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Women's History Celebration

August is important to women’s history as August 18 is the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing American women the right to vote. 2010 marks the 90th year of national suffrage, as well as the 100th year of Washington state voting rights for women.

The performance features women of the Living History Company and takes place in the Museum’s pioneer settlement at 2:00 pm. To help commemorate the event, the Museum is offering free admission to girls 12 years old and younger and charging women 77% of regular admission fees this day only, reflecting the ratio of women’s salaries to men that still persists today (No other discounts apply).

The celebration will feature regional dignitaries speaking about changing women's roles over the past 100 years. Demonstrations in the pioneer settlement may include sidesaddle, woodstove cookie baking, quilting and other traditional women's arts of the 19th century. Refreshments will be available.

The road to achieving voting rights was a long and difficult one. Nationally, women began organizing in the mid-1800s into suffrage groups that spoke out publicly, wrote letters and lobbied legislators, and engaged in acts of civil disobedience for many years before results were gained.

A Constitutional amendment was first introduced in 1878. In the meantime, some groups worked for passing suffrage rights in individual states. Washington Territory almost became the first to pass women’s suffrage in 1854, the proposal losing by one vote. To squash the movement the Territorial Legislature decreed that "no female shall have the right of ballot or vote."

According to the Washington Secretary of State web page, secstate.wa.gov/elections/timeline/suffrage.htm, “In 1871, Susan B. Anthony and Abigail Scott Duniway led a crusade through the territories of Washington and Oregon and helped to form the Washington Woman Suffrage Association. Due to the group's constant protesting and pushing, full voting rights were given to women in 1883 by a bill that passed through the Territorial Legislature. But in 1887, the Territorial Supreme Court overturned that law. Another was passed in 1888, but was also overturned. This happened because women voters were making sales of liquor more difficult with their votes, and the state's liquor lobby had fought hard to remove their voting rights. In light of this opposition, some activists chose to emphasize the contributions of women workers to the community and finally, in 1910, the Washington State Constitution was permanently amended to grant women the right to vote.”

Across the country, some groups challenged the status quo in court while other suffragists employed parades, silent vigils, and hunger strikes to further their cause; they often met with heckling, arrest, and physical assault. In the 19-teens, most suffrage groups had agreed upon pursuit of a Constitutional amendment. In 1917 New York state voted in women’s suffrage, causing President Wilson to alter his position to back the amendment and change the political balance.

The House of Representatives passed the amendment on May 21, 1919, and the Senate followed two weeks later. The final barricade fell as Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, completing the requirement of three-fourths of the states. The 19th amendment was officially certified on August 26, 1920, forever altering America’s political landscape.

Museum hours are 10 am to 5 pm daily. Admission is free to members, children under 6, and through a reciprocal agreement Tamástslikt Cultural Institute's Inwai Circle cardholders and enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; $3 for children ages 6-12; $6 for seniors (62+) and students; and $7 for adults. Your admission cost can be applied to a membership, which includes free admission to all Living History performances, priced beginning at $25. For more information, contact Fort Walla Walla Museum at 509-525-7703 or info@fortwallawallamuseum.org.