Eleanor Finch
The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution, which was ratified on August 18, 1920, prohibits gender discrimination in voting. The amendment was the culmination of a long and arduous struggle by women's suffrage organisations and activists, spanning nearly a century. It forbids the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens on the basis of sex, effectively recognising the right of women to vote. Despite the amendment, Black women, Indigenous women, Asian American women, and women from other racial and ethnic minority groups continued to face discrimination and voter suppression for several decades. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, that women of colour and women with disabilities gained crucial protections and the right to vote was fully secured.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) |
| Date of Ratification | 18 August 1920 |
| Prohibits | Denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex |
| Other Amendments Protecting Voting Rights | Fifteenth Amendment (1870) |
| Twenty-fourth Amendment (1962 or 1964) | |
| Twenty-sixth Amendment (1971) |
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What You'll Learn
The Nineteenth Amendment
The road to achieving women's suffrage in the United States was long and challenging. It required decades of agitation, protests, hunger strikes, speeches, court cases, lobbying, organizing, and marching. The movement can be traced back to the mid-19th century, when several generations of women's suffrage supporters began lecturing, writing, and advocating for change. Despite these efforts, by 1807, every state constitution had denied women even limited suffrage.
The introduction of the 15th Amendment in 1870, which granted African American men the right to vote, further splintered the women's suffrage movement. This led to the creation of two major organizations in 1869: The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). The NWSA, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, argued for universal suffrage and opposed the 15th Amendment, creating tensions with notable Black leaders such as Frederick Douglass.
In the late 19th century, new states and territories, particularly in the West, began to grant women the right to vote. Wyoming territory granted women the right to vote in 1869, followed by Utah, Washington, and Montana in the 1870s and 1880s. In 1890, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed, and within six years, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho adopted amendments granting women the right to vote.
During World War I, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, led by Carrie Chapman Catt, supported the war effort and argued that women should be rewarded with enfranchisement for their patriotic service. The National Woman's Party, formed in 1916, staged marches, demonstrations, and hunger strikes, pointing out the contradiction of fighting for democracy abroad while denying it at home.
In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson announced his support for the suffrage amendment, and it passed in 1919. The Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised 26 million American women, but it did not ensure full enfranchisement for African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American women, who continued to face discrimination and voter suppression. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 that discrimination against women of colour and women with disabilities was prohibited.
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The Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Act outlawed discriminatory voting practices such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and other bureaucratic restrictions that were used to deny African Americans the right to vote. By the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new Black voters had been registered, one-third by federal examiners. The Act also required certain jurisdictions to provide election materials in languages other than English, and it placed limits on certain states with a history of voter discrimination. These states had to obtain federal approval before passing voter restrictions.
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The Fourteenth Amendment
While the Fourteenth Amendment did not explicitly address gender discrimination in voting, it provided a basis for future interpretations and legal challenges related to voting rights and equal protection under the law.
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The Fifteenth Amendment
> 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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote. This was a significant step in the struggle for racial equality, as it signified the fulfillment of promises made to African Americans following the Civil War.
However, it's important to note that the amendment did not include women, leading to a split in the women's suffrage movement. The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, opposed the 15th Amendment, arguing that Black men should not receive the right to vote before white women. This created tensions with notable Black leaders, such as Frederick Douglass.
While the 15th Amendment was a step forward, many African American men were still unable to exercise their right to vote due to discriminatory practices such as literacy tests and other barriers. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that these remaining deterrents to voting were abolished, and federal supervision of voter registration was authorized to ensure the protection of voting rights. Congress was given the power to enforce the amendment through appropriate legislation.
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The Twenty-Fourth Amendment
The Amendment was proposed by Congress on August 27, 1962, and submitted to the states on September 24, 1962, after it passed with the requisite two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate. At the time of its ratification, five states—Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia—still retained a poll tax. The Amendment was a significant step in the pursuit of civil rights in the turbulent 1960s, coinciding with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which outlawed all forms of discrimination in the US, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which eliminated all forms of discrimination in voting for all American citizens.
Poll taxes had been used in some states to disenfranchise African Americans and keep them from voting in federal elections. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment eliminated these taxes, ensuring that citizens could not be denied the right to vote due to their economic status. This Amendment was a crucial step in the long struggle for voting rights in the United States, building on the work of previous political movements and laying the foundation for future advancements.
The Amendment's impact was far-reaching, but it did not immediately end all forms of voter suppression. Some states continued to employ discriminatory practices, such as literacy tests, to restrict voting rights. It was not until the 1966 Supreme Court decision in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections that poll taxes for any level of elections were explicitly declared unconstitutional, affirming that they violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision further strengthened the protections afforded by the Twenty-Fourth Amendment and solidified the right to vote as a fundamental principle in American democracy.
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Frequently asked questions
The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX).
The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920.
The Nineteenth Amendment 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.
The Nineteenth Amendment was a culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, recognizing the right of women to vote. However, it only gave white women the right to vote in practice, and women of colour continued to face discrimination and voter suppression until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Other amendments related to voting rights include the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave African American men the right to vote in 1870; the Twenty-fourth Amendment, which eliminated poll taxes in 1964; and the Twenty-sixth Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18 in 1971.
