It’s a special honor when the USPS releases a commemorative postage stamp celebrating your life. Over the years, there have been only a handful of good folks with strong Iowa connections who have shared in that honor.
In 1948 – Iowa’s own woman’s suffrage activist – Carrie C. Catt.
Carrie C. Catt was born in Ripon, Wisconsin, but spent her childhood in Charles City, Iowa. As a child, Catt was interested in science and wanted to become a doctor. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at Iowa State in Ames. After four years at Iowa State, Catt graduated on November 10, 1880, with a Bachelor of Science degree, the only female in her graduating class. She worked as a law clerk after graduating, then she became a teacher and eventually, the superintendent of schools in Mason City. In 1890, she married George Catt, a wealthy engineer and alumnus of Iowa State University. He encouraged her involvement in women’s suffrage. She went on to lead, alongside Susan B. Anthony, the national women’s suffrage movement that organized support in every state and at the national level. In 1919, Congress approved a women’s suffrage amendment and submitted it to the states. In 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it, providing the necessary three-fourths and adding women’s right to vote as the 19th amendment.
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