Minor v. Happersett
Facts: Minor attempted to register to vote for a presidential and
local election in Mo. in 1872. She was denied by one registrar of
voters, Mr. Happersett, on the grounds that her registration would
violate the Mo. Constitution that stipulated only male citizens of
the U.S. were entitled to vote.
Procedural History: Ms Minor brought suit in one of the inferior
courts of Mo on the grounds that the right to vote was part of the p
& i of national citizenship and overrides Mo. Constitution. Mr.
Happersett demurred and the Court upheld Mo. Constitution. Ms
Minor appealed to U.S. Sup. Ct for Writ of Error.
Issues
1. Are women to be citizens of the U.S.?
2. Does P & I cl grant right of suffrage as part of U.S. citizenship?
3. Does the Mo Cons violate the p & i clause of the 14th?
Holding
1. Yes women are citizens of the U.S.
2. No, p and i does not confer suffrage as part of citizenship in
14th
3. No, even though women are ctzns of the U.S., they do not have
a federally protected right to vote as a ctzn of the U.S. guaranteed
by the 14th and Mo. may restrict its suffrage to male ctzns only
Judgment: Affirmed
(Text, structure and relationship, originalism)
Legal Reasoning(Ch.J. Waite)
1. "There is not doubt that women are citizens .. and id not need
an amendment to give them this distinction. They already had it."
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A. Additions may be made to citizenship by birth or
naturalization. Under c/l no doubt that children born to citizens
were citizens regardless of sex
B. In 1790 Congress declared a citizen could be a "free
white person" in shaping naturalization statutes. These statutes
made no mention of excluding women
C. Courts have j/d with ctzn and many courts cases have
women as parties
D. Women are equal subject to the control of the law as men
are and are therefore citizens
2. Suffrage is not a p and I of US ctznshp mentioned in 14th
A. "US has no voters in states of its own creation"
1. Senators are chosen by leg of states and reps are
chosen by citizens eligible to vote for state lower houses
2. States can pick the time, place and manner of
elections
B. At adoption, all states had constitutions of their own that
may or may not have excluded women that didi not change post
adoption. Under Art 4 Sec 2, the original p and i clause, all ctzns
would have the vote it if was included.
C. Framers would have left something as important as
suffrage up to interpretation
D. After 14th adopted, "it was deemed necessary to adopt
the 15th." This amendment would been redundant if the right of
suffrage was part of the 14th. The 15th expressly refers to males.
3. "If the law is wrong, it is not within our power to change." Mo.
Cons is constitutional
Source of Law
Articles of Confederation
US Codes Regarding Alien Naturalization
Art 4 Sec 2
15th and P and I Cl of 14th
Common Law
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Votes and Other Opinions
None
Contextual Explanations
This case takes place during reconstruction. Many women had
worked as abolitionists and had hoped to be included in the 15th.
Their omission was a great disappointment., but Republicans felt
their inclusion would break a fragile and newly formed coalition
that form the party. Women had begun to mobilize separately
from abolitionism. This case follows Bradwell v. Ill.
Relationship to other cases
Slaughterhouse
Bradwell v. II
Values
Federalism v. state's rights
traditional social roles v. progressivism
interpretivism vs textualism
Impact of Decision
Although often overlooked in importance, Minor created by
elimination the direction of the women's suffragist movement.
The movement was divided, Not all active women felt that the
14th granted the right to vote for women. After the decision in
Minor, it became fairly clear that nothing less than a constitutional
amend would grant women' suffrage This decision was the initial
rallying call that helped greatly expand the movement.
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