Slew of events to mark passage of 19th Amendment

Hoosiers will be able to learn about the suffrage movement in Indiana through an array of events planned to celebrate and commemorate the 100-year anniversary of women’s right to vote.

Exhibits, tours, conversations with scholars, workshops and other activities are being offered by museums and historical sites across Indiana. The programs and events will tell the stories of the women who joined the suffrage movement as well as how the battle for access to the ballot box was fought and what the impact has been.

Congress passed the 19th Amendment in June 1919, which set off the push to get 36 states to ratify the provision ensuring no one would be denied the right to vote based on his or her gender. Indiana ratified the amendment on Jan. 16, 1920, culminating the state’s suffrage movement that began in 1851. Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the amendment on Aug. 18, 1920, and U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on Aug. 26, 1920.

A partial list of events follows.

Block party: The Indiana Historical Society will host the weeklong Suffrage Centennial Block Party, Aug. 29-Sept. 4. Many of the events, which take place throughout each day, are free and available online.

Organizers were planning to set up booths and tables along the canal in downtown Indianapolis so people would gather to explore and learn about suffrage, according to Callie McCune, manager of public programs at the historical society. However, when COVID-19 vetoed in-person events, organizers drew a little inspiration from the suffragists, who readily adopted whatever new technology came along, and moved most everything to a virtual format.

The celebration will end with do-it-yourself porch parties. Hoosiers across the state are invited to brew some iced equali-tea and host their own socially distanced party.

The Block Party is presented by the Indiana Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, the Indiana Historical Society, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Indiana Humanities, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites and the Indiana Statehouse Tour Office. For more information, visit www.indianahistory.org/suffrage-centennial-block-party-schedule-of-events/.

Suffragists and the law: The Southern Indiana District Court Historical Society will present “Reflections on the Struggle for Woman Suffrage in Indiana” online from 3-4 p.m. Oct. 9.

Anita Morgan, senior lecturer in history at IUPUI and author of “We Must Be Fearless: The Woman Suffrage Movement in Indiana,” will present an hour-long program on the history of the suffrage movement in Indiana. She will explore the ways that Hoosier women attempted to work within the law to achieve the right to vote, and she will give special focus to Gougar v. Timberlake, the 1897 lawsuit filed by Helen Gougar against the Tippecanoe County Election Board for refusing to allow her to vote.

One hour of continuing legal education credit is pending. Register by Oct. 2 via [email protected].

Presidential support: The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site is celebrating the 100th anniversary with a new exhibit, “Votes for Women: The Road to Suffrage,” which is open through Dec. 31.

The exhibit features information on the Harrison family and prominent suffrage leaders. Also, a collection of suffrage artifacts acquired from the Cecelia E. Harris Collection are on display, including photographs, sashes, stamps and even an ivory-colored flask that depicts President Teddy Roosevelt wearing a sash that reads “SUFFER-E-GET.” More information can be found at www.presidentbenjaminharrison.org/visit.

Lecture and panel discussion: Laura Merrifield Wilson, assistant professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis, will examine the impact of the women’s vote at 7 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Historic Artcraft Theatre in Franklin. Wilson will present her research in “Have We Come A Long Way, Baby?” and lead a panel discussion with female Democratic candidates Angela Elliott, Cindy Reinert and Amanda Stevenson-Holmes.

Although the Johnson County Democratic Party is the sponsor, the event will be a bipartisan celebration. Admission is free but limited to 185 attendees. Proper social distancing and face masks are required. For more information, contact Amanda Stevenson-Holmes at [email protected].

Free day: The Indiana State Museum will be offering free admission to all 12 Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites on Aug. 29. Preregistration is required for some venues. For more information, visit www.indianamuseum.org/calendar/event/2003300.•