BONUS | Women, politics and the presidency

Presidential

The Washington Post

History, Government, Education

4.5 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 26 September 2024

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Presidential” host Lillian Cunningham talks with Sharon McMahon, the creator behind Instagram’s @SharonSaysSo, about women’s ongoing fight for more political power — examining the arc of progress since 1920, when women across the nation first voted for president. They guide listeners through women’s initial efforts to gain the right to vote and explore why the pace of further progress has been slower than expected over the past century. They also discuss the changes that are likely (and unlikely) to happen if Harris does become the first woman to win the White House.

McMahon is the host of “Here’s Where It Gets Interesting” and author of “The Small and the Mighty.”

In addition to creating “Presidential,” Cunningham is the host of several other Washington Post podcasts, including “Field Trip”—which explores the past, present and future of America’s national parks. Want to keep in touch? You can follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her mailing list.

Archival audio in this episode is courtesy of the Library of Congress, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and News Radio KDKA. Special thanks to the Shirley Chisholm Cultural Institute.

Transcript

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0:00.0	While we're waiting for the returns to come in over the telephone direct from the
0:05.0	post and son, I'll give you the list of offices in today's presidential election.
0:09.8	It's November 2nd, 1920, election day.
0:15.0	Some 30 million Americans are electing a president of the United States.
0:19.3	And the choice is between Republican Wern Harding and Democrat James Cox.
0:24.0	I guess you all know these names pretty well by this time, but there's no harm repeating them.
0:29.0	But something was different.
0:31.0	Less than three months earlier, the 19th Amendment was ratified.
0:37.0	Giving women nationwide the right to vote.
0:41.0	And for many women, this was the very first time they had ever
0:45.9	stepped foot in a polling place. This is Sharon McMahon, author of The Small and
0:52.1	the Mighty.
0:53.6	That November day, women lined up to vote around the country.
0:58.7	There are images of them in New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C.
1:03.4	placing their ballots into large tin boxes
1:07.6	and smiling at the cameras.
1:10.1	They felt this for the first time,
1:12.4	the sense of things are going to get better from here.
1:17.3	That not only would women be able to be elected nationwide to hold important offices, but that women would have enough political power, that the men would be forced to pay attention to them, that the men would have to pass legislation that benefited women, that they
1:35.3	finally had the power that they had been working for for nearly 80 years.
1:42.4	And we're going to stay right here and broadcast the returns as they come into us, so please stand by.
1:51.0	I'm Lillian Cunningham with the Washington Post and this is a special episode of presidential. I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.
	...

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