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podcast. ♪♪ >> listening to programs on c-span for c-span radio just got easier. tell your smart speaker play c-span radio and listen to "washington journal" daily at 7:00 a.m. eastern. weekdays at 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. eastern. cap washington today for a fast-paced report from the day. just tell your smart speaker to play c-span radio. c-span, powered by cable. >> evening. president and ceo of the united states capital historical society i have the honor of serving as the master of ceremonies for this event. i want to acknowledge and several of my board members are here. i have to be especially nice to them.

they are my bosses. sean perry giles. wave your hand. thank you very much for all that you do to keep the society going the historical society was founded i in 1962 to encourage n the most comprehensive and enlightened banner and understanding by the american people of the significance of the capital as the tangible symbol of their representative form of government. and we celebrate the capital every day. before we get started with today's program, we want to take a moment to acknowledge the passing of my immediate predecessor. serving as the third president of the society from 2000-2018. ron's tenure was characterized byby strength in the face of challenges, growth in ways that

we serve the american people. join me for a moment of silence. [moment of silence] thank you. our full tribute of ron can be found on our website. i hope you take a moment to do it. he was really a very special person. the continuing effort to expand to is included in we the people. in the early days of the republic only landowning white men could participate in our great experiment. but, they wrote a document that stands to this day. the ratification of the 15th amendment expanded the franchise to african-american men. it still took a little work to make that real. the 19th amendment brought women in to the picture.

until the first woman from illinois joined the collection, the capital sculptures depicted only men and r-uppercase-letter was mainly men or allegorical ,women. with the exception of pocahontas the statue of freedom which stands atop the building is perhaps the most famous and each of our speakers will take home a replica of the statue of freedom made from marbles from the capital as our thank you. serving a public office is extremely challenging and rewarding. we will start with our senator who is here today. we will let the senator talk because she has to run to follow then when she is finished i will

introduce the house members and i will introduce the whole crew of them and then they will pass to mike one to another. deal? okay. the sweet grass development in the countyua with her brother ad sister. a pre-time graduate of the university of wyoming in animal science, biology and law. she was first elected to the united states house in 2008 and quickly earned her reputation as a no nonsense conservative. she is a founding member of the house freedom caucus and a dedicated champion of wyoming mineral and energy resources. as a chair of the western caucus , she made it her business to explain to eastern lawmakers just how evasive the federal government is in the lives and business of westerners.

she led the bipartisan effort to pass the national source system stewardship in 2018 which now maintainsti over 157,000 miles f trails within our national forests. her distinguished career in public service as a member of the wyoming legislature, state treasurer and a member of the house brings her today to represent wyoming in the united states senate. [applause] >> thank you so much. thank you for taking the reins of this great organization and for conserving the history of this great nation and this great capital. i am really grateful to all of you. i am excited to go first because the first government in the

world to continuously grant or recognize women's right to vote. [applause] wyoming was still a territory, it is territorial legislature recognizing women's t right to vote and memorialized it into law in 1869. five years before the 19th amendment to the united states constitution. a woman named louisa was a very first woman to vote in a government continuously recognizing women's right to vote. she voted in laramie wyoming on september 6 of 1870. now, she was followed by a very distinguished group of women who

not only were leaders in early wyomingwh government, but also some who were involved in the national movement to recognize women's right to vote. one of those women, esther hobart morris is recognized in the statue in this great building. our otherof statue, by the way,s of a chief, and eastern indian man who was beloved in wyoming. a great leader of the tribe and a great american himself. i am so proud to be here and represent both our indian communities and the women of wyoming as we acknowledge the women whong are recognized by

statute in this building. okay. louisa was first. about 15 minutes after she voted , there was a second woman that voted in cheyenne. kind of a race to the pallet. they knew that they would be recognized or memorialized forever. so luis was an orphan that grew up in the east. she found some relatives that helped raise her. met a nice man. married and moved to laramie, wyoming. she was a quaker. in laramie, they decided because i kind of knew that this woman would be an important part of history, they wanted to pick somebody that was very upstanding in the community and would representos women well for the rest of history. so they chose her and she had a

bucket of lard on her way to the grocery store and she stopped to vote and memorialize that vote. so, we named a federal building after her in cheyenne, wyoming, my hometown. we did this just last fall. the first federal building in the whole region named after a woman. we are finally getting around to history.ng our own you really are much better about recognizing your rolls in history. our history is so recent that we forget that it is truly historical. the people that i have met in my life are historical figures in their own right, but they were old when i met them. you know, you think about chief sitting bull and his grandson and i were very dear friends. the west is unique. you know.

and i am so proud to be from a state that recognizes women and indians. not terribly diverse population. proud of that as well. here is a little bit more about esther hobart morris. she took a chance, moved to a city in a covered wagon in 1869. she got involved immediately and women's suffrage and she made history in 1870 when she was appointed justice of the peace. upon her appointment the county clerk telegraphed wyoming the youngest in one of the richest territories in the united states gave equal rights to women in action. there is a lovely statue of her in this great capital building.

she then went on to be the vice president of the national american women's suffrage association. she fought for every woman's right to vote for the rest of her time. we have the first women delegates to the democratic and republican national convention. we have the first woman governor , the first woman statewide elected official and at this early history, fabulous history of recognizing women. once the 19th amendment passed, we started taking it for granted we were not as effective if an recognizing and getting women to step up and lead. we are catching back up. thanks to people like esther hobart morris, we have that opportunity. you know, i am going to

introduce your next speaker, if that is okay. i have to go off and vote. ie, served -- we are doing debb, right? laurel. the next speaker. [laughter] iti is. it is going to be hard. i just met laurel. okay. no problem. i am going to say something nice about debbie. [laughter] okay. and, so, debbie was a member of the u.s. house when i came to the u.s. house. my very first congressional delegation trip was led by her. we went to israel, we went to egypt, we went to turkey. i learned so much from debbie about the a middle east, israel specifically and it is a trip i will never forget. it was a american delegation.

we have jewish people, christian people,s, mormons, baptists, lutherans, democrats, republicans. it was a mismatch but everyone came together as americans on this trip. part of it was just because of the sheer strength of this woman . these women i am very proud that i got to serve with. thank you for carrying on in the u.s. house. it was a pleasure to serve with you and it still is. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, senator. one day you will be able to say all of these nice things about congresswoman laura lee. i will tell you, congresswoman

has a unique connection. iad met her when she was secrety of state in florida. she had a role in bringing to statuary hall. i know that she's got a place to go. i am just going to give one sentence about her. she identifies herself, this is her firstck term in congress. she comes with a strong background and has been recognized for her role in understanding election policy and security and is a national expert. congresswoman, come join us. [applause] >> thank you so much. it is truly an honor to be here tonight and celebrate the great women off statuary hall. it is truly a privilege for me to get to mention one of florida's statutes and statuary hall. the great doctor mary mcleod

bethune.be i was having the privilege of being involved in the statute itself. the creation. that getting here. she was an influential educator, a civil rights leader and an activist who champion african-american women's rights, suffrage rights in education. she truly is an example of the very best of what we have to offer as floridians and a source of such tremendous pride for all of us are calm here to see the great leaders of our country and of our stay. what a privilege it is to be here with the team here, members wof my delegation. it is so true that while we may not all vote the same way or hold the same policy views, but there are more important things that unite us. a connection that we have to celebrate the great women of our state and celebrate each other

is one such thing. it is a privilege to me, always to get to be with you and see the members of my delegation who have been such leaders in our state and have done such important things for our communities over the years. i thank you for including me in the celebration tonight and look forward to working with you all as we go forward. [applause] >> welcome to congress. and, now, we will have to fabulous women from florida. you know, if you are following the program, remember that humans plan, god laughs. that is especially true in congress. here is what i was going to say. i was going to tell you that our leadoff hitter tonight was going to be congressman debbie. a trailblazer for sure. at 26 she became the youngest

woman elected to the florida house. in w 2004, she was the first jewish woman ever elected to represent florida in congress. she is tenacious. she is hard-working. she isy a passionate advocate d a tireless fighter for progressive values. for the safety and security of families and children and she proudly shared her balance of work and family and her public life. for nearly two years, she quietly faced her own personal battle with breast cancer. after seven surgeries and winning her reelection, she decided the way she would share her story was by introducing a bill to make sure that the cdc educated young women that they could in fact get cancer and that early detection made a t difference.

and then. she thought well maybe that was not enough so she decided that she would start the congressional women's softball game and be the captain so that every yearde people would be reminded about the story. and, w so, we will start with debbie and then she will turn it over to her colleague who is congresswoman lois. lois frankel, i first met, you will not remember this, when she and i were both legislators. graduating from ohio. she was from florida. and then we were mayors together so, congresswoman lois frankel describes herself as a working mom in our working grandmother. i just got to be that, too. isn't that cool. it will be a real joy to introduce lois frankel who is

now the cochair of the democratic women's caucus. [applause] >> thank youll so much. it is really special to be introduced by jane campbell. someone who when i was a young legislator who i really attempted too emulate. when you are an elected official , particularly a state legislator, you sort of look around the country for other members who think like you in the legislature ends that they are introducing. jane was one of those that i found. even the same piece of legislation in my and ohio. it's just great to be able to see you've landed here and are taking care of the legacy of the united states capital. we appreciate it so much. thank you. thankri you.

thank you to the capital historical society for hosting us and really even conceding this. i am thrilled to join my fellow women colleagues and former colleagues. leading you wanted to her in a little while. and also our fantastic shortstop on the congressional women's softball gamee for many many years. we will miss you this year. coming back here and being with the historical society and focusing on this during women's history month brings me back to the time, the many years i've shared with the ranking member of the legislative branch. i was only my second term. i was learning the many taxes of the legislative branch. i immediately knew that it aligned with t what i wanted too as the chair of the legislative

branch. we had just inherited the capitol visitor center where we are now. that projectn had delays in hundreds of millions of dollars over budget. the cdc mission just like the historical society mission was to vital for us to neglect or kick the can down the road. bringing the united states congressional stories was so important. .... within these walls of congress, of women involved are shared. one of the architects of the united states and you already heard from her current, first woman to hold office in the modern world.

make an offer from of these 11 women represented here in the halls of congress of the boldest termination has offered.ou i should mention number 11 from the great state of florida. you can applaud her. incredible. a pinealiv applicator public servant and most people know her but she's done so much more for our nation and was also african-american woman in incredible addition to discuss 270 here at the company. for those of you have done some

mental math, already done it for you. that's another 5% in the capital that are women. quarries and quarries and certainly in florida worthy of being honored in the halls of the capital florida. better stand for most of women for women you move out and have written the world were intended all backwards before you're even considered so that the privilege of introducing my colleague and dearest friend, someone i've known every minute of my public

life. reflecting the number woman and congresswoman you've already heard has a long list and served side-by-side inea leadership together in a champion of women and children can quality of life. make sure there is equal opportunity for all and the fantastic promo who incessantly talks about her grandson. [applause] >> hello.

i should tell you a story. it is so great to see you. she was mayor when i was mayor of west palm beach and we share a lot of stories to give. thank you everybody to who is here soon thank you and this is a story, i met debbie when she was a college graduate and looks like she was 12. we were 19? i was just starting my career in the florida legislature. i am responsible for debbie's

career. [laughter]fi i would prove it to you but i have to show this. i was starting my career and now is not knowledgeable. i was looking for assistance in this person comes to my office and i looked at her and said, think you know anything, i don't know anything. i really can't hire you. this one lady got a job in fort lauderdale, a colleague of mine who was a state representative and she followed him into the state legislature and into congress. what did i say? i'm responsible for her great

career because i didn't hire her and would've hired you in a great leadership of congress looks great to be with you all, a proud member and 94 strong i'm here, i wanted to be here to celebrate and women are making history everyday. it's amazing to walk around this building.

beautiful important building in ourr country and it is a testament or should be adjustment for the important work we do. a unique collection of unique statute are historical figures for each state and honor our leaders and innovators and educators. if you're like me, you walk through the halls and noticed something missing and you say, where are the women? of the 100 statute, 111 of them are women. that's wrong.

how can you tell a story of the nation without women? the good news is we are making progress. i'll give you a report on that. last year in the house, a bill i helpeded lead along with senator quote which are in the senate supreme court justices and they were coming our way. the weather is very good in florida. [laughter] okay. you can't take me anywhere. [laughter] a remarkable educator and civil rights leader and she joins the

former president and civil rights leader and ten other women including frances willard and icon, amelia ehrhardt, she's still busy i think in the very first congresswoman, there is more good news and for more are coming our way. we show 3 million every year for an accurate portrayal of our history. one that recognized should be our country and the world and thousands of young girls here every day with classmates and

family and friends and perform barriers and a dream come true. during the statute and now i return to the great lady from nevada. [applause] will. >> thank you very much for your leadership and putting a spotlight on this. when i first the ladies russia is hidden and had to find a foui

in the hall. we are very' proud and there was the wrong kind of woman we are so it's kind of a schizophrenic state. it was designed and presented by an artist the only artist to have three and only 26 years old so this wass given to this event so it took us a while to get ucthere in 1844 to 1891 she was more than one.

a teacher and a writer and facility of labor just in an interpreter and translator between her people and the u.s. army. because she was so good at languages or grounds of safety. the great spokesperson and gave over 300 beaches and met with haze of interior in the 1980s or 1883 biography and claims was the first we believe ever written by native american woman.

she taughtth them in english and in their native language. she was married at least five -- we don't need to go into those details. [laughter] but defender of human rights, educators and the first by native woman, i hope you pay attention because this is adorned and it looks as though it is flowing and it depicts that movement, it is beautiful. a flower in one hand and a book in the. other. it's about 35 years old so in honor to see her and have children and if you can see her, you can ben her and a native american woman represent her here so thank you very much. [applause]

>> congresswoman,te we appreciae your words. i had nice things to say but in he took care of all of it. i noticed -- somebody else is here -- kelly anderson -- north dakota.ry you can see i don't have my sheet in front of me so is going to work quickly. we had to set up so we would put this in context are smaller and experts. it makes sense this would follow congresswoman titus because the 34 years she taught history and

politics of nevada and the united states of america. so today to put this in context is our favorite story who is michelle : and michelle is the curator at the capital. it is her job to make sure all will understand what it is and she comes with fascinating background. she's from new york, in charge of public art for new york public school so doctor michelle cohen, tell us how it comes together,. >> i really enjoyed listening to

everybody, i don't know if it's quite as amusing but i'll try. i guess i can fill in some blanks drawing pictures so you can see some of the statute. thank you u.s. capitol historical society for inviting me to participate in today's event. i am pleased to highlight women, both subjects and artists represented in the collection. it's here and now it's not. you want to see pictures now and we are going to s former congresswomanso.

>> we are familiar withhe statue of freedom. the 19th century, women depicted were primarily symbolic figures and this is the statute of freedom sculpted by 1863, both icon and inspiration consistent with depictions of women's western art, she is an allegory giving form to national inspirationho, not a specific person. however, with the increasing prominence of women in social and political arena and i think my numbers are correct, 153 of 540 voting and nonvoting members for women, there's a growing number of u.s. capitol cultures and paintings honoring women who have shaped american history. a little background of the whole

collecti in 1864 remarkably before the end of civil war. thal lislation that established this collection, this was substituted for t word men but it wasn't until 1905tae of a woman entered the collection a heard about that, today 11 of 100 statute in this collection celebrate women. we've heard from other statistics so we think it was really about the sculptures in the building but there were over 10% of the women. then in the yr 2000 congress ed legislation to commit to replace statute it speaks the need of thinking about who are heroes, who do we want to ret us? today there are 11 replacements

but there are quite a few in the pipeline. there for in the pipeline of women so little preview of who's coming. arkansas commissioned base, a civil rights activist publisher journalist and lecturer. nebraska -- author and state senator and from virginia, barbara rose jones civil rights leader. the first statute that was unveiled in the collection is 70, you can see that on the left and to complete this group of 100 and 2005 hundred commient

letters of the early women currently run are also women. representing colorado and 1905 of jeanette rankin in 1985 and the most recent is in book 42. this is going to be a quick visual introduction to who these people were and what it looks like so have frances willard and you can see another important

collection of bronze or marble so the parameters of the legislation don't encourage creative expression so you see a more traditional approach so this is the first one in the artist is interesting, a student you are with, a american in the 19th century and women's clubs are really behind sponsoring it so it's anotherio way to look at the collection and understand they are i interested in having sculptures of particular individuals there are quite a few instances where it was women's club who made the difference and got a lot of

these commissioned. several decadesss pt, educator, one ofma the first female colles in thehe country. here we have colorado, a pioneer for women in science, first woman to hold a professorship in first woman elected to the national academy of sciences and first woman to have a department of the rockefeller institute for medical research priests joy created a contemporary rendering of figures, much more impressionistic than some of the others you will see in the collection, you can feel the artist's hand when you look at the. here we have hobart smith coming a year later from wyoming and she was the first woman in the

entire country, united states as well as an active devoted suffragist. here is 20 years after in this basic time happening between these commissions all of they come in clump washington chose the architect joseph to represent their representatives and here we have jeanette rankin known celebrated in first woman elected to the house of representatives from montana and this is not a sculpture in 23, it was made when the statest wanted to use this to represent them, the

original is in north dakota and that is 1914. a lot of discussionbout accepting the collection because the law that indicates it's a single figurend because it's mother with a child, an exception was made so it is an interesting internal discussion whether or not it is permitted. as we learned the author activist lectu unveiled in 2005 and then alabama replaced one of theirs with helen kelle 29. helen keller knos the author disability rights advocate political activist and lecturer, now we are coming to more recent

times and there's a l of activity. familiar ehardt was unveiled, aviation pioneer author activist first female to fly solo across the atlantic. eneav have statute of doom. it is createdy distinction of being thisst artist to scope ths national election. to give a closer look, i thought it would be interesting to looke at the food, the really want to immerse themselves in their subject and to try to learn what she could, her writing and photograph, her home in dayna beachre but she also wanted here are voice and listened intently

to numerous recordings of the same speeches. she said the voice influenced her conception of it in confidence and directedness and you can see her head tilting do as if she's speaking directly to a child. this refers to eleanor roosevelt who gave it to her after the president's death. the black rose refers to the rose that are growing in the garden and she intermingled with many colors with reflections and diversity, individuality and growth and she came to her students as black roses about as a symbolic thing. the last part which hopefully you will see, most need to haver a tripod structure.

these have a purpose but also contain meaning. a piece of the writing was my last will and testament she wrote toward the end of her life and it says i leave you love, hope, faith, thirst for education, racial dignity, courage and. quickly give a better understanding of the collection in the context of other art and capital, we have talked about being commissioned, i want too show you briefly johnson monument and susan b anthony i

1921 for the national woman's party in the 19th amendment and an interesting history how s was brought back in some of you mayia be a millionaire with the. then we have the abolitionist advocate unveiled in 2009. then -- oops, went too far. congress passed legislation to commissions -- and ofoses park and unveiled in 2013 national call. it is the only statute in the whole not commissions but when visitors come, i don't english words commissioned by congress or a state. i want to introduce you to a new ap fm the visitor center disseminate the stories

celebratedti, you can download this on your smart phone old who are the people? you can protect this r on your living room floor. you can click on various icons areighlighted parts to reveal meaning and contextualize cultures and learn more about subjects. i recorded an audio is an artwork and it is a wonderful way to understand public e art d share that with young people, i think a lot of kids enjoy this approach. statutes o wen in u.s. capitol only hint of the range of women's achiement in the united s and represent educators, scientists, autho, politicians and civil rights activist. unlike many of the menicted,

w are often the first woman to obtain recognition in their respective fields. wld say this is only the beginning. thank you. [applause] >> that you know why she is a scholar. thanken you so much for the some of those words and the inspiration. it is a gift to the capital to have with us. we are going to hear from senator amy klobuchar be with us tonight has been with us on many occasions and made it possible to move forward so soon as the technology allows that, we tell

you this is the first woman to represent in the rules committee and advocate for justice and here she is. let us hear from senator klobuchar and i'm going to givee this to you. and everyone intently and women in tremendous leadership and see you of the u.s. and what is involved in this and congresswoman former congresswoman sisto. of course the curator of the capital doctor michelle.

thank you for coming together to celebrate women's history month and recognize the women in our nation's capital. wewe know women have every chapr history and soldiers and suffragist, engineers and educators, women made america america. the capital depicts so many of the people for the republic but those fortunate enough to spend time in our capital can't help but notice are the end of the artwork depicts the more than 200 and the capital, only 60 women are represented in only the national election are women. among the 11 is a statue honoring stanford, a 19th century to foster university of minnesota is one of the first

women to work as a professor. a civilized activist to begin the first african-american to be honored for the commission statute from the state of florida. those numbers make me think a few years ago, i told him in the history of the senate nearly 2000 men and only 50 women. said the nightclub had, they'd shut it down but we are not shutting anything down. we are focused on opening things up. chair of the senate rules committee and ranking member in making sure limits contribution to our country are respected in these halls. i work across the aisle to pass bipartisan legislation to place

the supreme court justice ruth bader ginsburg and o'connor on capital grounds. both of these women were trailblazers long before the ensupreme court opening doors fr women at a time when so many are keeping themm close. it's only fitting we are remarkable lies and legacies honoring them in the heart of our democracy and we shouldn't there.go there wasn't a single room in the u.s. capital named after a woman so i work with my friend former senator in honor of rubber, longest-serving woman senator and thet first woman elected to vote congress. one was a democrat and the other a republican. the room is decorated

trailblazing women to strengthen this institution. the first woman and first black woman in thepr house of representatives and simply other women who broke doctors and kamala harris and you name it. and decadeses ago and this is about so much more to changing course and i see the girls visiting with their families and schools by showing them the rope they have.

and tonight's event, you deserve it,. >> if you find one thing, it's that history is always unfolding and always learning more so there will always be a little. thank you for your support. if you see me and think did she do a lovely job as a gentleman is in the event coordinator, and we thank you that the capital historical society it is a team

effort now we get to do a fun thing and we get to go because we have warmer this woman sherre with us to lead the effort so stand up so everyone sees our leader. we will be accompanied, our lead to her organizer. i will be with you to keep everybody, we'd be honored to have you. if you have to do something else we will understand. we are so grateful for you, all ofll you for believing in the history less. [applause]

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