This Book Comes on the 100Th Anniversary of the 19Th Amendment to the United States Constitution

This book comes on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Since then, women have taken their rightful place alongside men in crafting the laws that govern our land. We hope this effort honors all the women who have dedicated themselves to serving the people of the Commonwealth in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. From the first eight women who were elected after the passage of the 19th Amendment, to the record number of women who took office in the House in the 2019-20 Legislative Session — all of their dedication and leadership have inspired Pennsylvanians for a century. Bryan Cutler The Speaker One hundred yearsIntroduction ago, women in Pennsylvania and across the country were given the right to vote. The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on August 26, 1920. Two years following this historic event, on November 22, 1922, eight women were elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Today there are 55 female legislators comprising one-quarter of the chamber’s population. This book commemorates and celebrates nearly a century of women’s involvement in the legislature by providing a biography of every woman who has served. Pennsylvania’s Provincial Assembly, today known as the House of Representatives, was created by William Penn in 1682. It is difficult to imagine that for the first 238 years of the legislature’s existence, women were not permitted to vote, let alone hold public office. As you will read in this book, women began mobilizing in the 1830s. Initially their efforts focused on anti-slavery, and later, on the right to vote. For nearly a century, women marched, held peaceful demonstrations, met with elected officials, went on hunger strikes and went to prison to secure their rights. Since 1922, 185 Black women have been elected to the Pennsylvania State House. In 1938, Crystal Bird Fauset became the first African-American woman to be elected. Since then, 23 additional Black women have been elected, as have women of Asian and Latin American descent. The women you will read about each have a unique story preceding their rise to public office. Coming from a wide variety of backgrounds and communities, the circumstances which prompted each to run for public office are both intriguing and inspiring. To date, women have represented 48 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Since 1922, 11 women have been elected to Republican and Democratic Caucus Leadership positions and 21 have chaired committees. This book was printed under the guidance and support of House Republican Whip, Rep. Donna Oberlander; House Republican Caucus Chair, Rep. Marcy Toepel; House Democratic Caucus Chair, Rep. Joanna McClinton; House Democratic Caucus Secretary, Rep. Rosita Youngblood; and the Chairs of the Women’s Caucus, Rep. Karen Boback and Rep. Margo Davidson. The Suffrage Movement in Pennsylvania and Beyond The Suffrage Movement in Pennsylvania and Beyond From the very beginning of suffrage efforts in the United States, the women of Pennsylvania played an important part in gaining the vote for women across the nation. The roots of women’s rights activism in Pennsylvania began with anti- slavery efforts as far back as the 1830s. Women who spoke publicly during abolitionist activities were often criticized as being “unwomanly” for their efforts.1 The core beliefs of the women’s suffrage movement, that all people were created equal and therefore deserving of respect and rights, can be attributed to early Pennsylvania’s Quaker roots.2 The first national gathering dedicated to gaining rights for women, including the right to vote, Source: Library of Congress was in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Organized Lucretia Mott helped found by Elizabeth Cady Stanton of New York and the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society in Lucretia Mott of Philadelphia, the convention 1833, and later was one of yielded the “Declaration of Sentiments, the principle organizers of Grievances, and Resolutions,” which was stylized the famous Seneca Falls after the preamble to the Declaration of Convention in New York. Independence. The declaration stated: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal,” and called for civil, social, and political rights for women.3 In 1876, Philadelphia took center stage for one of the country’s earliest women’s suffrage protests. The U.S. Centennial Exhibition took place in the city to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. After being sidelined by the event’s coordinators, the women of the National Woman Suffrage Association, including Susan B. Anthony, took the stage after the reading of the Declaration of Independence and delivered a statement of their own while distributing copies of their declaration to the large crowd.4 Women in Pennsylvania staged a number of Source: Library of Congress public demonstrations aimed at rallying support Susan B. Anthony and other suffragettes distributed tracts for the suffrage cause. On July 8, 1913, the Erie such as this to the crowds at suffrage march was held during the centennial the U.S. Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. 7 The Suffrage Movement in Pennsylvania and Beyond celebration of Commodore Perry’s victory at the Battle of Lake Erie. Hundreds of women, dressed in white and wearing blue Pennsylvania sashes, marched and carried signs with messages such as “Taxation Without Representation is Tyranny.”5 One of the most famous demonstrations took place in Philadelphia in 1914. Women protested at Rittenhouse Square and then marched down Market Street to Washington Square where they concluded their protest.6 In the early 20th century, many suffragettes saw amending Pennsylvania’s Constitution as the best way to gain voting rights for women in the Commonwealth. To accomplish this, the passage of a joint resolution through two sessions of the legislature as well as approval by the state’s voters was necessary. Beginning in 1911, efforts to achieve this began in earnest. Resolutions successfully passed Pennsylvania’s legislature and the measure was put to the voters of Pennsylvania for ratification in 1915. In an effort to gain support for the proposed amendment, Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger commissioned a replica of the Liberty Bell. Referred to as the Justice Bell, its clapper was chained so that it would remain silent until victory for women’s suffrage was achieved. Ruschenberger, a member of the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association, took the Justice Bell around the state to rally support for the cause. Despite this, the amendment was rejected by Pennsylvania’s male voters.7 Source: Library of Congress The Justice Bell toured across Pennsylvania to bolster support for a proposed amendment to Pennsylvania’s Constitution allowing women to vote. 8 The Suffrage Movement in Pennsylvania and Beyond Throughout the women’s suffrage movement, both in Pennsylvania and the rest of the United States, African-American women were often marginalized and overlooked. African-American women faced not only societal discrimination based on their gender, but also their race. This reality made their work towards equality even more challenging. Despite these obstacles, many African-American women worked tirelessly to gain their right to vote. One such woman was Frances Ellen Walker Harper of Pennsylvania, a noted abolitionist and supporter of women’s rights. Harper was a member of the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), Source: Library of Congress which did not explicitly exclude African-American Frances E.W. Harper: noted women like some other suffrage organizations. abolitionist, poet, and Speaking at the closing of an AWSA convention, advocate of women’s rights. Harper explained, “Much as white women need the ballot, colored women need it more.”8 While many women focused their attention to affecting change at the state level, other suffragettes took their demands to Washington, D.C. The National American Woman Suffrage Association organized a march down Pennsylvania Avenue on March 13, 1913. The demonstrators hoped to rally support for the Susan B. Anthony Amendment to the United States Constitution. The proposed amendment, which was first proposed in 1878, read: “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.”9 Source: Library of Congress Cover of the program distributed by the National American Woman Suffrage Association at the procession. 9 The Suffrage Movement in Pennsylvania and Beyond On June 4, 1919, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. In order to add the amendment to the United States Constitution, three-fourths of the states were required to ratify it. Pennsylvania’s legislature voted to ratify the 19th Amendment on June 24, 1919. On August 18, 1920, the 36th state required for ratification approved the amendment. The 19th Amendment was certified by the U.S. Secretary of State on August 26, 1920. Source: Library of Congress Governor Sproul signing the 19th Amendment. The Justice Bell rang for the first time on September 25, 1920, on Independence Square in Philadelphia. Women were able to legally vote in Pennsylvania for the first time the following November. The women in Pennsylvania wasted no time exercising their new right and quickly sought public office. In the 1922 general election, eight women from across the Commonwealth won seats in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.10 10 WOMEN of the Pennsylvania

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