About the watercolor piece: On August 18, 1920, upon receiving the news of Tennessee ratifying the 19th amendment, Alice Paul sewed on the 26th and last star to her ratification banner, walked out to the balcony of the National Woman’s Party headquarters, and unfurled it to the jubilation of fellow suffragists below (original photo source: Bettmann/Getty Images). The passage of the 19th Amendment is a significant milestone for the United States of America; the right to vote afforded women the political freedom to express their independent ideas and opinions, equal to men, about the laws that govern them.

 

Since the 1920s, American women continue to fight for the passage of new laws which guarantee, regardless of gender, equal rights and protections in matters beyond the right to vote based upon the example set by the suffragettes. I believe that the combined photo embodies the American Heritage Committee’s contest theme for 2019: “Rise and Shine Your Light on the 19th Amendment”.  I’m proud of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution’s role in continuing this call to civic duty and equality through education and awareness of our American heritage. 

 

About the title of the watercolor piece: In the September 1920 issue of The Suffragist, Charlotte Perkins Gilman penned a poem as a call for action for women to rise up, bask in the glory of their success, and use their new duty to make the world a better place.  When I read this, I immediately thought it captured the theme of the movement perfectly.  Here is the first stanza from the poem:

 

“Waken, O Woman, to the trumpet sound

​Greeting our day of long sought liberty;”