The lawyers and judges of the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida, through the Middle District Bench Bar Fund, and the members of the Jacksonville Chapter of the Federal Bar Association are pleased to invite students currently in grades 10 through 12 in counties in the Jacksonville Division of the Middle District of Florida (Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Duval, Flagler, Hamilton, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, Suwannee, and Union) to participate in an essay contest.

Voting is the most basic right of a citizen and vital to a functioning democracy. Women, however, were not always extended this fundamental right. The Nineteenth Amendment, ratified 100 years ago, granted women the right to vote (suffrage). Identify and evaluate some of the methods proponents of the Nineteenth Amendment (suffragists) used to influence and change opinions about voting rights for women. Referencing a specific example, what method do you think was most effective and why?