil rights legislation past.
Now some 46 years later Its 2010 and although there are many challenges (the wars, economy)we seem to have lost this idea of bi-partisanship. I wrote a few days ago about the Republicans continual mantra of no no no and there real desire to see this president fail and in my opinion the country to fall deeper into recession and fear. What positive talking points have any of you heard from a republican recently? Is it OMG there putting a mosque in NYC or We must stop the Terror Babies from being born in this country or is the president really an American citizen?
Far be it from me to just type this without video evidence so here it is
An actual Rep from Texas
one from California on the Birther issue
And just because i cant get enough of this idiot about Death panels
Having said all of that I will most likely vote for my Governor for senator this go around and i hope this medicare fraudster and Mosquer doesnt win his job come the fall.
I will leave you with this from Pastor Martin Niemoller
“They came first for the communists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. And then they came for me and by that time, no one was left to speak up.”
As 36 states did some 90 years ago I urge each of you individually to speak up with your vote this year.
Peace!
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