This is part of my "Learning something new...." history series using United States postage stamps as our history book.

To read previous posts in this series, simply click here.

On this date back in 1915, tens of thousands of women showed up in New York City. At the same time! Can you imagine all the male and lesbian gawkers?

In this case, though, not too many men were happy with the women. Why? Because those tens of thousands of women were marching to demand the right to vote.

Ah, yes, women voting. Sounds so simple to us today, doesn't it?

By 1915, the Women's Suffrage movement was in full swing. In fact, it had been in full swing for a couple of decades, and in 1902, the United States Postal Service wanted to recognize the role of women in America. Unfortunately, the topic was so controversial that the Postal Service couldn't decide how to recognize that role. Finally, someone came up with the brilliant idea of putting the nation's first First Lady on the stamp, thereby honoring Martha Washington as the first woman on a United States postage stamp:

This solved the problem because 1902 was also the 100th anniversary of Martha Washington's death, and who could deny the nation's first First Lady the privilege of being on a postage stamp?

On August 18, 1920, the Tennessee General Assembly became the thirty-sixth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, making the amendment a part of the United States Constitution, and giving women the right to vote in the United States. Alas, there was still controversy, though, and it took a ruling by the United States Supreme Court in 1922 (Leser v. Garnett) to make the Nineteenth Amendment official.

On August 18, 1970, the United States Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment:

Other interesting facts about Women's Suffrage throughout the world:

1. The modern women's suffrage movement began in medieval France when heads of households, regardless of sex, voted for city and town assemblies and at meetings.
2. Sweden allowed tax-paying guild members of both sexes to vote beginning in 1718.
3. In 1755, the Corsican Republic allowed all people over the age of 25 to vote. Suffrage ended in 1769 when France annexed the island.
4. Lydia Taft is recognized as the first official woman voter in America, having voted in open New England town meetings at Uxbridge, Massachusetts, between 1756 and 1768.
5. Women had limited suffrage in New Jersey from 1776 to 1809.
6. New Zealand granted women's suffrage in 1893, although women were not allowed to run for office.
7. Australia granted women's suffrage in 1902, except for Aboriginal women.
8. In 1905, Finland became the first European country to allow women to vote.
9. The most recent countires to grant women the right to vote? Bhutan in 2008, and Kuwait in 2005.
10. Vatican City still does not allow women to vote. For those who don't know, Vatican City is where the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church resides. (Interestingly, only Cardinals under the age of 80 are allowed to vote in Vatican City.)
11. Other countries not allowing women to vote: Saudi Arabia.

__________
Sources:

1. "Century of Struggle: The Woman's Rights Movement in the United States," by Eleanor Flexner
2. "Suffragettes International: The Worldwide Campaign for Women's Rights," by Trevor Lloyd
3. Wikipedia
4. Arago: People, Postage, and the Post
5. 1847USA: Knowledge is Power

**********

Fifteen recent blog posts

1. Learning something new.... - How come Louisiana is so small?
2. Do you know the difference between marketing and advertising?
3. Learning something new.... - Oliver Hazard Perry
4. Remember to take your business cards, lots of them....
5. Life 101: If you want the truth, ask a child
6. Speechless Sunday: Na na na na na na
7. Guerrilla Marketing: What kind of selection do you have?
8. You don't have to be a victim....
9. Learning something new.... - Albert Einstein
10. What color is your milk?
11. Learning something new.... - Dwight D. Eisenhower
12. It's time in the market, not timing the market
13. Learning something new.... - Happy Columbus Day!
14. After 54 years, I now know my personality type, courtesy of Margaret Rome
15. My Top 10 marketing tips

Helpful blog posts for ActiveRain newbies

1. How to get 500 points with your ActiveRain success story
2. Free help for Active Rain newbies
3. 10 ways to get a featured post at ActiveRain
4. How to keep people from reading your Active Rain blog
5. How do you get people to comment on your blog?
6. Using Active Rain more effectively by finding Power Partners
7. Quit putting huge, gigantic, monster pictures in your blog. Now! (Help on resizing them)
8. Using YouTube videos without slowing down page loading
9. How to use the Active Rain system more efficiently

Need help with marketing? Join the Guerrilla Marketing Tactics Group.

Inspired by nature? Join the Inspired By Nature Group.

Classical music lover? Join the Classical Music Group.

Want to share a good book? Join the Active Rain Book Club