Women's Suffrage Centennial Celebration

press release: Witness the unveiling of the original 19th amendment! Join the Wisconsin Historical Society at the State Capitol for a 100-year anniversary celebration of Wisconsin being the first state to ratify the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote.

See the original 19th amendment document, hear from speakers and much more. 

Schedule of Events

12:00-1:00 pm: Welcome from First Lady of Wisconsin, Kathy Evers; Unveiling of the 19th Amendment - Christian Overland; speaker - Honorable Rebecca Kleefisch, executive director of the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission; speaker - Honorable Justice Ann Walsh Bradley

12:00 - 10:00 pm: ONE DAY ONLY! Public viewing of original 19th amendment document, a tunic and small array of buttons and sashes.

The event is free and open to the public.

On the morning of June 10, 1919, 76-year-old former state senator David James of Richland Center came to Madison to witness the state legislature vote on the 19^th Amendment. By day’s end, he was on a train racing to Washington, DC, with official ratification documents in hand. He needed to deliver the documents to the US State Department in order to make Wisconsin the first state to officially ratify the 19^th Amendment.