SUBJECT: PATRIOT WEEK DOCUMENTS: DAY ONE
19th Amendment
Overview of the 19th Amendment
Author(s)
Text drafted by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton.
First introduced to Congress in January 1878 by California Senator Aaron Sargent, who had
befriended Anthony in 1872 and was a dedicated woman suffragist.
Date created/enacted
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Passed by House of Representatives on May 21, 1919.
Passed by Senate on June 4, 1919 and sent on to the states.
Final ratification (by Tennessee) on August 18, 1920.
Effective August 26, 1920.
Unsuccessful challenged in Leser vs. Garnett in 1922.
First state to ratify was Wisconsin (June 10, 1920); last state to ratify was Mississippi on
March 22, 1984). Seven other states did not ratify until after 1950.
Background
In the summer of 1848, local New York women organized a convention around the arrival of
influential speaker Lucretia Mott. The meeting was intended to be a forum for discussion about
women’s rights, including suffrage. At this time in America, women were prohibited from
inheriting property, signing contracts, serving on juries, and voting. This kicked off the
suffragette movement in earnest. Decades of struggle would occur. The movement’s major
leaders at the beginning were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. They formed the
American Equal Rights Association in 1866. In 1869, the suffrage movement was divided by
which tactics to use, and Stanton and Anthony led the National Woman Suffrage Association
(NWSA), while the more tempered portion of the movement was led by the American Woman
Suffrage Association (AWSA).
In 1869, Wyoming’s territorial government included a woman suffrage provision, and in 1890
the State of Wyoming was admitted granting women the right to vote. Several western states also
granted women the franchise in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In 1878, a women’s suffrage amendment is introduced into the United States Congress, but fails
to move. However, the language that becomes the 19th Amendment is identical to the 1878 text.
In 1911, the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS) was organized to
fight against suffrage. However, the next year, former President Theodore Roosevelt’s Bull
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SUBJECT: PATRIOT WEEK DOCUMENTS: DAY ONE
Moose Party became the first national party to support woman’s suffrage in its campaign
platform.
In 1913, Alice Paul and Lucy Burns organized the Congressional Union (later dubbed the
National Women’s Party in 1916. They adopted aggressive tactics, including picketing the
White House (even during World War I), demonstrations, marches, and hunger strikes. These
tactics were extremely controversial - and effective - in garnering popular support for suffrage.
Several states across the nation adopted suffrage in 1917.
On June 4, 1919, the Congress passed the 19th Amendment and sent it to the states for
ratification. Tennessee ratified it on August 18, 1920, fulfilling the requisite 36 states necessary
for it to become part of the Constitution.
On August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment became effective.
Content summary
“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.”
Objectives
1.
Students should understand that until the 19th Amendment was effective on August 26,
1920, women did not have the federally guaranteed right to vote. Although some states
enfranchised women before then, most could not vote in federal or state elections. Women
were also legally prohibited from legally owning property if they married.
2.
Students should understand that until the Civil Rights era, that most women were barred
from most occupations.
3.
Students should understand why the Founding Fathers and successive generations did not
consider women to be included in the Declaration of Independence’s statement that “all men
are created equal.”
4.
Students should understand that it was the First Principle of Equality that in the Declaration
of Independence that was used by the suffragettes to eventually obtain women’s suffrage. In
other words, women showed the hypocrisy of nation that declared that Equality was a basic
right of people but failed to give women political equality in violation of the First Principles
of Equality, Unalienable Rights, and the Social Compact.
5.
Students should understand that the struggle for gender equality began at the time of the
American Revolution and continues today. The formal suffrage movement began at the
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SUBJECT: PATRIOT WEEK DOCUMENTS: DAY ONE
Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and the 19th Amendment was not ratified until 1920. The
suffragettes undertook vigorous protests, marches, speeches, and political campaigns to win
the right to vote. Similar tactics to were used in the Civil Rights era to obtain other gains of
equality (for example, in employment and education) for women in the 1960s and after.
Activities
1.
Have students consider the following questions: What are our current rules on voting
rights? Who enjoys suffrage in this country? Who does not have the vote? Why or why
not?
2.
Have the students review what was the justification of our forefathers for restricting
suffrage to men only, and explain why that justification was eventually rejected and why.
3.
Discuss the accomplishments and contributions of women throughout the history of the
United States.
Contributor
Michael DeBruyn (Teacher, Shrine Catholic High School and Academy, Royal Oak, MI) (edited
by Hon. Michael Warren)
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