SR1074 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1074 LRB101 21068 MST 71396 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, guided by the shared ideals of freedom, sovereignty, democracy, civil liberties, and individual rights; and

WHEREAS, From 1919 to 1920, the Sixty-Sixth Congress debated, and state legislatures considered, an amendment to the Constitution to provide suffrage for women; and

WHEREAS, On May 21, 1919, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a proposed amendment, followed by the Senate a few weeks later on June 4, 1919; and

WHEREAS, The introduction, passage, and ultimate ratification of the 19th Amendment were the culmination of decades of work and struggle by advocates for the rights of women across the United States and worldwide; and

WHEREAS, The ratification of the 19th Amendment ensured women could more fully participate in our democracy and fundamentally changed the role of women in the civic life of our nation; and

WHEREAS, August 18, 2020 marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment by three-fourths of the states, providing the support necessary under Article V of the Constitution of the United States; and

WHEREAS, August 26, 2020 marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment becoming a part of the Constitution of the United States, providing for women's suffrage; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare August 26, 2020 as "Women's Suffrage Day" in the State of Illinois.