Omar Bennett
The right to vote, also known as suffrage, is a crucial aspect of democracy. Throughout history, various groups have been excluded from the voting process, including women, people of colour, and immigrants. The struggle for suffrage has been a long and arduous journey, with activists devoting significant time, energy, and resources to achieving this fundamental right. The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution and the 19th Amendment have played pivotal roles in addressing suffrage and expanding voting rights. The 15th Amendment, adopted in 1870, granted suffrage rights to African American men, while the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, guaranteed women's right to vote, marking significant milestones in the ongoing battle for universal suffrage in America.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Amendment | 15th Amendment, 19th Amendment, Susan B. Anthony Amendment |
| Year of Ratification | 1870, 1920 |
| Who It Addresses | African American men, women |
| Who It Affects | American citizens |
| What It Does | Recognizes the right to vote, prohibits denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex or race |
| What It Changed | Gave 26 million women the right to vote, gave all men the right to vote |
| Who Proposed It | Senator Aaron Sargent (R-CA), Senator Edgar Cowan (R-PA), Senator Samuel Pomeroy (R-KS) |
| Who Supported It | Suffragists, members of the National Woman's Party, President Wilson, Alice Paul, Elizabeth Cady Stanton |
| Who Opposed It | NA |
| Where It Was Ratified | Tennessee |
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What You'll Learn
The 15th Amendment (1870) recognised the suffrage rights of African American men
The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1870, was a landmark moment in the history of African American suffrage. The amendment explicitly prohibited the federal government and individual states from denying or abridging a citizen's right to vote based on their "race, colour, or previous condition of servitude". This marked a significant shift as, until this point, only white men had been permitted to vote.
The road to achieving voting rights for African Americans was long and arduous. The original U.S. Constitution did not define voting rights for citizens, and the franchise was restricted to white male property owners. It was only after the Civil War and during the Reconstruction Era that serious discussions began regarding the voting rights of African Americans, particularly black male freedmen. The election of Ulysses S. Grant as president in 1868 further emphasised the importance of protecting the franchise of black male voters.
The Fifteenth Amendment was not without its shortcomings and loopholes. Despite its ratification, many states, particularly in the South, continued to find ways to prevent African American men from exercising their right to vote. "Grandfather clauses", poll taxes, literacy tests, and intimidation tactics were employed to disenfranchise black voters. This led to a long civil rights struggle to secure and protect the voting rights guaranteed by the amendment.
The amendment's adoption was nonetheless a cause for celebration in black communities and abolitionist societies. Many viewed it as a significant step towards racial equality and the completion of the nation's "second birth". The amendment's passage also led to the disbandment of some abolitionist societies, who felt that black rights had been secured and their work was done. However, this sense of optimism was short-lived as the enforcement of the amendment proved challenging.
The Enforcement Acts were passed by Congress in 1870-1871 to authorise federal prosecution of groups like the KKK who violated the amendment. The Supreme Court's interpretation of the amendment in United States v. Reese (1876) was narrow, upholding race-neutral limitations on suffrage, including poll taxes and literacy tests. This interpretation highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by African American men in exercising their right to vote, despite the protections afforded by the Fifteenth Amendment.
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The 19th Amendment 1920 prohibited voting discrimination based on sex
Women have been demanding political equality since before the founding of the United States. However, it was not until 1878 that a member of Congress, Senator Aaron Sargent, formally submitted a proposal to amend the Constitution to allow women to vote. This proposal, known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, was debated in the Senate for over four decades.
The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed in 1890, and within six years, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho had adopted amendments to their state constitutions granting women the right to vote. In 1913, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns left NAWSA to form the more militant National Woman's Party, which organised nonviolent protests outside the White House from 1917 to 1919. The harsh treatment of these protesters, including the imprisonment and force-feeding of Alice Paul, generated significant national sympathy for the cause.
In 1918, President Wilson announced his support for the constitutional amendment for women's suffrage. The House of Representatives passed the amendment in the spring of 1919, and the Senate followed suit a few months later. The amendment was then submitted to the states for ratification, requiring the approval of 36 states to become a Constitutional Amendment. On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, now known as the Nineteenth Amendment.
The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified on August 18, 1920, prohibits all levels of government in the United States from restricting the right to vote based on sex, thereby granting women the right to vote. The official text of the 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 the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
While the Nineteenth Amendment was a significant step forward for women's suffrage, it did not guarantee the right to vote for all women. In practice, it only gave white women the right to vote, as Black, Native American, Asian American, and Latina women continued to face discrimination and voter suppression. It was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that crucial protections were afforded to Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC) voters, prohibiting discrimination against all women regardless of race or ethnicity.
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The fight for women's suffrage
The earliest recorded instance of a woman voting in America occurred in 1756 when the town of Uxbridge in colonial Massachusetts permitted Lydia Chapin Taft, a wealthy widow, to vote in town meetings. However, this was an exception, as only free men who owned property typically had voting rights at the time. The first proposal to amend the Constitution to allow women's suffrage was introduced in Congress in 1878, known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. This amendment was defeated multiple times over the years and sparked a "schism" in the women's suffrage movement, leading to the formation of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who opposed the 15th Amendment's exclusion of women.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women's suffrage supporters became more organized and strategic. They lobbied senators, marched in parades, and practiced civil disobedience. One notable example was the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession, which led to the formation of the National Woman's Party by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. Paul organized the Silent Sentinels, thousands of nonviolent protesters who picketed outside the White House for 18 months, facing intense scrutiny and resulting in her arrest and imprisonment. The public pressure generated by these campaigns, coupled with the growing support for women's suffrage in individual states, eventually shifted the political landscape.
In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson announced his support for a constitutional amendment for women's suffrage, and on June 4, 1919, Congress approved the 19th Amendment, extending the right of suffrage to women. However, it did not become part of the Constitution until it was ratified by the required three-fourths of states, with Tennessee being the 36th state to ratify on August 18, 1920. The 19th Amendment finally guaranteed American women the right to vote, marking a significant milestone in the nation's history and the culmination of decades of tireless efforts by women's suffrage supporters.
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The Susan B. Anthony Amendment
In April 1917, the "Anthony Amendment" was reintroduced in the House and Senate. This time, the amendment gained momentum, and in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson publicly announced his support for the amendment in his State of the Union address. The amendment was approved by the House of Representatives in January 1918 and by the Senate on June 4, 1919.
The amendment was then submitted to the states for ratification, and on August 18, 1920, it was ratified by the required 36 state legislatures, with Tennessee being the final state to approve it. The Nineteenth Amendment officially granted women the right to vote in the United States, marking a significant milestone in the country's long struggle for women's political equality.
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The National American Woman Suffrage Association
The NAWSA, with a membership of about seven thousand at the time of its formation, played a pivotal role in the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, which guaranteed women's right to vote. The NAWSA combined the strategies of its predecessor organisations, securing the passage of the amendment through a series of well-orchestrated state campaigns under the dynamic direction of Carrie Chapman Catt. Susan B. Anthony, a longtime leader in the suffrage movement, was also a dominant figure in the newly formed NAWSA.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton became the first president of the NAWSA, serving from 1890 to 1892. Although she did not enjoy the administrative duties of the office, she was a true leader of the women's suffrage movement. Stanton advocated for women's equality, arguing that women should be treated like all other citizens and have access to the same rights as men, including the right to vote, higher education, and freedom of thought and action. During Stanton's presidency, Susan B. Anthony was the de facto leader of the organisation. After Stanton's resignation in 1892, Anthony officially became president, serving until 1900.
Despite the NAWSA's role in advocating for women's suffrage, the organisation was not free from racial discrimination. While the NAWSA did not exclude African American women from membership at the national level, state and local organisations could and did choose to exclude them. Conventions held in Southern cities like Atlanta in 1895 and New Orleans in 1903 were segregated, and Black NAWSA members were excluded from the 1903 convention. Additionally, during the 1913 parade in Washington, D.C., NAWSA required Black women to march separately.
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Frequently asked questions
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, prohibits the United States and its states from denying any citizen the right to vote based on sex. It was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920.
The 19th Amendment enfranchised 26 million American women in time for the 1920 U.S. presidential election. However, it failed to fully enfranchise African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American women due to discriminatory state voting laws.
The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted in 1870, recognising the suffrage rights of African American men.
