November Membership Meeting and One Hour General Credit CLE - Minor v. Happersett: What Led Up to This Monumental Decision on Voting Rights That Still Affects Our Democracy Today?

Minor v. Happersett: What Led Up to This Monumental Decision on Voting Rights That Still Affects Our Democracy Today?

In 1872, Susan B. Anthony famously attempted to vote in the presidential election and was arrested. She was not the only one. Women across the country were voting in municipal and presidential elections as part of the New Departure strategy to test voting rights in courts. Of all those who participated, a Missouri woman named Virginia Louisa Minor was the only case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In Minor v. Happersett, the Supreme Court ruled that although women are citizens, universal voting rights are not protected by the Constitution. 

LAW welcomes Rebecca Price, program coordinator with the Special Collections of the Nashville Public Library, to speak about this historic case. She is a public historian with a Master’s Degree from George Washington University with a specialty in women’s history interpretation in public spaces.

                                                       Rebecca Price