“Act as if what you do makes a difference.”

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.  ~William James

Picture two women arriving in Washington DC, determined to get an amendment to the US Constitution passed. One is 28 years old and the other 34. They don’t know anyone in the city. Congressmen and Senators will not agree to meet with them, as they are not part of the constituency. They cannot vote for the Congressmen and Senators. In fact, they cannot vote at all. Furthermore, they are not married, so that can’t use the leverage of their husband’s vote. While their family is paying for their living expenses, they have no additional money to hire people to help. No money to put out a newspaper (no internet or phones or tv or radio). No money to stage demonstrations. No money for an office.

How would you feel in this situation? No contacts, no helpers, no money, no audience with the people who hold the fate of your project in their hands? Would you feel helpless? I would.

Do you know what’s involved in getting an amendment to the US Constitution passed?

There are essentially two ways spelled out in the Constitution for how to propose an amendment. (One has never been used, and I won’t go into it here.)

The first method is for a bill to pass both houses of the legislature (House of Representatives and Senate), by a two-thirds majority in each. Once the bill has passed both houses, it goes on to the states. This is the route taken by all current amendments.

Next, the amendment must be ratified, or approved, by three-fourths of states. There are two ways to do this, too. The text of the amendment may specify whether the bill must be passed by the state legislatures or by a state convention. Only one amendment, the 21st, specified a convention. In any case, passage by the legislature or convention is by simple majority. (http://www.usconstitution.net/constam.html)

Not only did these two young women need to get a TWO THIRDS majority of both the House and the Senate to vote for this amendment, they would then have to convince the majority of legislators in THREE FOURTHS of the states to vote for it as well.

If you know me at all, you know the two women to whom I’m referring are the suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. When Miss Burns and Miss Paul came on the scene, the suffrage movement had been around for a century but the official body of suffragists had given up on the federal amendment. (Would you have done the same, against those kinds of odds?) A few individual states, out West, had given women the right to vote (one theory is that they were trying to attract women to move there), so the suffragists were simply working to win one state at a time.

Yet, despite starting with literally NOTHING – Miss Burns and Miss Paul managed to get an amendment passed through Congress after just 6 years of lobbying/protesting, and they had it passed by three fourths of the states by the next year.

Next time you get a crazy, brilliant idea in your head, remember this. Next time you are following politics and feel helpless, remember this. We are only helpless when we declare ourselves to be helpless.

How did they do it?

They weren’t magical beings. Alice Paul was a very petite Quaker woman from Pennsylvania, and Lucy Burns was a redheaded Catholic from Brooklyn. The people they eventually recruited for the cause were from all walks of life. No different than you or me.

I’ve talked a lot about the suffragists’ protests around the White House. But, that only came after almost 4 years of other kinds of work. And, much of the work they did, you can do. In fact, after several weeks of reading their letters for my research, I had the distinct sense that I was being “trained.” I was being taught, through letters written 100 years ago, how to organize a movement, how to network, get free publicity, raise money, lobby Congress, keep people motivated, and get the message out.

Thoughts create reality

The first step, as I wrote yesterday, is definitely knowledge. Miss Burns and Miss Paul were both extremely well-educated (especially for women at the beginning of the 20^th century!). Miss Paul had a Ph.D. (and would later get TWO law degrees), and Miss Burns had a Master’s degree. They both had studied in Europe. They started offering meetings, in homes and on street corners, to explain the suffrage situation. They typed an astounding number of letters. They started to put out a weekly newspaper, and charged .50 for a year’s subscription.

When it comes to following politics, most of us are probably on the RECEIVING end of the knowledge (and most of the suffragists were as well, following the direction of Miss Paul and Miss Burns) but it’s so much easier to find out information now than it even was 20 years ago, much less a century ago. Think of women in 1913 who were interested in learning more about suffrage. They couldn’t “google” it!

Feel overwhelmed by all the information out there? Then, focus! Focus is the key to initiating rapid change anyway. Miss Paul and Miss Burns refused to publicly take a stand on anything but women’s suffrage. When World War 1 broke out, many women wanted them to come out as being for or against the war. They said they were focused on suffrage so women could express their individual opinions with their vote.

If you feel overwhelmed, focus on a topic and follow it in depth. Remember our thoughts create reality, so your opinion matters! Make sure it’s informed.

Action is even stronger than thoughts

Miss Paul and Miss Burns asked everyone they saw to donate to the cause. They asked everyone they saw to volunteer. In one letter, Miss Burns has her sisters going through the list of their Vassar classmates, asking them to indicate which ones would probably donate and/or volunteer.

By the time they got the Amendment through, they had thousands of supporters. A lot more than “nothing” but for what they accomplished, it’s an astonishingly small number. A small group (and individuals) CAN make a difference.

Donate time or money

Want to help make a change? Pick a cause or two and donate time and/or money. I know many of us don’t have a lot of money right now. But, as someone who partially relies on donations, I PROMISE you that even one dollar makes a difference. If everyone who was interested in a specific cause donated just one dollar, it is a LOT of money! Don’t negate the power you have!

Contact your legislator

The suffragists were relentless with their letter writing campaigns, and they repeatedly tried to see legislators in person. What they learned to do was find an influential woman (meaning she was married to an influential man, or had a lot of money) who would go with them. Then, they were more likely to be “granted” a visit.

They also researched every single lawmaker in Congress, finding out his religion, whether he was married, if he was for suffrage, if his wife was for suffrage, how many children he had, how he had voted on various legislation. They kept files of all of this in their office.

Thanks to the internet, it’s easy to find out the stance lawmakers are taking on the issues about which you are passionate. It’s also easy to find out about them, how to contact them, and the best ways to approach them in writing.

Project VoteSmart has all the information on this subject you will probably ever need.

Also, check out this guide on “How to Write Letters to Congress.”

Protest

This will not be for everyone. The suffragists used it as a last resort. Be sure to know why you are protesting and know what you are getting into. Effective protests are well-organized. And, if you support protestors but can’t do it yourself, see if you can help them in any way. (When the Suffragists protested in the DC winter, other women would bring them hot bricks to stand on, to keep their feet from freezing.)

Finally, no matter what you do – VOTE. 

Ok, talk to me. Are you nervous about following politics? Or, nervous about getting actively involved? You are not alone. Bring those shadows out and let’s look at them. This is too important to ignore!