2001 Assembly Joint Resolution 46
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: urging all Wisconsinites to observe March as "Women's History Month."
Whereas, American women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our Nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and
Whereas, American women have played and continue to play a critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of life of the Nation by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home; and
Whereas, American women have played a unique role throughout the history of the Nation by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force of the Nation; and
Whereas, American women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, educational, and cultural institutions in the Nation; and
Whereas, American women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement; and
Whereas, American women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the Abolitionist Movement, the Emancipation Movement, the Industrial Labor Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and other movements, especially the Peace Movement, which create a more fair and just society for all; and
Whereas, Wisconsin has been blessed with many women who have risen above stereotypes and who have become the first to achieve notable station, including Shirley Abrahamson, the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court and the first woman chief justice; Belle Case La Follette, the first woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School; Katherine Lyall, the first woman president of the University of Wisconsin System; Vel Philips, the first Black constitutional officer in Wisconsin; Dena Smith, the first woman elected to statewide office in Wisconsin; Rosa A. Smith, the first Black woman to serve as a superintendent of schools; Donna Shalala, the first woman chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Kathryn Morrison, the first woman elected to the state senate; and Barbara Thompson, the first woman to hold the elective office of state superintendent of public instruction; and
Whereas, Wisconsin women have earned the outstanding achievement of winning the Pulitzer Prize, including author Edna Ferber for the novel So Big, and author Zona Gale for the novel Miss Zulu Bett; and
Whereas, Wisconsin women have been national leaders in women's suffrage, including Kathryn Clarenbach, founder of the National Organization of Women and the National Women's Political Caucus; and Carrie Chapman Catt, suffragist and president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which she reorganized as the League of Women Voters; and
Whereas, in 1920 the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (women's suffrage) was ratified, and Wisconsin was the first state to deliver its ratification to Washington; and
Whereas, despite these contributions, the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued in the literature, teaching, and study of American History; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature call upon the citizens of Wisconsin to observe March as "Women's History Month" with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities; and, be it further
Resolved, That communities in Wisconsin are encouraged to continually recognize the abilities and contributions of women and girls who have contributed to the progress and success of our state from its founding to the present day.
