No. 163 - Justice Bell

I spent the morning touring some of Valley Forge National Historic Park or, as it was known back when it was used as the winter encampment of the Continental Army, the Valley of the Forge.

At the Washington Memorial Chapel there was a bell on display but it was not the Liberty Bell, which is located in Philadelphia.

It was called the Justice Bell and I learned that it was used in the campaign for women's suffrage. The name "Justice Bell" came from the fact that the suffrage movement looked upon a woman's right to vote as a matter of justice. It's a duplicate of the Liberty Bell, except this one has "Establish Justice" in the inscription.

In June of 1915 the Bell began a tour of Pennsylvania which lasted more than three months and covered over 5,000 miles. At the time of the Bell tour, the suffrage movement was working on passage of voting rights for women by all state legislatures. An amendment to the Pennsylvania State Constitution was proposed which would give women the right to vote. The Justice Bell and its tour were planned to support the passage of that amendment, Amendment #1.

"Father, brother, husband, son, vote for Amendment #1" was the slogan heard throughout the summer and fall as male voters were encouraged to support the amendment for women's suffrage. Finally in November, the Bell ended its tour. Amendment #1 did not pass.

After the state amendment failed to pass, attention was turned to the introduction of an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and the bell was used to support the cause of women's suffrage at the national level.

The 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, was proposed on June 5, 1919 and ratified on August 26, 1920.