Constitution Day, September 17 annually, commemorates the adoption of the US Constitution, and every year it is celebrated at Michigan Tech and in the community. This year we celebrate the 19th Amendment, which removed restrictions due to sex from the Constitution. The 19th reads: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
On September 17, 2019 we celebrate the 19th Amendment to the Constitution through the showing of the film, “Iron Jawed Angels,” which tells the tale of the last decade of the seven-decade struggle to gain voting rights for all women citizens in the US. The film will be shown at 7:30pm in the East Reading Room of the Van Pelt and Opie Library on Michigan Tech’s campus. The fight for women’s voting rights peaked during World War I, and the adoption of the 19th Amendment was anything but obvious. Other hot topics at the time were discriminatory racial practices, prohibition, immigration, labor safety and rights, and industrialization. Following the film there will be an informative discussion led by Michigan Tech Social Sciences Lecturer, Susanna D. Peters, J.D. Please join us for this educational event.
The Constitution Day film showing is co-sponsored by the Van Pelt and Opie Library, the League of Women Voters of the Copper Country, and riseUP, recognizing the Importance of Women’s Suffrage Everywhere-Upper Peninsula, a local group organizing a year-long educational program surrounding suffrage rights and acquisition of full citizenship rights by all populations. More information on these groups will be available at the film showing.