This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution: Women’s right to vote. While the amendment was passed in 1920, women had been campaigning for their right to vote since before the Civil War.
In 1848, a group of men and women held the Seneca Falls Convention and declared that women deserved their own identities and rights. They wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
The Women’s rights movement continued to gain attention, but the start of the Civil War put all of that on hold. In 1869, a new group called theNational Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (pictured below).
By the 1890’s, the women’s approach to gaining the right to vote had changed. No longer were they campaigning that they deserved the right to vote based on their equality to men. Instead, they argued that they deserved the right to vote because they were different from men. A woman’s role in the home gave them a unique voice that they argued would make society better if they had the rights to vote.
A war, again disrupted the suffragist’s campaign, but after World War I was over, people saw how much the women had helped with war efforts. Their commitment to America during the war proved that they were just as patriotic and deserving to vote as men.
On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was passed and on November 2nd, 1920, more than 8 million women in the United States voted for the first time.
As a company run by a woman, The Suffrages are incredibly important to the history of Wren & Willow. Without their passion, strength and bravery, we would not be able to have the kind of company that we do now. These sisters who stood and fought for the right to vote paved the way for equal rights for women in business. We are also grateful for another brave sister, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who tirelessly fought for equal rights for women in the workplace.
Wren & Willow stands out as a general contractor, an industry largely run by men. The Suffrages acknowledged that a woman’s perspective would benefit the nation. It is because we are a company run by a woman, and have a unique edge on design and quality of work, that the same can be said of Wren & Willow. We want our company to stand out as different, but equal.
As we head to the polls in November, this will be a special election year for all women voters. The personal sacrifices The Suffrages made continue to ensure that women for generations will be treated with respect and dignity and the right to have a voice.
The Women of Wren & Willow
The Carriage House is starting to look like a building! At the end of August the first floor walls went up. It took a crane to lift them off the ground and onto the foundation due to their massive size. These beautiful arches are going to be the windows for the bakery and retail shop.
The Woman Suffrage Cook Book
By Hattie Burr
The Suffrages used creative means to promote their campaign. One way they did that was through a cookbook with recipes contributed by women in the movement. The cookbook contained short, simple recipes as well as household tips and messages about why women deserved the right to vote. The proceeds of the cookbook went towards the cost of the movement. Here are a few examples of the recipes in the book.
From public records at the MSU Library
Win your own copy of The Woman Suffrage Cook Book and a gorgeous piece of pottery from Rookwood.
Rookwood Pottery was founded in 1880 by Maria Longworth Storer, and was the first large enterprise founded by a woman in the United States.
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Photos by: Nathaniel Gutierrez, National Library of Congress, and publicdomainphotos.net
Historical information and photos from history.com
