Welcome to MARCH – Women’s History Month!
We are sure that some of you are wondering how Women's History Month even came about. Why Women’s history?
Well, it could have started as early as 1776 when Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John who was attending the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, asking that he and the other men--who were at work on the Declaration of Independence--"Remember the Ladies." John responded with humor. The Declaration's wording specifies that "all men are created equal."
But skip ahead to the 1800’s when the movement became more pronounced with women’s colleges opening, the legality of women owning their own land, forming of labor associations for women, and even the first women’s rights convention was held in 1848.
The Civil War stopped much of the activity of women’s groups, but helped women gain occupational and organizational skills to help them further the cause after the war. Just a year later, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony form the American Equal Rights Association, an organization for white and black women and men dedicated to the goal of universal suffrage. Women were still not permitted to vote.
In 1909, a Russian refugee, labor organizer, journalist and a member of the Socialist Party of America, Theresa Malkiel, who had been pushing for women’s suffrage, saw a more active role for women, and declared February 28 as National Women’s Day. This celebration was held in Manhattan with about 2,000 people in attendance. Internationally, this caught on, and was celebrated in Europe on March 8, 1911 with marches and speeches. And then two years later, the first major march on Washington by suffragists happened on March 3, 1913.
Fast forward to March, 1917 when the National Woman’s Party was formed in the United States, dedicated to getting women the right to vote. Six years later an amendment to the Constitution was proposed prohibiting all discrimination based on sex. This Equal Rights Amendment was finally passed by the Senate in 1972. Interesting fact – it has never been ratified by Congress.
In Sonoma, California a school district organized a full Women’s History Week in March, 1978 (corresponding with International Women’s Day), due to the lack of women-focused material in the existing school curriculum. The community was treated to talks, an essay contest, and a parade in downtown Santa Rosa. The following year saw many communities throughout the country plan and carry out their own events. It took these various groups two years to have our national government recognize Women’s History Week when President Jimmy Carter issued a proclamation so doing. Congress still had to request that this be done each year, and with the popularity and the significance of movements throughout the states, Congress finally passed a joint resolution designating Women’s History Month as a permanent event every March moving forward.
Fun story – According to former legislative aide Susan Scanlan, Maryland Congresswoman Barbara Mikulski originally suggested the recognition take place in August to celebrate the anniversary of U.S. women’s suffrage. “I looked at her,” Scanlan remembered, “and I said, ‘Barbara, do you want to be outside parading on August 26 when it’s hotter than the hinges of hell?’” To avoid roasting in the late summer heat, Scanlan pushed for March, which would mean the celebrations would occur in a season that Scanlan appropriately dubbed “marching weather.” In Tucson, I’m sure we agree with Scanlan!
So, you can see that women’s history in this country is as old as men’s, they just had to work a little harder to make it happen. As Emily Taft Douglas, first female Congresswoman from Illinois said, “If women understood and exercised their power, they could remake the world.”
See how the Oro Valley Historical Society is celebrating Women’s History Month every Saturday in March from 9 a.m. – noon in the Pusch House Museum at historic Steam Pump Ranch. You’ll be amazed at some of the women who lived here before us and all that they accomplished! Tours are free and donations are gladly accepted.
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WE WANT YOU!
The Oro Valley Historical Society is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit volunteer organization, whose mission is “To promote research, preservation, education, and dissemination of historical information related to the greater Oro Valley area.” We invite you to become a supporter and/or a volunteer. Visit us at https://www.ovhistory.org and help keep Oro Valley history alive!
