QUOTES
OF THE WEEK
“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent
instantly recognizes genius.”
—Arthur Conan
Doyle, from The Valley of Fear
“For
my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.
I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move;
to feel the needs and hitches of our life more nearly;
to come down off this feather-bed of civilization,
and find the globe granite underfoot
and strewn with cutting flints.”
—Robert Louis
Stevenson, from Travels with a Donkey
“When you are older you will know that life is a long
lesson in humility.”
—J.M Barrie,
from The Little Minister
THIS
WEEK IN HISTORY
SEPTEMBER 30, 1869: The Wyoming state convention approves a
constitution that includes a provision granting women the
right to vote. Wyoming was admitted to the Union the following
year, thus making it the first state to grant women suffrage.
A woman’s
right to vote in Wyoming had actually been guaranteed twenty
years earlier, when the First Territorial Legislation of Wyoming
passed An Act to Grant the Women of Wyoming Territory
the Right of Suffrage, and to Hold Office. In
full, the act read:
That
every women of the age of twenty-one years, residing
in this territory, may, at every election to be holden
under the laws thereof, cast her vote. And her rights
to the elective franchise and to hold office shall
be the same under the laws of the territory, as those
of electors. |
The bill, sponsored by
William Bright, was not preceded by fanfare or an organized
campaign, but even so quickly gained national attention. Eastern
progressives Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton urged
their fellow women to emigrate to Wyoming en masse, and visited
the state in 1871 on the newly completed Transcontinental
Railroad.
Wyoming’s statehood
nearly suffered as a result of its progressive stance on suffrage.
When Congress threatened to withhold statehood, Cheyenne officials
sent a strongly worded telegram stating they would rather
remain out of the Union for 100 years than join without suffrage.
Wyoming was admitted as the “Equality State” [continued
on next page]
|
 |
3
WORDS
Memorize these by week's end and you shall
quickly develop an enviable lexicon.
This week’s theme: words derived from place names
| gasconade
(gas-kuh-NADE) n |
| 1. |
|
bravado or exaggerated boasting |
Ex.
Despite all his gasconade,
he failed to finish the job on time.
Etym. from the French
gascon, “boaster,”
in turn from Gascon, an inhabitant of the town
of Gascony, notorious for its boastful citizens. |
|
lido (LEE-doh) noun |
| 1. |
|
a fashionable beach resort |
Ex.
The beaches of Hawaii are sprinkled with innumerable
lidos, which transform
into lively hot spots during the lucrative tourist
season.
Etym. from the Italian
lido, “shore,
bank,” and the Italian beach resort of the
same name |
|
Gretna Green noun |
| 1. |
|
a place where many eloping couples are married |
Ex.
Since Nevada has no waiting period for a marriage
license, it has long been an ideal Gretna
Green for runaway lovers.
Etym. from the Scottish
village of the same name |
|
|
