One thing of which I am a really big advocate though (ask my poor husband) is using your right to vote. Yes, I am the obnoxious person who wears their "I voted!" sticker all day long so everybody can see it in the grocery store. You know why? Because, it's important!
Imagine my surprise then, when recently, while I was researching my genealogy to find an ancestor who felt even more strongly about it than I did! My great grandfather, Chester Allan Smith, was a lawyer in Illinois in the early 1900's. I came across an interesting newspaper article in the "Daily Review" from Decatur, Illinois in 1909. Wasn't I honored to find out that Chester Smith was one of the fighters in Illinois for the Women's Suffrage movement!
He went from town halls to churches to any soap box that he could stand on and sh
outed down every dissenting voice! The newspaper called him "entertaining". Men and women alike thought it was silly. They did not believe that women would ever be allowed to vote. And yet state by state, women's suffrage was adopted until finally in 1920, women were allowed to vote in their first presidential election.How much more life does it give the study of the history of this country when you realize that your family was a part of it? Studying my family's history has given me an even greater appreciation for our country's history. But when it comes to your right to vote, no, even more than that, your duty to vote, one thing holds true...it doesn't matter when your ancestors got here!
Whether your family was first off of the boat (1633!), whether your family was already here when the English (let the argument begin) got off of the boat, or whether you are fresh of the boat (like my husband's family), you are here now! You are an American! You are making history!
Don't make my great grandfather's voice have been a waste of time! I don't care who you vote for! OK, I'm lying, I care! But still, use your voice, it's your duty!
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