WashU Law hosted a significant event to commemorate the sesquicentennial anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Minor v. Happersett. On Friday, September 27, 2024, the Washington University Law Review Symposium brought together esteemed scholars to reflect on the historical impact of the St. Louis-based case and to explore the evolving landscape of women’s rights in America.
A team of Law Review students—led by Editor-in-Chief Kaitlyn Salyer, Managing Editor Shawn N. Podowski, and Chief Diversity Editor Hannah F. Keidan (head of the symposium committee)—organized the event and will shepherd the papers to publication in issue 6 of volume 102. Professors Susan Frelich Appleton and Travis Crum served as faculty advisors.
Minor v. Happersett, decided in 1875, was a pivotal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a Missouri court ruling that the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment did not grant women the right to vote. This decision delayed the realization of suffrage until it was finally secured by the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The case remains a crucial reference point in discussions about women’s suffrage and equal rights under the law.
Thank you to all who contributed to the symposium.
Introduction
Stefanie Lindquist, Dean and Nickerson Professor of Law Washington University in St. Louis
Hannah Keidan, Washington University Law Review
PANEL ONE: History
Moderator: Adrienne Davis, Washington University in St. Louis
Panelists:
Henry Chambers, University of Richmond, Minor v. Happersett and the Supreme Court’s Refusal to Reconstruct America
Martha Jones, Johns Hopkins University, Hall v. DeCuir: Women’s Dignity, Women’s Votes
Elizabeth Katz, University of Florida, “May It Please Her Honor”: The United States’ First Women Judges, 1870-1970
DISCUSSION
Moderator: Susan Appleton, Washington University in St. Louis
Presenter:
Jill Hasday, University of Minnesota
Phyllis Schlafly (WashU Law ’78) and How Forgetting Women’s Struggles for Equality Perpetuates Inequality
PANEL TWO: Voting Rights
Moderator: Travis Crum, Washington University in St. Louis
Panelists:
Alexandra Fay, University of Tulsa, Explaining Elk: Citizenship, Empire, and the Fourteenth Amendment
Brandon Johnson, University of Nebraska, Privileges, Immunities, and the Franchise: The Impact of Conservative Jurisprudence on Voting Rights
Ellen Katz, University of Michigan, Minor v. Happersett and the Repudiation of Universal Suffrage
PANEL THREE: Dobbs’ Aftermath and Future Questions
Moderator: Brenda Dvoskin, Washington University in St. Louis
Panelists:
Kathryn Abrams, University of California Berkeley, Democratic Change, Fast and Slow: Steps Toward a More Inclusive Coalition
Paula Monopoli, University of Maryland, A “New” New Departure
Scott Skinner-Thompson, University of Colorado Boulder, Transgender Disenfranchisement
