Washington, D.C. – Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) joined President Donald Trump at the White House yesterday for the signing of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act.
Senator Blackburn’s legislation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the passage and ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote. The measure honors the centennial and the legacy of the suffrage activists with a commemorative coin minted by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
“Every woman in Congress has the women of the suffrage movement to thank for our right to represent our constituents today,” Senator Blackburn said about the signing.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for keeping this history alive for future generations. The 2020 centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment is a rare moment to celebrate the milestone in American history that made it possible for women to finally have a voice in government. Ninety-nine years after women gained the right to vote, I became the first woman from Tennessee to serve in the United States Senate. I am honored to have worked with Senator Gillibrand and Reps. Stefanik and Lawrence to commemorate the pioneers and trailblazers who made it possible for us to be members of these chambers,” stated Senator Blackburn
Yesterday, Senator Blackburn joined Fox Business’s Making Money with Charles Payne to discuss the importance of keeping the history of the suffrage movement alive for future generations.
Background
Senators Blackburn and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced S. 1235, the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, on April 30th, 2019. Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) and Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.) led companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
The women’s suffrage movement began in July 1848 with the first women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York. The fight concluded in August 1920 in Nashville, Tennessee, 140 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Tennessee was the 36th and final state needed to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.
