Issues

Today, women comprise more than half of voters in the United States. But it was just 100 years ago when they received the franchise to participate in the American electoral process.

The American people’s right to early representation of women in local After the suffrage movement, the vote, while in recent elections government. National Women’s Party emerged, seen as overlooked by the general “There was a special session of the another “radical” group of women. They populace, represents what it means to legislature in 1918 which let women vote continued to lobby to change women’s be an American. Through the ballot, the in the Democratic primary,” Harrigan said. roles in the family and in society. governed can express their consent with “That effectively meant that women were “You get the Great Depression and the operations and representation on both local voting in the general election, since Texas World Wars, and that consumed a lot of and federal levels. was, at that time, really a one party state, a national energy, so it was relatively quiet,”

Yet, in the 2016 presidential election, Democratic state. So it’s interesting, before Hamilton said. 49.6% of eligible voters did not vote, women were voting in the United States, In the wake of the 1960s social according to the United States Election women were making decisive votes in the movements, the women’s rights movement Project. With the 2020 presidential election Texas primary. That’s really important.” gained an additional wave of widespread upon us, we look back at one group’s Even during a mass movement, popularity. 70-year-long fight for the vote. women’s suffrage on a national scale “You got other kinds of cultural

While so integral to government struggled to get through federal legislature changes in the 60s, so more women protest function and equal representation, the owing to the South’s staunch opposition to and advocate for change,” Hamilton said. vote has not historically been guaranteed feminist ideals. Yet there is still work to be done. to all. This past August marks the 100th Women fall behind in national averages in anniversary of the passing of the 19th You can’t underestimate how civic representation, Kay Bailey Hutchinson Amendment, the amendment that gave huge the changes were. remains the only woman to serve in the women the right to vote. United States Senate in Texas history

To history instructor Andrea Hamilton, Andrea Hamilton, History instructor and women are not equally dispersed however, the 1848 Seneca Falls convention throughout the House of Representatives. serves as the starting point for a seven- But finally, in 1920, the 19th “Only 9 [Texan] women have served decade-long women’s suffrage movement. Amendment passed and gave women the in the House, currently there are the most

“Seneca Falls is the first convention right to vote. ever – 6 – 16.7% of the House delegation – where there was a formal declaration “It was huge symbolically,” Hamilton below the national average of 23%,” Green calling for women’s right to vote,” said, “and there was a lot of worry among said. “25% of the state legislature is female, Hamilton said. “It was really connected the men who hadn’t wanted to give as compared with the national average with the abolitionist movement. People women the vote that suddenly women 29%, but the numbers are increasing and working for women’s suffrage believed were going to vote in this block and throw Texas women are a force with which to be that women would get the right to off politics. Other than a few issues, a lot of reckoned.” vote after the Civil War, when African women tend to vote with their class, not as Leader of the Hockaday chapter of Americans got the right to vote.” a block.” the NewGen student advocacy group

While female activists were first seen Dr. Joanne Green, political scientist and Premanshi Agarwalla ‘22 feels learning as radical, the Progressive Era’s widespread TCU Interim Chair of Women and Gender from the women’s suffrage movement social activism led to a shift in public Studies, compounds on the symbolic value provides a path toward a more equal future opinion in the early 20th century: women’s of the 19th Amendment. and a larger role in government for women. suffrage became a mass movement. “The 19th Amendment giving women “The women obviously had opinions,

“A lot of different groups who became the right to vote in all elections was a but they weren’t represented in the interested in women getting the vote for a significant step in allowing women all democracy,” Agarwalla said. “Even though variety of reasons,” Hamilton said. “People rights of citizenship,” Green said. “Others, you say you’re a democracy, in order to be working for labor reform wanted women like the right to a trial by one’s peers, the truly representative of the people, you have to get the vote. People on different parts right to claim one’s wages and the right to to be willing to listen to what they have to of the political spectrum who would vote be protected against discrimination based say. It’s not enough to only listen to who really differently on other issues all agree upon one’s sex took many more decades, you want to listen to.” that they want to fight for women to get the but ensuring the right to vote was a Now, Harrigan looks forward vote.” significant step,” to a female-powered future, hoping

It crossed party lines. It crossed Aside from politics, however, women that republican ideologies will be regional feuds. It united many parts of already had a significant role in society. strengthened through equal representation America, but the suffrage movement was “I’d also say that by the time and increasing numbers of women in still unpopular in the South. women were getting the vote in 1920, government.

“The issue in the South was largely you’ve already reached a point where “The idea that women are increasingly that they didn’t want Black women to women made up over half of the college running for office means that we are going get the right to vote,” Hamilton said. population, and a lot of other societal to have a more representative state, and a “You’ve got Southern segregationists and changes had taken place that changed more representative country in the future,” white Southern men who didn’t want any womens’ lives,” Hamilton said. Harrigan said. “Who knows if the women women to get the vote, because they saw it To Hamilton, the women’s rights who are casting their votes are voting for a as giving Blacks more lobbying power, and movement saw a decline after the passage liberal candidate, a conservative candidate they think they’ll attack segregation then.” of the 19th Amendment. or somewhere in between, but they will

For Texas women, however, “The reality was that women still be a part of the process, which can only representation in elections preceded couldn’t practice law in most states,” obviously be for the good.” the 19th Amendment owing to unique Hamilton said, “and schools still had legislation. Tenured Texas Monthly quotas, and women still didn’t get custody STORY Henry McElhaney, Toby Barrett journalist and New York Times bestselling of their children, and they still couldn’t GRAPHIC Morgan Chow author of The Gates of the Alamo Stephen hold a credit card in their own name, and Harrigan maintains the significance of this so all those other issues were still there.”

The timeline

July 19, 1848 March 13, 1913 July 27, 1918 August 18, 1920 August 6, 1965

3 Issues

Election

An in-depth policy comparison of presidential platforms along with student opinions. Pages 4-5

Life skills

Taking a look at valuable practical life skills for young adults. Page 6

Service

Why are students required to complete community service hours in a COVID-19 climate? Page 7

In brief

VISITING SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Dr. Katherine Magruder was named Head of the Visiting Scholars Program by Head of Upper School Colin Igoe Oct. 2. Magruder is exploring the option of inviting virtual guests. “We’re in the brainstorming phase,” said Magruder, who teaches sixth grade humanities. “Generally the way it works is the coordinator will start soliciting ideas from the community, and people will mention names they would like to be a part of the program. There’s a little bit of work that needs to be done there to figure out the logistics and feasibility.” The Visiting Scholars Program provides students with opportunities to hear from learned lecturers, artists and thinkers. Past guests have specialized in a variety of different fields, including poetry, literature and science. Last year, visitors included astronomer and astrophysicist David Shoemaker and journalist Bryan Mealer.

VIRTUAL ADMISSIONS Due to the inability for interested families to visit campus, the Admission Office has organized virtual “Coffee Break Live”, which will be virtually hosted with over 150 families from across the nation in September. The goal is for on-campus events to return as soon as possible, but virtual events will continue to be included to better serve out-of-town families.

NATIONAL MERIT Thirty-two seniors were named semifinalists for National Merit Scholarships by the National Merit Scholarship Program Sep. 9. The seniors are among only 16,000 semifinalists from across the country. After following the prerequisite guidelines, they will continue to the Finalist section of the NMSP, where over half are expected to receive one of 7,600 National Merit Scholarships. The students named include Alam Alidina, Michael Anderson, Jacob Bell, Beto Beveridge, Beau Exall, Jackson Fair, Jordan Gaines, Fritz Hesse, Matthew Ho, Anish Karthik, Mustafa Latif, Jamie Mahowald, Rishi Mohan, Sam Morgan, Cristian Pereira, Robert Pou, Antonio Quinones, Cooper Ribman, Siddhartha Sinha, Ned Tagtmeier, Sai Thirunagari, Varun Trivedi, Michael Vanesko, Vatsal Vemuri, Benny Wang, Mason Westkaemper, Drew Woodward, Max Wu, David Yang, Charlie Zhang, Han Zhang and Jerry Zhao.