AJR94: Joint Resolution Text

1997 - 1998 LEGISLATURE

1997 Assembly JOINT RESOLUTION 94

January 13, 1998 - Introduced by Committee on Rules. Referred to Calendar.

AJR94,1,2 Relating to: Wisconsin women's accomplishments and significant Wisconsin events.

AJR94,1,4 Whereas, the sesquicentennial year is an appropriate time to reflect upon the residents of this state whose accomplishments are impressive; and

AJR94,1,6 Whereas, among the more significant of those persons are those who were the first to accomplish notable things; and

AJR94,1,8 Whereas, Wisconsin has been blessed with more than its share of women who were pathfinders; and

AJR94,1,11 Whereas, Shirley Abrahamson (1933-) became the first woman to serve on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court, in 1976, and the first woman to be Chief Justice, on August 1, 1996; and

AJR94,1,14 Whereas, Olympia Brown (1835-1926), a minister and publisher, was the first ordained woman minister in the United States and a key figure in the women's rights movement; and

AJR94,2,4 Whereas, Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was a suffragist and President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which she reorganized as the League of Women Voters, with 2,000,000 members, after passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed women the vote; and

AJR94,2,6 Whereas, Kathryn Clarenbach (1920-1994) was the founder of the National Organization for Women and the National Women's Political Caucus; and

AJR94,2,8 Whereas, Edna Ferber (1885-1968), an author, received the 1925 Pulitzer Prize for the novel So Big; and

AJR94,2,11 Whereas, Lynn Fontanne (1887-1983) appeared in theater, motion pictures and television, and she and her husband were jointly awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964; and

AJR94,2,13 Whereas, Zona Gale (1874-1938), an author, received the 1921 Pulitzer Prize for the novel Miss Lulu Bett; and

AJR94,2,15 Whereas, Jane Hamilton (1952-) received the PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award for the novel The Book of Ruth and also wrote A Map of the World; and

AJR94,2,18 Whereas, Mildred Fish Harnack (1902-1943) was a war hero who, while an instructor at the University of Berlin, organized a resistance group and transmitted intelligence to the Allies and was executed by the Nazis; and

AJR94,2,20 Whereas, Cordelia Harvey (1824-1895), a humanitarian, was instrumental in establishing military hospitals in the North during the Civil War; and

AJR94,2,23 Whereas, Belle Case La Follette (1859-1931), a lawyer and editor, was the first woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin Law School and was a leader in supporting the rights of women and African-Americans; and

AJR94,2,25 Whereas, Frances Huntley-Cooper was the first Black mayor of a Wisconsin city (Fitchburg); and

AJR94,3,2 Whereas, Katherine Lyall was the first woman President of the University of Wisconsin System; and

AJR94,3,5 Whereas, Helen Farnsworth Mears (1872-1916) was a sculptor and created the Frances Willard statue in Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol and "The Genius of Wisconsin" in the Wisconsin Capitol; and

AJR94,3,7 Whereas, Kathryn Morrison (1942-) was the first woman elected to the state senate, in 1975; and

AJR94,3,9 Whereas, Lorine Niedecker (1903-1970) was the author of several books of poetry and is featured in most anthologies of 20th Century American poetry; and

AJR94,3,12 Whereas, Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) was an artist and innovative painter of flowers and landscapes and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977; and

AJR94,3,14 Whereas, Vel Phillips was elected Secretary of State in 1978 and was the first Black constitutional officer in Wisconsin; and

AJR94,3,16 Whereas, Margaretha Meyer Schurz (1833-1876) was an educator and opened the first United States kindergarten in Watertown in 1856; and

AJR94,3,19 Whereas, Donna Shalala was the first woman Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was named by President Clinton as the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services; and

AJR94,3,21 Whereas, Dena Smith was elected State Treasurer in 1960 and was the first woman elected to statewide office in Wisconsin; and

AJR94,3,23 Whereas, Rosa A. Smith was the first Black woman to serve as a superintendent of schools; and

AJR94,3,25 Whereas, Barbara Thompson (1924-) became the first woman to hold the elective office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, in 1973; and

AJR94,4,3 Whereas, Laura Ingalls Wilder (1867-1957) was an author of children's books and wrote a series of books, including Little House on the Prairie, which was based on her life growing up in the Midwest; and

AJR94,4,5 Whereas, Frances Willard (1839-1898) was a social reformer who organized the Woman's Christian Temperance Union; and

AJR94,4,8 Whereas, Laura Ross Wolcott (1834-1915) was a physician and suffragist and the first woman physician in Wisconsin, and she was active in organizing, and served as the first President of, the Wisconsin Woman's Suffrage Association; and

AJR94,4,10 Whereas, the accomplishments of Wisconsin women are indicated by many notable events; and

AJR94,4,13 Whereas, in 1875 the free high school law passed; women became eligible for election to school boards; and the State Industrial School for Girls was established at Milwaukee; and

AJR94,4,16 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

AJR94,4,18 Whereas, in 1921 equal rights for women and prohibition laws were enacted; and

AJR94,4,20 Whereas, in 1960 Mrs. Dena Smith was elected State Treasurer, the first woman to be elected to statewide office in Wisconsin; and

AJR94,4,22 Whereas, in 1973 Barbara Thompson became the first woman to hold the elective office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction; and

AJR94,4,24 Whereas, in 1975 Kathryn Morrison became the first woman to be elected to the state senate; now, therefore, be it

AJR94,5,3 Resolved by the assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature, meeting in this state's sesquicentennial year, recognize and salute the notable achievements of Wisconsin women; and, be it further

AJR94,5,5 Resolved, That the assembly chief clerk shall provide a copy of this joint resolution to the Wisconsin Sesquicentennial Commission.

AJR94,5,6 (End)