Simone Lawson
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote, was added in 1920, more than four decades after it was first introduced in Congress. The road to achieving this milestone was long and challenging, marked by tireless efforts of women's suffrage supporters who lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to bring about what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year the 19th Amendment was introduced in Congress | 1878 |
| Year the House of Representatives passed the 19th Amendment | 1919 (May 21) |
| Year the Senate passed the 19th Amendment | 1919 (June 4) |
| Year the 19th Amendment was ratified | 1920 (August 18) |
| Year the 19th Amendment was certified | 1920 (August 26) |
| Year the first women voted in Utah | 1870 |
| Year the Seneca Falls convention adopted the Declaration of Sentiments | 1848 |
| Year the National Woman Suffrage Association was founded | 1869 |
| Year New York achieved state-level suffrage | 1917 |
| Year President Woodrow Wilson endorsed women's suffrage | 1918 |
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What You'll Learn
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote, was ratified on August 18, 1920. This was the culmination of a long and arduous campaign by women's suffrage supporters, which began in the mid-19th century. The amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878 but did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, quickly followed by the Senate on June 4, 1919.
The road to achieving this milestone was not easy, and it took decades of agitation and protest. Women's suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state, while others challenged male-only voting laws in court. They faced heckling, jail time, and even physical abuse for their efforts.
By 1916, almost all the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. The political balance began to shift when New York adopted women's suffrage in 1917 and President Woodrow Wilson endorsed women's suffrage in his State of the Union address in 1918. This led to the reintroduction of the women's suffrage amendment in the House of Representatives, where it passed by a two-thirds majority.
After the amendment passed in Congress, it was left to the states to ratify. At least 36 states, or three-fourths of state legislatures at the time, had to approve the amendment for it to be officially adopted into the Constitution. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, with the decisive vote cast by State Rep. Harry Burn, a 24-year-old Republican who had initially voted against it. The amendment was certified on August 26, 1920, by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby, forever changing the face of the American electorate.
While the 19th Amendment was a significant victory for women's rights, it did not ensure full enfranchisement. Women of colour, particularly in the South, continued to face exclusion from the voting process due to racially discriminatory tactics, and it would take many more years for them to achieve full and equal voting rights.
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The amendment guarantees women the right to vote
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote, was introduced in 1878 but did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, and the Senate on June 4, 1919. The road to achieving this milestone was long and challenging, requiring decades of agitation and protest. Women's suffrage supporters employed various strategies, including lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and civil disobedience, to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution.
The push for women's suffrage gained momentum in the mid-19th century, with the Seneca Falls convention adopting the Declaration of Sentiments in 1848, which called for equality between the sexes and included a resolution urging women to secure the vote. The National Woman Suffrage Association, founded in 1869 by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, played a pivotal role in bringing the issue to federal court, arguing that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments guaranteed voting rights to women. However, their efforts were rejected by the Supreme Court in Minor v. Happersett.
In the early 1900s, Carrie Chapman Catt revitalized the National Woman Suffrage Association, and by 1912, nine western states had adopted woman suffrage legislation. In 1917, New York achieved state-level suffrage, and President Woodrow Wilson endorsed women's suffrage in his State of the Union address. The following year, the women's suffrage amendment was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and passed by a two-thirds majority. However, it fell short of passage in the Senate, leading to targeted campaigns against senators who opposed the amendment.
The tide turned in May 1919 when Wilson called a special session of Congress, and both chambers finally secured the necessary two-thirds majorities to pass the amendment. Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan quickly ratified the measure, and by the end of the year, 19 more states followed suit. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, marking the final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. The 19th Amendment was certified on August 26, 1920, by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby, forever changing the face of the American electorate.
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The amendment was first introduced in 1878
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees women the right to vote, was first introduced in Congress in 1878. This was the first women's suffrage amendment. Between 1878 and its ratification in 1920, champions of voting rights for women worked tirelessly, employing a variety of strategies. Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state, with nine western states adopting women's suffrage legislation by 1912. Others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts. More public tactics included parades, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. Supporters were heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically abused.
The women's suffrage movement gained momentum in the mid-19th century, with several generations of supporters lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and practising civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention adopted the Declaration of Sentiments, which called for equality between the sexes and included a resolution urging women to secure the vote. The National Woman Suffrage Association was founded in 1869 by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who brought the issue to federal court, arguing that the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments guaranteed voting rights to women. However, the Supreme Court rejected their justification in Minor v. Happersett, spurring a shift towards advocating for a new constitutional amendment.
In the early 1900s, Carrie Chapman Catt revitalized the National Woman Suffrage Association, and New York achieved state-level suffrage in 1917. A year later, President Woodrow Wilson endorsed women's suffrage in his State of the Union address, and a new Nineteenth Amendment was proposed, with wording identical to the Fifteenth Amendment but prohibiting the denial of the right to vote on the basis of sex. By 1916, almost all major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, on June 4, the Senate followed suit. The amendment was then submitted to the states for ratification, and on August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify, securing its adoption.
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The amendment faced opposition from anti-suffragists
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits any citizen of the United States from being denied the right to vote on the basis of sex, was introduced in 1878, approved by Congress in 1919, and ratified on 18 August 1920. The road to the ratification of the 19th Amendment was not without challenges, and the amendment faced opposition from anti-suffragists.
Anti-suffrage movements were present in Australia through the 1880s and 1890s, and Australian anti-suffragists opposed women's enfranchisement by depicting women as being "weak and unintelligent," too emotional, and too involved in domestic and trivial matters. Similarly, in the United States, anti-suffragists argued that women did not want the vote and did not have time to vote or stay updated on politics due to their domestic responsibilities. They also asserted that women lacked the expertise or mental capacity to offer useful opinions on political issues. Some argued that women's votes would simply double the electorate without adding any new value.
Many women who opposed suffrage believed that women were equal to men but that they should operate in different spheres. They felt that women already had significant moral authority in society, which they would lose if they entered the seemingly corrupt world of politics. Anti-suffragists were also appalled by the violent tactics of some suffragettes, who had attacked Members of Parliament with whips and a hatchet. They believed that women could better achieve their aims by influencing others, particularly their husbands and sons, using their supposed moral superiority.
In addition to individual opposition, there were also organized anti-suffrage groups. In the United States, the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage distributed pamphlets with reasons why women did not need to vote, such as the idea that voting would mean "competition with men instead of cooperation." The first women's anti-suffrage group was founded in 1911, and by 1918, the National Woman's Party was launching targeted campaigns against senators who voted against the amendment.
The anti-suffrage movement included influential women, such as Annie Nathan Meyer, a writer, philanthropist, and founder of Barnard College, who opposed women's suffrage despite her sister Maud Nathan's public support for it. Ida Tarbell, a journalist credited with pioneering investigative journalism, also publicly opposed women's suffrage, arguing that a woman's place was in the home.
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The amendment was certified on August 26, 1920
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing American women the right to vote, was certified on August 26, 1920. This date marked a significant milestone in the long and arduous journey towards women's suffrage in the country. The road to achieving this amendment was paved with decades of tireless advocacy, agitation, and protest by generations of women's suffrage supporters.
The push for women's suffrage in the United States began in the mid-19th century, with women lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and even practising civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878, but it was not until over forty years later, in 1919, that the amendment finally passed in the House of Representatives.
The 19th Amendment faced significant opposition, particularly from Southern Democrats in the Senate. However, on June 4, 1919, the amendment secured the necessary two-thirds majority in both the House and the Senate. The fate of the amendment then rested in the hands of the states, with at least 36 states needing to approve for it to be officially adopted into the Constitution. This hurdle was overcome when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920.
The certification of the 19th Amendment by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby on August 26, 1920, marked a turning point in American history, forever altering the face of the American electorate. While this amendment granted voting rights to many women, the struggle for full enfranchisement continued, particularly for African Americans and other minority women who were excluded from the process due to racially discriminatory tactics.
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Frequently asked questions
1920.
Amendment 19 prohibits the United States from denying any citizen the right to vote based on sex.
Amendment 19 was approved by Congress on June 4, 1919.
The campaign for women's suffrage was long and difficult. Beginning in the mid-19th century, women's suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change.
