The History of Equality Day

August 26, 2005 marks the 85th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women's right to vote, the result of a successful and dynamic 72-year political campaign that began at the world's first Woman's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848, and ended with the addition of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. In 1971, Rep. Bella Abzug (NY) introduced a Congressional Resolution to formally designate August 26 as Women's Equality Day on the federal calendar, in recognition of both the anniversary of suffrage and of women's continued efforts towards equal rights in the United States. The measure was duly passed by the House of Representatives, the Senate, and signed by the President. Every year since, the resolution has been reaffirmed by the federal government and celebratory Women's Equality Day programs have been held in workplaces and communitites nationwide. To learn more about the history of women's campaign to win the vote, and about the women's rights movement in general, visit www.nwhp.org. Return to The Fighting Days, Equality Day.