Omar Bennett
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and federal government from denying any citizen the right to vote based on sex, was ratified in 1920. The campaign for women's suffrage was long and difficult, with women organising, petitioning, and picketing for decades. The 19th Amendment was first introduced to Congress in 1878 and was finally certified 42 years later in 1920.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution |
| Ratified on | 18 August 1920 |
| Certified on | 26 August 1920 |
| Passed by Congress | 4 June 1919 |
| Extended the right to vote to | Women |
| Prohibited | States and the federal government from denying the right to vote on the basis of sex |
| Required approval from | 36 states (three-fourths of states) |
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What You'll Learn
The 19th Amendment
The road to the ratification of the 19th Amendment was long and challenging. The movement for women's suffrage in the United States began in the mid-19th century, with several generations of supporters advocating for change through lectures, writing, lobbying, and civil disobedience. While scattered women's rights organisations existed before, the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York, the first women's rights convention organised by women, is considered the beginning of the American women's rights movement. The convention adopted the Declaration of Sentiments, a document calling for equality between the sexes, including women's right to vote.
The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced to Congress in 1878 but was rejected. In the following decades, women's suffrage supporters continued to push for change, and by the late 19th century, several new states and territories, particularly in the West, began granting women the right to vote. In 1916, almost all major suffrage organisations united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. The amendment finally passed in the House of Representatives on May 21, 1919, and in the Senate on June 4, 1919.
However, resistance to ratification was strong, particularly from Southern Democrats. By the end of 1919, 22 states had ratified the amendment, and the battle continued into 1920. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, marking the final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. The certification of the ratification by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby changed the face of the American electorate forever.
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Women's suffrage
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was ratified on 18 August 1920, granted women the right to vote. This amendment was the result of a long and difficult campaign that spanned decades and involved various strategies and forms of activism.
The roots of the women's suffrage movement can be traced back to the mid-19th century, with scattered movements and organisations dedicated to women's rights. In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention in New York, the first women's rights convention organised by women, adopted the Declaration of Sentiments, which called for equality between the sexes, including the right of women to vote.
In the early 20th century, social progress and the increasingly public role of women prompted President Woodrow Wilson to announce his support for a suffrage amendment in 1918. On 30 September 1918, he addressed the Senate in favour of votes for women, stating that the mission of World War I to "make the world safe for democracy" meant that Americans needed to fulfil that promise at home.
The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) played a significant role in the movement. During World War I, the organisation encouraged its supporters to join the war effort, arguing that women deserved the vote because they were patriots, caregivers, and mothers. The combination of NAWSA's war efforts and the National Woman's Party's (NWP) pickets of the White House led to widespread support for women's suffrage.
The path to ratification faced resistance and opposition, particularly from Southern Democrats and anti-suffragists. However, by August 2, 1919, 14 states had approved ratification, and by the end of 1919, a total of 22 states had ratified the amendment. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, with the decisive vote cast by Harry T. Burn, influenced by a letter from his mother.
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." This amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote and marks a significant milestone in the struggle for equality and civil rights in the United States.
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Tennessee's role
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1920, was a landmark moment in American history, guaranteeing women the right to vote. Tennessee played a crucial and decisive role in the ratification process, becoming the 36th and final state needed to ratify the amendment.
The road to achieving women's suffrage in the United States was long and challenging, marked by decades of activism, agitation, and protest. Women organised, petitioned, lobbied, and even resorted to confrontational tactics such as picketing and hunger strikes to win the right to vote. By 1919, a total of 14 states had approved ratification, but resistance, particularly from Southern Democrats, remained strong.
Tennessee became the focal point of the suffrage movement as one of the last remaining states to vote on ratification. The state attracted national attention as suffragists and anti-suffragists descended upon it, campaigning fervently for their respective positions. The debate in Tennessee was intense, with both sides lobbying to secure votes in the House of Representatives. Initially, the Speaker of the House, Seth Walker, supported women's suffrage, but he later changed his position, arguing that ratifying the amendment would violate his oath to defend the state constitution.
The deciding vote in Tennessee came from Representative Harry T. Burn of Niota, McMinn County. Burn voted in favour of ratification, breaking the tie in the state House of Representatives. His vote was influenced by his mother, Phoebe, who urged him to support women's suffrage. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee narrowly approved the 19th Amendment, with 50 out of 99 members of the Tennessee House of Representatives voting yes. With Tennessee's ratification, the amendment became law, ensuring that the right to vote could no longer be denied based on sex.
The ratification of the 19th Amendment marked a significant step towards equality and participatory democracy in the United States. However, it is important to note that many women, particularly African American women and women of colour, continued to face barriers to voting due to discriminatory state voting laws and racialist calculations. The struggle for universal suffrage extended beyond 1920, and it wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that voting rights were fully protected for racial minorities.
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The Seneca Falls Convention
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying any citizen the right to vote on the basis of sex, was ratified in 1920. The road to this amendment, which was more than seven decades in the making, began with the Seneca Falls Convention.
The convention discussed 11 resolutions on women’s rights. All passed unanimously except for the ninth resolution, which demanded the right to vote for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a leading women’s rights advocate and driving organizer of the Seneca Falls Convention, and African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass gave impassioned speeches in its defence before it eventually passed. Stanton considered the Seneca Falls Convention to be the beginning of the women's rights movement, an opinion that was echoed in the History of Woman Suffrage, which Stanton co-wrote.
The convention's Declaration of Sentiments, written primarily by Stanton, described women’s grievances and demands. Inspired by the Declaration of Independence, the document asserted women’s equality in politics, family, education, jobs, religion, and morals. Stanton added a more radical point to the list of grievances and resolutions: the issue of women's voting rights. To the grievances, she added: "He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise", and to the sentiments, she added a line about man depriving woman of "the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation".
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The right to vote
The journey towards women's suffrage in the US was long and arduous, marked by persistent advocacy, agitation, and protest. The roots of this movement can be traced back to the mid-19th century, with pioneers like Susan B. Anthony and Virginia Minor arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment already encompassed the right for women to vote. However, the Supreme Court's ruling in Minor v. Happersett dealt a setback, affirming that while women were citizens, it did not confer the right to vote.
Undeterred, women's rights organisations and suffragists intensified their efforts. The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention organised by women, marked a significant step forward with the adoption of the Declaration of Sentiments, explicitly calling for equality between the sexes, including voting rights for women. This sparked a wave of state-level advocacy, with nine western states adopting women's suffrage legislation by 1912.
The push for a constitutional amendment gained momentum in the early 20th century, fuelled by the evolving social landscape and women's increasingly public roles. President Wilson's announcement of support for a suffrage amendment in 1918 further bolstered the campaign. The House of Representatives and the Senate passed the amendment in 1919, setting the stage for state-by-state ratification.
The road to ratification faced fierce resistance, particularly in the South. Tennessee played a pivotal role, becoming the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, thanks to Representative Harry Burn's tie-breaking vote. The amendment was officially certified by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby on August 26, 1920, cementing women's voting rights into the US Constitution.
While the 19th Amendment represented a monumental step forward, the battle for inclusive suffrage continued. The amendment primarily benefited white women, and the struggle to secure voting rights for Black women, Indigenous women, Asian American women, and women from other racial and ethnic minorities persisted for decades, requiring the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to address ongoing discrimination and voter suppression.
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Frequently asked questions
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920.
The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote.
The text of 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 19th Amendment changed the face of the American electorate forever. However, it is important to note that in practice, it only gave white women the right to vote. Black women, Indigenous women, Asian American women, and women from other racial and ethnic minority groups continued to face discrimination and voter suppression until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
