WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced their partnership with the Smithsonian Institution to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the passage and ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote.

Senators Blackburn and Feinstein will lead their female colleagues in the Senate in compiling reflections on what this anniversary means to them and how they are carrying the legacy of these suffragists forward. The Smithsonian, through its National Museum of American History, will incorporate the collection in the companion website to their “Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman Suffrage” exhibition in time for the August centennial of the ratification of the Suffrage Amendment.  

“As we begin Mother’s Day weekend, it’s important that we remember the women leaders who made it possible for mothers, grandmothers and daughters to vote. I encourage America’s fathers, grandfathers, and sons to remember women like Carrie Chapman Catt won the fight for the Nineteenth Amendment not because they were women, but because they were wickedly smart, and fierce advocates,” Senator Blackburn said. “Every woman in Congress has the women of the suffrage movement to thank for our right to represent our constituents today. It is our responsibility to keep this history alive for future generations. I am honored to join my female colleagues in the Senate and the Smithsonian Institute to commemorate the pioneers and trailblazers who made it possible for us to be members of these chambers.”

“I’m proud to join Senator Blackburn and my fellow women senators on this project for the Smithsonian’s Creating Icons exhibit,” said Senator Feinstein. “As we reflect on the 100th anniversary of the women’s suffrage movement, it’s important to share the stories of inspirational women like those with whom I have the pleasure of serving in the Senate. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the progress made and inspire the next generation of women leaders.”

“When the 19th Amendment was passed, not a single woman served in Congress,” said Anthea M. Hartig, the Elizabeth MacMillan Director of the National Museum of American History, and the museum’s first woman director. “I am pleased that this project will preserve the voices of the sitting female Senators in 2020 to document how suffrage has inspired change, and to show how much still needs to change.”