By Kathie Haynes
I took this title mostly from a 1999 book edited by Heidi Bauer and Barbara Stuhler. I say “mostly” because the original title was for which “We” struggled. It is all about Minnesota women of the suffrage movement.
You know I never really thought much about the suffrage movement. It is easy to take for granted something you have always had. I guess it is this election year and the fact that I started to read this book about the movement that I am now acutely aware of the importance of the right to vote. I am 75-years-old. I should have been more aware. Is it any wonder that many young women are not cognizant of how amazing it is that finally in 2016 we have the opportunity to vote for a woman for President!
The campaign for woman suffrage began in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York. It wasn’t until 1920 – over 70 years – that the 19th Amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote! The Declaration of Independence extolled the equality of men, but women were assigned only partial citizenship. It took many women, many men and many years to gain equality in the voting booth.
Hillary Clinton may not be your favorite candidate, but she is head and shoulders above her opponent. As a college senior she lobbied her college to admit more black students, to grade some courses pass or fail and to ditch the dress code that required skirts in the dining hall. Her student-government speech at graduation was met with applause for seven minutes. She became a partner in a law firm, sat on a number of boards, assisted her husband in the White House, shaped policy, and lobbied lawmakers. In 1997 and 1999 she helped create programs for children’s health insurance and adoption care. It is my opinion that she has always been a strong advocate for children because she knew that her own mother had been abandoned as a young girl and that made a deep impression in her life.
As a New York Senator, Hillary worked hard to connect the restaurant industry with the local farmers. She talked Hewlett-Packard into donating laptops to small-business owners. As Secretary of State she successfully conducted face-to-face diplomacy always seeking to accomplish something practical in people’s lives. She gained respect around the world.
Hillary Clinton has been accused of many things and investigated over and over, but final reports always state there is not evidence of criminal wrong doing. Hillary has endured various failures and heart aches, but as her mother did attest, she has always been a fighter. I for one want that “fighter” in the White House.