SR59, As Adopted by Senate, June 6, 2019
Senators Brinks, Bayer, Santana, Polehanki, McMorrow, Bullock, Alexander, Victory, Runestad, Bizon, MacDonald, McBroom, Bumstead, Lucido, Schmidt, Zorn, Geiss, Wojno, Ananich, McCann, Irwin, Moss, Outman, Theis, Johnson, Hertel, Hollier, MacGregor, Barrett, Shirkey, Horn, Daley and VanderWall offered the following resolution:
Senate Resolution No. 59.
A resolution to commemorate June 10, 2019, as the 100th anniversary of Michigan’s ratification of the 19th Amendment.
Whereas, Michigan was the one of the first three states to ratify the 19th Amendment, to provide suffrage to women; and
Whereas, The introduction, passage, and ultimate ratification of the 19th Amendment were the culmination of decades of work and struggle by advocates; and
Whereas, This tireless advocacy began in Michigan in 1846 when a woman named Ernestine Rose spoke to the Michigan legislature about the need for women’s suffrage; and
Whereas, Organized efforts to advocate for a vote on women’s suffrage began with a petition drive in 1855; and
Whereas, By 1866, the Michigan legislature considered its first bill to extend suffrage to women, but the measure was defeated by a single vote; and
Whereas, Over the next fifty years, proposals to grant women the right to vote were considered numerous times by the legislature and Michigan voters, but each time the measures came up short; and
Whereas, Leading these campaigns were organizations, including the Michigan State Suffrage Association and the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association, who held rallies and worked to educate others: and
Whereas, Women from across Michigan with diverse backgrounds and political views persisted in their quest, persevering in the face of resistance; and
Whereas, These Michigan women played an instrumental role in achieving women’s suffrage both in Michigan and across the country; and
Whereas, It took male allies to support women in their endeavor to vote, for it was sons, husbands, and fathers who ultimately heard the calls of women and took this historic vote on June 10, 1919; and
Whereas, In August of the following year, the 19th Amendment was ratified by three-fourths of the states and officially became part of the Constitution of the United States; and
Whereas, We thank the decades-long effort by women’s rights activists, the daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters of the women who fought so hard to vote, and made their voices heard at the polls for nearly 100 years; and
Whereas, Most of the women who began asking for the right to vote never lived to see the enfranchisement of women; and
Whereas, Women are now running for elected office in unprecedented numbers, following in the footsteps of these great suffragists; and
Whereas, We honor those who have championed the movement to achieve economic, social, and political equality for women in the state of Michigan; now, therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate, That the members of this legislative body commemorate June 10, 2019, as the 100th anniversary of Michigan’s ratification of the 19th Amendment; and be it further
Resolved, That the Senate reaffirms Michigan's commitment to empowering and uplifting the voices of women across our great state.