USA Women Fight To Vote - 19th Amendment

In colonial British America, men were considered superior to woman in all ways. In a strict patriarchal hierarchy, men controlled not only wealth & political power but also how their wives served them, how their children were raised, family religious questions, & had the final say in all matters of right & wrong.

In the early part of the 19C, however, many Americans experienced a revolution in gender. The doctrine of “separate spheres” maintained that woman’s sphere was the world of privacy, family, & morality, while man’s sphere was becoming the public world -– economic striving, political maneuvering, & social competition. But women were becoming interested in equality.

In 1848, New York passed the Married Woman’s Property Act. Now a woman wasn’t automatically liable for her husband’s debts; she could enter contracts on her own; she could collect rents or receive an inheritance in her own right; she could file a lawsuit on her own behalf. She became for economic purposes, an individual. By 1900, every state has passed legislation modeled after this, granting married women some control over their property & earnings.

In 1870 after the Civi War, the 15th Amendment was ratified, saying, “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.” African-Americans could vote, but women could not.

But it was not until 1920, that the 19th Amendment was ratified granting women the right to vote. Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, & ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote.“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 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy & difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation & protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, & practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.

Beginning in the 1800s, women organized, petitioned, & picketed to win the right to vote, but it took them decades to accomplish their purpose. Between 1878, when the amendment was 1st introduced in Congress, & August 18, 1920, when it was ratified, champions of voting rights for women worked tirelessly, but strategies for achieving their goal varied. 

Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state - 9 western states adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912. Others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts. Some suffragists used more confrontational tactics such as picketing, silent vigils, & hunger strikes. Often supporters met fierce resistance. Male opponents heckled, jailed, & sometimes physically abused them.

By 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. When the state of New York adopted woman suffrage in 1917 & President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift.

On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, & 2 weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920, hopefully changing the face of the American electorate forever.

The campaign for woman suffrage was long, difficult, & sometimes dramatic; yet ratification did not ensure full enfranchisement. Decades of struggle to include African Americans & other minority women in the promise of voting rights remained. Many women remained unable to vote long into the 20th century because of discriminatory state voting laws.Transcript

See The National Archives

Sixty-sixth Congress of the United States of America; At the First Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the nineteenth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen.

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution extending the right of suffrage to women.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislature of three-fourths of the several States.

"ARTICLE 

"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

Timeline of the Fight for All Women’s Right to Vote

19th Amendment: A Timeline of the Fight for All Women’s Right to Vote

By: Sarah Pruitt Updated: History.com July 23, 2024

1848 - Senecca Falls

The Seneca Falls Convention was the 1st women's rights convention in the United States, held in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19–20, 1848. The convention is considered the birthplace of American feminism & launched the women's suffrage movement.

Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton & other participants at the inaugural women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls adopt the Declaration of Sentiments, which calls for equality for women & includes a resolution that women should seek the right to vote. The suffrage resolution passes by a narrow margin, helped along by the support of the famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass, an early ally of women’s rights activists.

1869 - Wyoming Passes Women's Suffrage Law

Tensions erupt within the women’s rights movement over the recently ratified 14th Amendment & the proposed 15th Amendment, which would give the vote to Black men, but not women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony found the National Woman Suffrage Association to focus on fighting for a women’s suffrage amendment to the Constitution, while Lucy Stone & other more conservative suffragists favor lobbying for voting rights on a state-by-state basis.

1872 - Suffragists Arrested for Voting in NY

Anthony & more than a dozen other women are arrested in Rochester, New York after illegally voting in the presidential election. Anthony unsuccessfully fought the charges, & the court fined her $100, which she never paid.

1878 - California Senate Drafts Amendment

Senator Aaron Sargent of California introduces a women’s suffrage amendment to the U.S. Senate for the first time. Drafted by Stanton & Anthony, it 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.” (When Congress passes the amendment 41 years later, the wording will remain unchanged.)

1890 - NAWSA Forms

The two sides of the women’s movement reunite, forming the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). With Stanton as president, the organization focuses on a state-by-state fight for voting rights.

1896 - Black Suffragists Organize National Group

A group of women including Harriet Tubman, Frances E.W. Harper, Ida B. Wells-Barnett & Mary Church Terrell form the National Association of Colored Women Clubs (NACWC). In addition to women’s enfranchisement, the organization advocates for equal pay, educational opportunities, job training & access to child care for Black women.

Early 1900s - Black Suffragists Barred from Conventions

African-American women fighting for the right to vote continue to face discrimination from white suffragists, especially as the latter group seeks support in Southern states. In 1901 & 1903, the NAWSA conventions in Atlanta & New Orleans bar Black suffragists from attending.

1913 - Alice Paul Creates Militant Group

Alice Paul, vice president of the National Women's party, broadcasts plans for the dedication of the new national headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Impatient with the pace of the state-by-state fight for suffrage, Alice Paul & Lucy Burns break from NAWSA & found the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage (later the National Woman’s Party) to press for federal action. Inspired by the tactics of Great Britain’s more militant suffragists, Paul leads a protest march of some 5,000 to 10,000 women in Washington, D.C. on the day of Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration.

1916 - Jeanette Rankin Elected to Congress

1917- The Night of Terror: When Suffragists Were Imprisoned & Tortured in 1917

After peacefully demonstrating in front of the White House, 33 women endured a night of brutal beatings.

Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin is presented with the flag that flew at the House of Representatives during the passage of the suffrage amendment, 1918.

Jeanette Rankin of Montana, a former NAWSA lobbyist, becomes the first woman elected to Congress. With the U.S. entrance into World War I, NAWSA president Carrie Chapman Catt commits the organization to working toward the war effort. Paul & others take a different approach, holding peaceful protests outside the White House calling for Wilson to support women’s suffrage. Many of the protesters are arrested & jailed for obstructing sidewalk traffic; Paul & others undertake hunger strikes to bring attention to their cause.

On November 14, 1917, guards at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia beat & terrorize 33 women arrested for picketing, an ordeal that will become known as the “Night of Terror.”

1918 - President Wilson Changes Position, Supports Suffrage

In January 1918, Rep. Rankin opens debate in the House of Representatives on a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing women’s suffrage. The House votes in favor, but the amendment fails to win a two-thirds majority in the Senate. In a speech to Congress in September, President Wilson officially changes his position to support a federal women’s suffrage amendment.

1919 - House, Senate Pass Amendment, Ratification Effort Begins

On May 21, 1919, the House again passes what would become the 19th Amendment, popularly known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. The Senate follows suit on June 4 by a narrow margin (just over the two-thirds requirement), & it goes to the states to be ratified. Ratification requires 36 states, or three-quarters of those in the Union at the time.

Eleven states—Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Texas, Iowa & Missouri—vote to ratify by late July 1919. On July 24, Georgia’s state legislature becomes the first to vote against ratification, thanks to a determined anti-suffrage effort in the Peach State. (Georgia won’t formally ratify the 19th Amendment until 1970.) The “antis” draw strength from powerful business interests including the railroad, liquor & manufacturing industries, as well as religious & conservative groups.

By year’s end, Alabama becomes the second state to vote against ratification, while state legislatures in Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Utah, California, Maine, North Dakota, South Dakota & Colorado have all voted to ratify the amendment. Suffragists are 14 states short of their target.

January 1920 - Five More States Ratify

The first month of the new decade brings ratification from Kentucky, Rhode Island, Oregon, Indiana & Wyoming, & rejection from South Carolina.

March 1920 - 35 States Ratify, One More Needed

By the end of March, Virginia, Maryland & Mississippi have also voted against ratification. But Nevada, New Jersey, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, West Virginia & Washington ratify, bringing the total to 35 states—one short of the goal needed for the amendment to become law.

June 1920 - Delaware’s Vote Against Ratification Strikes a Blow

Delaware’s vote to reject ratification shocks suffragists, & deals a serious blow to their momentum. Suddenly, the fate of the suffrage amendment appears in doubt. Anti-suffrage sentiment runs high in most of the states left to vote: State legislatures in Connecticut, Vermont, Florida decline to consider the amendment, leaving only North Carolina & Tennessee, with North Carolina sure to reject.

August 1920 - Tennessee Provides Final Vote for Ratification

Called into special session, the Tennessee state legislature meets to decide the fate of the women’s suffrage amendment. Catt & other prominent national “Suffs” travel to Nashville to personally lobby legislators for weeks, as do “Anti-Suffs” determined to keep women from gaining the vote. In the so-called “War of the Roses,” supporters of suffrage wear white roses, while their opponents don red ones.

The Tennessee Senate votes to ratify, but the vote is tied in the House—until one legislator, Harry Burns, changes his vote after receiving a letter from his mother urging him to vote for women’s suffrage. On August 18, 1920, one day after the North Carolina legislature rejects the suffrage amendment by two votes, Tennessee becomes the 36th state to ratify.

By the time the final battle over ratification of the 19th Amendment occurred in Nash ville, Tennessee in the summer of 1920, 72 years had passed since the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. More than 20 nations around the world had granted women the right to vote, along with 15 states, more than half of them in the West. 

1924 - Native Americans Recognized as Citizens

Four years after the 19th Amendment is ratified, passage of the Snyder Act (aka the Indian Citizenship Act) makes Native Americans U.S. citizens for the first time. But many Native American women (& men) were still effectively barred from voting for the next four decades, until Utah became the last state to extend full voting rights to Native Americans in 1962.

1965 - Voting Rights Act Protects All Citizens’ Right to Vote

After a century of struggle by Black women (& men) against poll taxes, literacy tests & other discriminatory state voting laws, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965. The biggest legislative achievement of the civil rights movement, the bill protects all citizens’ right to vote under the 14th & 15th Amendments.

1984 - Mississippi Becomes Last US State to Ratify 19th Amendment

Mississippi formally ratifies the 19th Amendment on March 22, 1984, becoming the last U.S. state to do so. 

1856 Gentility for Proper American Ladies

 
The Lady’s Guide to Perfect Gentility etc. By Emily Thornwell (New York: Derby & Jackson, Published 1856) 

Etiquette Lesson #1: Gait & Carriage

A lady ought to adopt a modest & intentionally measured gait; too great hurry can injure the grace which ought to characterize her. She should not turn her head on one side & on the other, especially in large towns or cities, where this bad habit seems to be an invitation to the impertinent. A lady should not present herself alone in a library, or a museum, unless to study, or work as an artist.

A Gentlemen’s attendance. – After twilight, a young lady would not be conducting herself in a becoming manner, by walking alone unescorted; & if she passes the evening with anyone, she ought, beforehand, to provide someone to come for her at a stated hour; but if this is not practicable, she should politely ask of the person whom she is visiting, to permit a servant to accompany her for safety.

In riding, the gentleman’s first duty is to provide a gentle horse, properly caparisoned. After seeing that the girths are all tightened, he leads the lady to the horse. With her back to the horse, she takes hold of the horn of the saddle, & the reins with her right hand, & places her left foot upon the shoulder of the gentleman, who stoops before her, making a stirrup for her of his clasped hands.

Raising himself up to his feet gently, the lady is able to be placed securely in the horse’s saddle. The gentleman puts her foot in the stirrup, adjusts her dress, mounts his own horse & takes his position, usually on the right, but authorities differ, & many prefer the left. In dismounting, the lady, having lifted her foot from the stirrup, may be received in the gentleman’s arms.

Etiquette Lesson #2 – Attention to Others

When you are passing in the street, & happen to see coming towards you a person of your acquaintance, whether they be a lady or an elderly person, you should always offer them the wall, that is to say, the side next to the houses. If a carriage should happen to stop, in such a manner as to leave only a narrow passage between it & the houses, beware of elbowing & rudely crowding the passengers, with a view to get by more expeditiously; wait your turn, & if any one of the persons before mentioned comes up, you should edge up to the wall, in order to give them the place. They also, as they pass, should bow politely to you in return.

Etiquette Lesson #3 – Never Use Your Knife

A lady should never use their knife to convey your food to your mouth, under any circumstance; it is unnecessary & glaringly vulgar to the eye. Feed yourself with a fork or spoon, nothing else; a knife is only to be used for cutting the food. The knife & fork should not be held upright in the hands, but always sloping; when done, lay them parallel to each other upon the plate. When you eat, bend the body a little toward your plate in a polite manner; do not gnaw bones at the table, always use your napkin before & after drinking.

Etiquette Lesson #4 – Decorum at The Table

It is ridiculous to make a display of your napkin; to attach it with pins to your bosom, or to pass it through your button; to use a fork in eating soup; to ask for meat instead of beef; for poultry instead of chicken; to turn up your cuffs in carving; to take bread, even when it is within your reach, instead of calling upon the servant; to cut with a knife your bread which should be broken by the hand, & to pour coffee into the saucer to cool. In conversation, be careful not to speak while eating a mouthful; it is indecorous in the extreme.

Etiquette Lesson #5 – How to Address Young Gentlemen

Do not be tempted to indulge in feminine indecorum, which may be countenanced, but can never be sanctioned by example; that of addressing young gentlemen of your acquaintance, who are unconnected [i.e., unrelated], by their christian names. It opens the way to unpleasant familiarities on their part, more effectually than you can well imagine, unless you have been taught the painful lesson by the imprudence of a friend. Any evident intention to display familiarity with them, will be more intolerable than absolute ignorance.

A lady’s influence in conversation.–Every woman whose heart & mind have been properly regulated, is capable of exerting a most salutary influence over the gentlemen with whom she associates; & this fact has been acknowledged by the best & wisest of all men, & seldom has it ever been disputed, except by those whose capacities for observation have been perverted by adverse circumstances. Always seek to converse with gentlemen into whose society you may be introduced, with a dignified modesty & simplicity, which will effectually check on their part any attempt at familiarity . . . .You may with propriety accept such delicate attentions as polished & refined men are desirous of paying, but never solicit them, or appear to be expecting them.

Etiquette Lesson #6 – Lady’s Proper Attire

Ladies’ morning attire.–The most appropriate morning dress for a lady upon first rising is a small muslin cap & loose robe. It is not in good taste for a lady to appear at the table in the morning without being laced at all; it gives an air of untidiness to the whole appearance. The hair papers which cannot be removed on rising (because the hair would not keep in curl till evening), should be concealed under a bandeau of lace . . . .

In this dress we can receive only intimate friends, or persons who call upon urgent or indispensable business; even then we should offer some apology for it. To neglect to take off this morning dress as soon as possible is to expose one’s self to embarrassments often very painful, & to the appearance of a want of education.

Morning Dress: A closely fitting morning-dress of plain cashmere, sleeves short at the wrist to display the full puff of muslin around the hand. A row of gimp embroidery from the hem of the skirt to the throat. Small collar of embroidered muslin, & cap of lace & ribbon.

Every one knows that whatever be the fortune of a young lady, her dress ought always, in form as well as ornaments, to exhibit less of a recherché appearance, & should be less showy than that of married ladies. Costly cashmeres, very rich furs, & diamonds, as well as many other brilliant ornaments, are to be forbidden a young lady; & those who act in defiance of these rational marks of propriety make us believe that they are possessed of an unrestrained love of luxury, & deprive themselves of the pleasure of receiving those ornaments from the hand of the man of their choice at some future day.

Walking Dress: for sociable calls, of plain stone colored merino; a short cloak of ture satin, trimmed with fringe; drawn casing bonnet of dark-green silk.

Etiquette Lesson #7 – Raising the Dress & Proper Behavior

When tripping over the pavement, a lady should gracefully raise her dress a little above her ankle. With the right hand, she should hold together the folds of her gown, & draw them towards the right side. To raise the dress on both sides, & with both hands, is absolutely vulgar. This ungraceful practice can only be tolerated for a few simple moments, when the mud is very deep.

Etiquette Lesson #8 – Bad habits in the highest degree displeasing

To look steadily at anyone, especially if you are a lady & are speaking to a gentleman; to turn the head frequently on one side & the other during conversation; to balance yourself upon your chair; to bend forward; to strike your hands upon your knees; to hold one of your knees between your hands locked together; to cross your legs; to extend your feet on the andirons; to admire yourself with complacency in a glass; to adjust, in an affected manner, your cravat, hair, dress, or handkerchief; to remain without gloves; to fold carefully your shawl, instead of throwing it with graceful negligence upon a table; to fret about a hat which you have just left off; to laugh immoderately; to place your hand upon the person with whom you are conversing…

To take him by the buttons, the collar of his cloak, the cuffs, the waist, & so forth; to seize any person by the waist or arm, or to touch their person; to roll the eyes or to raise them with affectation; to take snuff from the box of your neighbor, or to offer it to strangers, especially to ladies; to play continually with your chain or fan; to beat time with the feet & hands; to whirl round a chair with your hand; to shake with your feet the chair of your neighbor; to rub your face or your hands; wink your eyes; shrug up your shoulders; stamp your feet, & so forth.

Etiquette Lesson #9 – Speaking to Your Husband

A lady should not ever say “my husband,” except among intimates; in every other case she should always address him by his name, calling him “Mr.” It is equally proper, except on occasions of ceremony, & while she is quite young, to designate him by his christian name. Never use the initial of a person’s name to designate him; as “Mr. P.,” “Mr. L.,” etc. Nothing is so odious as to hear a lady speak of her husband, or, indeed, anyone else, as “Mr. B.”

How a lady should be spoken of by her husband. – It is equally improper for a gentleman to say “my wife,” except among very intimate friends; he should mention her as “Mrs. So-&-so.” When in private, the expression “my dear,” or merely the christian name, is considered in accordance with the best usage among the more refined.

Etiquette Lesson #10 – Requisites to Female Beauty

Exercise is unquestionably one of the very best means for the preservation of health; but its real importance is unknown, or but too lightly considered by the majority of females. Were they, however, to be made fully sensible of its extraordinary power in preserving the vigor of the body, in augmenting its capability to resist disease, in promoting its symmetrical development, in improving the freshness & brilliancy of the complexion, as well as its influence in prolonging the charms of beauty to an advanced age, they would shake off the prejudices by which they have been so long enthralled, & not voluntarily abandon means so completely within their power, & so simple, of enhancing all their physical perfections.

But let it be recollected, that to produce its beneficial effects, exercise must be taken in the open air. Not all the occupations appertaining to the domestic duties of a female, though they may require her to bustle from garret to cellar, will impart the kind of action to the different portions of the body by which her health & beauty shall be essentially improved.