Omar Bennett
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which came into effect in 1920, was a significant milestone in the long and arduous campaign for women's suffrage. The amendment, which reads, The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex, was the culmination of decades of activism, agitation, and protest by generations of women's rights advocates. While it legally guaranteed the right to vote for American women, the journey towards full enfranchisement for all women, including African Americans and other minority women, continued long after the amendment's ratification.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Amendment | 19th Amendment |
| Year of Ratification | 1920 |
| Date of Ratification | August 18 |
| Number of States that Approved the Amendment | 23 |
| Year the Amendment was First Introduced in Congress | 1878 |
| Year Congress Approved the Amendment | 1919 |
| Date Congress Approved the Amendment | June 4 |
| Year of Presidential Support | 1918 |
| Number of American Women Enfranchised | 26 million |
| Year of Equal Rights Amendment Approval by Congress | 1972 |
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What You'll Learn
The 19th Amendment
The campaign for women's suffrage began in the mid-19th century, with Susan B. Anthony as one of its prominent figures. In 1872, Anthony successfully voted but was later arrested and found guilty in a highly publicized trial. Despite this setback, women's suffrage organizations, such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), formed and gained momentum in the late 19th century. NAWSA organizers argued that women's contributions during World War I made them deserving of the right to vote.
By the start of the 20th century, 22 states had granted women full or partial voting rights. In 1916, the National Women's Party (NWP) was formed, and in 1917, they began picketing the White House to bring attention to the cause. The 19th Amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878, and after decades of tireless work by champions of voting rights for women, it was finally passed by Congress on June 4, 1919.
The adoption of the 19th Amendment enfranchised 26 million American women, but it did not have the full support of women's rights activists. Some groups feared the loss of labor protections and benefits that women had previously gained through protective legislation. Despite these concerns, the amendment was a significant step forward, and women's rights activists shifted their focus to other critical battles, such as pushing for the Equal Rights Amendment to enshrine broad protections against sex-based discrimination.
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Women's suffrage groups
The campaign for women's suffrage in the US was long and difficult, and it took decades of agitation and protest to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of women's suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to win the right to vote for women.
One of the earliest women's suffrage groups was the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), formed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. The NWSA argued for universal suffrage and opposed the proposed 15th Amendment, which would grant Black men the right to vote before white women. This created tensions with notable Black leaders such as Frederick Douglass. The NWSA advocated for a range of reforms to make women equal members of society and sought to pass a Constitutional amendment for women's suffrage.
Another early group was the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), founded by Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and Thomas Wentworth Higginson. The AWSA supported the 15th Amendment and gained popularity by focusing exclusively on suffrage. The organization also included prominent male reformers as leaders and members and pursued a state-by-state strategy to pass women's suffrage.
In 1890, the NWSA and the AWSA merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). The NAWSA coordinated the national suffrage movement and was made up of local and state groups throughout the United States. The group secured the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 through a series of well-orchestrated state campaigns under the dynamic direction of Carrie Chapman Catt.
In addition to these national groups, there were also many state, regional, and local suffrage groups formed to increase support at the local and state levels, many of which were founded by Black women who were not fully welcomed or recognized in the national organizations. Despite strong opposition to women's enfranchisement, the tireless efforts of these women's suffrage groups eventually led to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which legally guarantees American women the right to vote.
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State-by-state strategy
The 19th Amendment, passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, granted women the constitutional right to vote. The road to achieving this milestone was long and arduous, spanning nearly a century of agitation, protests, hunger strikes, speeches, court cases, lobbying, organizing, and marches. The campaign for women's suffrage employed a variety of strategies, one of which was the state-by-state approach.
The state-by-state strategy was pursued by organizations such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), formed in 1890 by the merger of the NWSA and AWSA. NAWSA's mission was to lobby for women's voting rights on a state-by-state basis. This strategy had already been gaining traction, with territories like Wyoming, Utah, Washington, and Montana granting women the right to vote during the 1870s and 1880s. Wyoming's decision was motivated less by gender equality and more by the hope of attracting women to the territory, which had a disproportionate men-to-women ratio.
In the six years following NAWSA's formation, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho amended their state constitutions to grant women the right to vote. By 1912, nine western states had adopted woman suffrage legislation. The rise of the Populist Party in the 1890s, a national political party that supported women's rights, further bolstered local support for women's suffrage in these states. However, between 1896 and 1910, no new states granted women suffrage, and it wasn't until 1910 that Washington and California followed suit, reigniting the momentum of the suffrage movement's state campaigns.
The state-by-state strategy also involved suffragists from across the country traveling to states considering new suffrage laws to join local campaigns. They employed various tactics, including lecturing, writing, picketing, silent vigils, and civil disobedience. Despite their efforts, they often encountered fierce resistance, with opponents heckling, jailing, and physically abusing them.
While the state-by-state strategy played a crucial role in the women's suffrage movement, it's important to note that achieving nationwide suffrage required a combination of approaches, including protests, court cases, lobbying, and the support of prominent political figures.
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The Equal Rights Amendment
The ERA was reintroduced in 1971 by Representative Martha Griffiths and approved by the U.S. House of Representatives that year and by the U.S. Senate in 1972, thus submitting it to the state legislatures for ratification. A seven-year deadline was included in the legislation by Congress, later extended to 1982 by a simple majority of Congress. Despite gaining support from both women and men, the ERA fell short of the necessary 38 states for ratification, with only 35 state legislatures approving it.
There are ongoing efforts to ratify the amendment, and it continues to be debated. In 2025, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley introduced a joint resolution calling for the establishment of the ERA's ratification, despite the time limit placed on the amendment in 1972.
It is important to note that the Nineteenth Amendment, ratified in 1920, already extended voting rights to women by prohibiting the United States and states from denying the right to vote based on sex.
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Sex-based discrimination
The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the 19th Amendment, guarantees American women the right to vote. The amendment, which was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, states that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." This amendment marked the culmination of a long and difficult campaign for women's suffrage, which began in the mid-19th century and involved lectures, writing, marches, lobbying, and civil disobedience.
While the 19th Amendment was a significant step forward for women's rights, it did not have the full support of all women's rights activists. Some groups, like the National Women's Party (NWP), advocated for total equality, while others, such as the Women's Joint Congressional Committee and the Women's Bureau, were concerned about the potential loss of labour protections for women. In addition, the amendment did not ensure full enfranchisement for minority women, and many women, particularly African Americans, continued to face barriers to voting due to discriminatory state laws.
After the ratification of the 19th Amendment, some suffragists, including Alice Paul, shifted their focus to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The ERA aimed to enshrine broad protections against sex-based discrimination in the Constitution. While the amendment was approved by Congress in 1972, it ultimately failed to gain the required support from state legislatures for ratification.
To address ongoing concerns about labour protections, a provision known as "the Hayden rider" was added to the ERA to retain special labour protections for women. This provision passed the Senate in 1950 and 1953 but was not successful in the House. Other advocates took a more incremental approach, lobbying for specific laws to protect and expand women's rights in various areas, including access to education, equal pay, housing, and financial independence.
In summary, the 19th Amendment provided voting protections for women by prohibiting the denial or abridgment of voting rights based on sex. However, the fight for gender equality continued with efforts such as the proposed Equal Rights Amendment and the advocacy for specific laws protecting women's rights in various aspects of life.
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Frequently asked questions
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920.
The 19th Amendment states: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
The campaign for women's suffrage was long and difficult, with several generations of women's rights activists lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and practicing civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution.
