Karen’s Quirky Style Commemorates the Democratic Fight to Vote

I have exciting news! I recently passed the Naturalization Test for U.S. Citizenship! I will be honored to swear allegiance to the United States of America and the U.S. flag on January 31. As I consider this country’s continuous striving towards the goals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all, and I think of the hundreds of Americans I know, as well as the thousands I encounter on the streets and subways every week, I feel very proud to be another carrot in this wondrous melting pot.

When I studied American history and civics for the exam, I was fascinated to learn about the principles of American democracy, beginning with the Constitution and its amendments. What drew my attention in particular was the timeline of amendments.

The First Amendment guaranteed freedom of speech, of religion, of assembly, of the press, and to petition the government. The Twenty-Seventh, regarding Congress members’ salaries, was ratified in 1992 but was originally proposed in 1789! In between were 25 amendments to the supreme law of the land, including the Bill of Rights (Amendments 1 to 10, all in 1789), the abolishment of slavery (13th Amendment), the enactment and repeal of Prohibition [18th Amendment established it, the 21st Amendment abolished it], and three expansions of voting rights.

I noted with interest that 1870’s 15th Amendment prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. But this didn’t come into full force until almost a century later. Fifty years later, in 1920, the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. However, many women of color and indigenous women were still denied this right.

The Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965, protected the rights of millions of black voters, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinx voters, and was considered one the greatest achievements of the Civil Rights Movement. The 26th Amendment, ratified during the Vietnam War, in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 years. Clearly, the right to vote is one of the most fundamental principles of democracy. It’s something I’ve always taken for granted, but living here has expanded my awareness.

Interestingly, in 1776, as the colonies became the Unites States of America, women who met certain requirements had the right to vote in Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, and New Jersey. This changed in 1787, when all states except for New Jersey denied voting rights to women. New Jersey followed suit in 1807. From that point forward, it was an uneven but persistent battle, occurring simultaneously around the world, to regain the right to vote.

And in case you were wondering, denial of these rights is rooted in Athenian democracy (which began around the 6th century BCE), in which only men could vote. Despite what some of us were told, it was not “always this way.” There is archaeological evidence that many pre-monotheistic cultures around the world were either matriarchal or egalitarian. I didn’t learn this until I took a Women’s Studies course at university. Prior to that, my education had omitted this fact!

The fight for women’s suffrage (the right to vote) began in 1840 in the U.S., when the National American Women Suffrage Association formed. In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments, which she introduced at the Seneca Falls Inaugural Women’s Rights Convention. By 1878, an amendment for women’s suffrage was introduced in Congress. But things didn’t pick up momentum until the 1900s. As you might expect, New York was the nexus of many suffrage organizations, and The Cooper Union was the location of many speeches and rallies.

On April 22, 1912, after the New York legislature failed to grant women the right to vote, the Wage Earner’s Suffrage League staged a rally at The Cooper Union comprised of thousands of working women demanding suffrage. The rallies, speeches, and marches continued until the women of New York State received the right to vote in 1917, three years before the 19th Amendment was ratified.

For a stirring account of the suffragette movement in New York, see Suffragists and Suffragettes by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Mike Wallace, written on the centenary of women receiving the right to vote in New York State.

So this month I wear a “Votes for Women!” ribbon to honor the women of the Wage Earner’s Suffrage League and the hundreds of thousands of suffragettes around the world who won us a freedom we might take for granted.

I would also like to put the spotlight on Cooper Union and its Foundation Building’s Great Hall, which has been a bastion of free speech, social activism, education, culture, and electoral politics for over 160 years. The largest meeting hall in New York City below 14th Street when The Cooper Union opened in 1859, the Great Hall has hosted critical lectures and debates that have shaped New York City and our nation, including the earliest workers’ rights campaigns, the birth of the NAACP, the women’s suffrage movement, and prominent thinkers from every field, including 11 aspiring, sitting, and former Presidents.

At the time of its erection in 1859, the Foundation Building was one of the tallest in lower Manhattan. Visionary founder Peter Cooper (1791–1883) required that it include a cylindrical shaft between floors in anticipation of an elevator—a device that had not yet been invented! The Foundation Building now forms the apex of Cooper Triangle with the Village Voice’s 22-year residence on the left side of the triangle and The Cooper Union’s architecturally iconic 41 Cooper Square forming the right leg.

Peter Cooper was a philanthropist, industrialist, and inventor. He was a working-class, native New Yorker with less than a year of formal schooling. Yet he became one of the most successful American businessmen of his day, making his fortune in iron, glue, railroads, real estate, and communications. His inventions include the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable (1858) and Tom Thumb, America’s first functioning steam engine (1829). Cooper also invented Jell-O (1845), with help from his wife, Sarah, who added fruit to his clarified gelatin.

The Cooper Union is recognized as one of the most affordable colleges in the country. They cover 100% of tuition by scholarship or grant aid for 55% of students, and their plan is to be 100% tuition-free by the 2028-2029 academic year.

As another inauguration takes place, I think it’s important to remember our democratic roots and principles, and the values that we share. It’s even more important to know that we can fight and win to protect ourselves, our rights, and the rights of all the members of our society.

Style Notes

I borrowed this arresting vintage 1910s tomato-red day suit with square wood buttons from New York Vintage at 117 W. 25th St. They also provided the 1910s brown velvet ostrich-plumed hat and Yves St. Laurent 1910s-style cream and black leather lace-up pumps. The luscious cream silk-satin high-necked blouse is by Andrea T New York.

Karen Rempel is a New York-based writer, model, and artist. Her Karen’s Quirky Style column illuminates quirky clothes and places in Manhattan. For the expanded story, see https://karenqs.nyc.