On July 19, 1848, the first Woman’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, NY. This convention was remarkable for being the first time that women’s right-to-vote was demanded. It was the opening salvo in a 72 year struggle which culminated in the 19^th Amendment being adopted in August, 1920. This amendment gave women the legal right to vote and acknowledged that women deserved full citizenship.

 Many courageous women led the fight to gain the right to vote and to exercise that right to address changes in what they considered an unjust system. At the 1848 convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott presented The Declaration of Sentiments, which was modeled on The Declaration of Independence, and set forth numerous demands on behalf of women. In 1851, Elizabeth Stanton met Susan B. Anthony and the two found that they had many common interests. They formed a friendship that lasted a lifetime. Susan B. Anthony became the voice of the Women’s Movement in these early years.

 Although neither Susan B. Anthony nor Elizabeth Cady Stanton lived to see the fruition of the work they began, the work they did inspired many women, and men, to take up the cause.

I was reading an interesting posting on My African Travels website about the good and the bad of living and working in Africa. The posting is in the form of a letter to folks back home and this one talks about an illness the author suffered not long after arriving in Urundi, Africa. She was in the 3^rd trimester of a pregnancy and under the care of nurses who thought her illness was malaria. Fortunately, it was not and her doctor got the right medicine for her. That’s a scary episode, but it turned out fine.

Next, she speaks of the good stuff. For example, they had lots of delicious fresh fruits and vegetables from the fertile and naturally irrigated garden and orchard. Furthermore, she has more than enough help with the chores from the villagers who earn a living by cleaning the house, doing the laundry and the cooking as well as help with the garden. This is a very entertaining and educational site.

Hattie Wyatt Caraway, first woman to be elected to the US Senate, won an historic second term in 1938, this time without the dynamic endorsement of Huey Long, who had been assassinated in 1935. During her tenure in the Senate, Caraway achieved many other firsts for women.

She was named chair of the Enrolled Bills Committee in 1933, became the first woman ever to chair a Senate committee and remained there until she left Congress in 1945. Caraway became the first woman to preside over the Senate, the first senior woman Senator (when Joe Robinson died in 1937), and the first woman to run a Senate hearing. She also received assignments on the Commerce Committee and the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry.  

Caraway also secured the first federal funding for an Arkansas college and was responsible for the construction of 9 buildings at Arkansas State University. This was an amazing accomplishment during the Depression. Furthermore, she secured $15 million to construct an aluminum plant in Arkansas.

After serving 13 years in the senate, Caraway lost the general election in 1944 to a former University of Arkansas president, J. William Fulbright who went on to serve for 3 decades. Even though she lost the election, she remained active in politics for the remainder of her life. Franklin Roosevelt nominated her as a member of the Federal Employees Commission, then, in 1946, President Harry S. Truman appointed her to the commission’s appeals board and she retained the position until her death, in Falls Church, Virginia on December 21, 1950 at the age of 72. She was buried next to her husband in Jonesboro, Arkansas

Even though she did not consider herself a feminist, Caraway was the first woman legislator to cosponsor the Equal Rights Amendment, saying "There is no sound reason why women, if they have the time and ability, shouldn't sit with men on city councils, in state legislatures, and on Capitol Hill. Particularly if they have ability!"

In 1932, at the age of 53, Hattie Wyatt Caraway, widow of the well-known Senator from Arkansas, Thaddeus (Fighting Thad) Caraway, became the first woman to be appointed to succeed her husband in the United States Senate and fulfill his unexpired term. It was assumed that she would step down at the end of the term, but Hattie found that she liked the job and felt that she was good at representing the people of Arkansas, particularly the farmers struggling through the Great Depression.

As the deadline approached to file as a candidate for the 1932 Arkansas senatorial election, Hattie sent a tremor through the campaign offices of the men who had announced their intention to run. Though it was an earth shaking surprise, no one felt that she had a glimmer of a chance to actually win. Again, Hattie had a little surprise. She called upon her good friend, Senator Huey P. Long of Louisiana.

Long became Hattie’s champion and spoke out on her behalf as her campaign traveled across the state of Arkansas. They logged over 2,000 miles, visited 31 counties and gave 39 speeches in the course of one week. The result was that Hattie won the Democratic primary with 44.7 percent of the vote. Then Hattie made history when she was sworn in as the first woman elected to a full six-year term in the United States Senate. A shy housewife, who would quietly knit as she listened to speeches and arguments on the senate floor, she was dubbed “Silent Hattie” by the press.

I certainly can relate to the author’s assertion that scouting is one of those things that just gets in your blood. As a young girl, my mother and I joined the Girl Scouts as Assistant Troop Leader and as a Brownie Scout, respectively. Later, I became a Den mother when my son became a Cub Scout. Now, my nine-year old grandson is a Bear Cub. I completely agree that the values, skills and relationship-building experiences learned in Scouting are essential tools that help guide a boy or girl throughout life.

It is a tribute to the adult volunteers who step up to provide guidance and leadership to our boys and girls that the scouting movement continues to grow and produce men and women of good character who will, in turn, nurture and guide future Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts.