Jonah Patel
The US Constitution has been criticised for its exclusion of women and minorities, and the denial of women's right to vote has been described as an instrument for the perpetuation of the power of slaveholders. The 19th Amendment, passed in 1920, granted women the right to vote, but women of colour continued to face racial discrimination and were often kept from the polls. The original Constitution also included the three-fifths clause, which has been interpreted as equating five black men with three white men, and has been criticised as giving constitutional status to black slavery.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Women's right to vote | The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote in 1920 |
| Women's suffrage movement | Women organized, petitioned, and picketed to win the right to vote |
| Women's political status | Women were not allowed to vote or hold office, and were excluded from every level of government |
| Constitutional status | The Constitution included women and called for their protection as members of society |
| Inclusion of minorities | The "three-fifths clause" counted slaves as three-fifths of a person, implying that the Founders considered minorities less than human |
| Exclusion of minorities | African American and Native American women faced racial discrimination and were discouraged from voting |
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What You'll Learn
Women's suffrage
In the United States, the campaign for women's suffrage began in the mid-19th century, with several generations of women supporters lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and practicing civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. Women's suffrage supporters in the US included Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and Frederick Douglass's son, daughter, and son-in-law. The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) sent a petition to Congress in 1871, requesting that suffrage rights be extended to women and that women be heard on the floor of Congress. The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) sent a similar petition in 1872, asking that women in Washington, D.C., and the territories be allowed to vote and hold office. However, there was strong opposition to enfranchising women, with groups like the Women Voters Anti-Suffrage Party of New York urging the Senate not to pass a federal suffrage amendment.
The women's suffrage movement in the US experienced a "schism" when the 15th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1870, granting black men the right to vote. This disagreement over supporting the 15th Amendment resulted in the movement splitting into two new suffrage organizations that focused on different strategies to win women the right to vote. By 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment, and when New York adopted women's suffrage in 1917, the political balance began to shift. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle, changing the face of the American electorate forever.
The campaign for women's suffrage was also intense in Great Britain, with the first mass-suffrage petition occurring in 1866. In 1832, the franchise was widened in the United Kingdom, but women continued to be denied all voting rights. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act was passed, granting women over 30 who met certain property requirements the right to vote. By 1928, women in the UK had gained greater political equality. In Switzerland, women gained the right to vote at the federal level in 1971, and between 1959 and 1990, they gained the right to vote at the local canton level.
In other countries, women's suffrage was granted earlier. In Sweden, conditional women's suffrage was in effect during the Age of Liberty (1718-1772). In New Jersey, women had the right to vote from 1776-1807. In 1838, Pitcairn Island allowed women to vote for its councils. The Kingdom of Hawai'i originally had universal suffrage in 1840, but this was rescinded in 1852. In 1869, Wyoming granted women the right to vote, and in 1870, Utah followed suit. In 1881, women who owned property in the Isle of Man gained the right to vote. In 1893, women in the then self-governing British colony of New Zealand were granted the right to vote, and in 1895, the colony of South Australia granted women the right to vote and stand for parliament. In 1902, the Australian Federal Parliament conferred the right to vote and stand for election, but it allowed for the exclusion of "aboriginal natives". In 1906, women in the Russian Grand Duchy of Finland gained equal suffrage, with the right to vote and stand as candidates.
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Women's right to vote
The US Constitution, in its original form, did not explicitly mention women, and this was typical of the time, as women did not vote or hold office anywhere in the United States and were excluded from every level of government.
The campaign for women's suffrage in the US was long and difficult, and it took nearly a century of conferences, protests, hunger strikes, speeches, court cases, lobbying, organising, and marches. Women's suffrage supporters faced fierce resistance, with opponents heckling, jailing, and physically abusing them.
The 14th Amendment extended citizenship to those born in the United States, including African Americans. However, rulings by the Supreme Court allowed racial limitations to naturalization for people who were neither black nor white, resulting in Latinos, Asians, and Eastern Europeans, among other groups, being barred from becoming citizens at various times. Exclusions based on race also applied to Native American women living on reservations until the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924.
The 19th Amendment, passed on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, granted women the right to vote. However, it only gave white women the right to vote in practice, as Black women, Native American women, Asian American women, and women from other racial and ethnic minority groups continued to face discrimination. Full enfranchisement for minority women remained a struggle for decades, and it wasn't until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that crucial protections were afforded to Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC) voters.
Despite the progress, women, particularly from minority backgrounds, remain underrepresented in the US government.
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Women's inclusion in the US Constitution
The US Constitution, drafted in 1787, was a product of its time and reflected the societal norms and beliefs of the era. While the Constitution did not explicitly exclude women and minorities, it is important to understand how they were regarded and the implications for their rights.
At the time, women were largely excluded from political participation and did not hold office anywhere in the United States. This cultural norm was reflected in the language of the Constitution, which used gendered terms like "male inhabitants" to specify voting eligibility. The absence of explicit exclusionary clauses, however, provided an opening for future interpretations and advancements in women's rights.
The Three-Fifths Clause, for example, counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for representation purposes. While this clause perpetuated the dehumanization of slaves, it also included women and minors as part of the population to be represented. This interpretation was noted by Senator Richard M. Johnson during the 1820 debates over the Missouri Compromise and later elaborated on by Congressman Thomas Gilmer in 1843. They argued that women, slaves, and minors were among the "whole number of free persons" and thus entitled to representation.
The women's suffrage movement, which gained momentum in the mid-19th century, built on these interpretations. Women organized, petitioned, marched, and practiced civil disobedience to demand the right to vote. This struggle culminated in the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted women the right to vote. However, it is important to note that women of color, including African American and Native American women, continued to face racial discrimination and were often discouraged or prevented from voting even after the 19th Amendment.
In conclusion, while the US Constitution did not explicitly exclude women, it was written during a time when women's political participation was not a societal norm. Through interpretation and amendment, women were gradually included in the political process, but the struggle for equal rights and representation remained an ongoing battle, with the fight for the inclusion of minorities continuing even after the passage of the 19th Amendment.
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The 19th Amendment
The US Constitution was written during a time when women and minorities were excluded from voting and holding office. In 1787, women did not vote or hold office anywhere in the United States and were excluded from every level of government. The Constitution, therefore, did not explicitly mention women and minorities, but it did include clauses that counted women as "free persons" and "those bound to service for a term of years".
The fight for women's suffrage began in the mid-19th century, with the first proposal for the amendment introduced to Congress in 1878. However, it was rejected in 1887. In the 1890s, suffrage organisations focused on a national amendment while still working at the state and local levels. Activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton played a crucial role in calling for a new constitutional amendment. By the late 19th century, new states and territories, particularly in the West, began to grant women the right to vote.
The passage of the 19th Amendment marked a significant milestone in the struggle for women's rights in the United States. It changed the face of the American electorate forever and empowered women to participate equally in democracy. The amendment is commemorated annually on Women's Equality Day, which began on August 26, 1973, the centennial of its ratification.
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The Three-Fifths Clause
The US Constitution, drafted in 1787, did not explicitly exclude women and minorities. However, it did not grant them the right to vote or hold office, reflecting the social and political norms of the time. One of the most controversial aspects of the Constitution regarding minorities is the Three-Fifths Clause.
In essence, this clause had a significant impact on the representation and taxation of the states. It counted each slave as three-fifths of a person, effectively dehumanizing them and considering them less than whole persons. This compromise was reached to balance the representation and power of the Southern and Northern states, as the Southern states, with larger slave populations, wanted slaves to be considered people for representation but not for taxation.
It is important to note that the Three-Fifths Clause was not just about numbers and representation but also had economic implications. The number of representatives a state had in the House of Representatives was tied to its population. By counting slaves as three-fifths of a person, the Southern states gained more representatives, which also translated into greater political power.
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Frequently asked questions
No, women and minorities were not explicitly mentioned in the US Constitution. However, the phrase "the whole number of free persons" includes women and minorities.
The US Constitution did not explicitly address the voting rights of women and minorities. The 19th Amendment, passed in 1920, granted women the right to vote. However, women of colour often faced racial discrimination and intimidation at the polls. Native American women were not considered US citizens until 1924, and people in US territories like American Samoa still cannot participate in national elections.
The writers of the US Constitution, influenced by republicanism and liberalism, believed that women could not be citizens. They also believed that Black people were less than human, as evidenced by the Three-Fifths Clause, which counted "three-fifths of all other persons" as part of the population for representation and taxation purposes.
