Women of Note
We Can Vote! An Appeal to the Women of the United States, 1871; 'Suffrage for women is not yet a universal condition"
"In this country, which stands so specially on equal representation, it is hardly possible that the same equal suffrage would not be established by law if the matter were to be left merely to the progress of public sentiment and the ordinary course of legislation. But as we confidently believe, and as we have before stated, the right already exists in our national constitutions, and especially under the recent amendments. The interpretation of the Constitution which we maintain, we cannot doubt, will be ultimately adopted by the Courts, although, as the assertion of our right encounters a deep and prevailing prejudice, and judges are proverbially cautions and conservative, we must expect to encounter some adverse decisions." more »
Has Congress Ceded Its Authority to the President? The Fourteenth Amendment and The Greatest Gift: Inform Yourself and Vote
Fourteenth Amendment - All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. Prior to the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment, the protections in the Bill of Rights limited only the actions of the federal government, unless the provision specifically stated otherwise. The Supreme Court, in what is called “the doctrine of incorporation” has since interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment to apply most provisions in the Bill of Rights against state and local governments as well. This has meant that the Fourteenth Amendment has been used more frequently in modern court cases than any other constitutional provision. more »
A 'Hidden Figure', Raye Jean Jordan Montague Designed a Frigate in 18 and a Half Hours
Among other posts, Raye Montague served as the program director for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Integrated Design, Manufacturing, and Maintenance Program as well as the division head for the Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) Program. On January 22, 1984, she accepted the newly created position of deputy program manager of the Navy's Information Systems Improvement Program. The movie Hidden Figures awakened an awareness of the previously unacknowledged contributions of black engineers and mathematicians in American defense and space industries, Raye Montague was dubbed a "real-life hidden figure." more »
"Nothing Is as Powerful as a Idea Whose Time Has Come"; How Quickly the Issue of Sexual Assault Went Viral
Jo Freeman writes: One of the most striking aspects of the protests against putting Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court was how quickly the issue of sexual assault went viral. There are many reasons to not want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court but that’s the one that caught fire. Another striking aspect was that 90% of the people who turned out to protest, at least in DC where I participated in those protests, were women. They were mostly older women, not the younger ones who usually populate protests. more »