The US Constitution Show: Educating Americans About their Freedoms and Rights

Amendment XIX

Women's Suffrage. Women given right to vote.

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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.

Ratified: August 18, 1920

The 19th Amendment, which ensures women the right to vote, was proposed on June 4, 1919.

This amendment was specifically rejected by Georgia on Jul 24, 1919; by Alabama on Sep 22, 1919; by South Carolina on Jan 28, 1920; by Virginia on Feb 12, 1920; by Maryland on Feb 24, 1920; by Mississippi on Mar 29, 1920; by Delaware on Jun 2, 1920; and by Louisiana on Jul 1, 1920.

Illinois reaffirmed its ratification on Jun 17, 1919; Connecticut reaffirmed its ratification on Sep 21, 1920. Maryland's ratification was not certified until Feb 25, 1958. South Carolina's ratification was not certified until Aug 22, 1973.

History: 

Though the Constitution originally made no mention of a woman's right to vote, it was implied by society - women simply did not have the right. The 14th Amendment actually made things worse, by codifying the suffrage right to men only, when its Second Clause punished the denial of suffrage to men (though this still did not officially deny women the right). As early as 1848, groups met to discuss how to further women's rights, and the franchise, it was decided, was the best place to start. But America was not ready, and the suffragists, as they were called, were branded as immoral.

Famous women's rights leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton tried to make a stand after the Civil War, to have the language of the 14th Amendment include women, though the issue was thought too volatile by most, and passage of the amendment was thought to be in grave jeopardy if such a provision were included. Anthony later used the 15th Amendment as rationale for voting in a New York election, and though she was tried and fined for voting, the ordeal proved an impetus for the eventual guarantee of voting rights for women. By 1918, about half the states had granted women full or partial voting rights; the stature gained by women involved in the temperance movement also helped push the suffragist movement along. The support of women to the war effort convinced many more, even President Woodrow Wilson, who had been staunchly opposed to a federal suffrage amendment. On June 4, 1919, the 19th Amendment was passed by Congress, and it was ratified on August 18, 1920 (441 days).

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