The Nineteenth Amendment

The 19th Amendment is a short Article to the U.S. Constitution which reads that 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. It was passed by the House of Representatives in 1919 by a vote of 304 to 90. In the Senate this Amendment was ultimately ratified on August 18, 1920 by a vote of 56 to 25.

From the time the United States came into being, women were almost entirely excluded from voting. Such exclusion was finally made explicit as soon as women began to show their irritation at this restriction. The Woman suffrage movement started in the early 19th century during the tumult around slavery. Such outstanding reformers as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton showed a keen interest in the antislavery movement and turned out to be respectable public speakers. When they joined the antislavery forces, they agreed that the rights of women, not only those of slaves, needed amendments. In July 1848 these two suffragists issued a call for a convention on the women’s rights issue. This convention took place in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19-20, and ended with a Declaration of Sentiments calling for woman suffrage, as well as for their right to educational and employment opportunities. This declaration was based on the Declaration of Independence, and it said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal. …”

Suffrage soon turned out to be the primary goal of the women’s rights movement. Suffragists had a firm belief that if women gained the right to vote, they could use it to gain other rights. However, they encountered strong opposition.

Those in opposition to woman suffrage movement were convinced that women were less intelligent and less able to make political decisions than men. They believed that wives could not represent themselves better that men could represent their wives. There were people who had a fear that women’s participation in politics would lead to the end of family life.

Seneca Falls Convention brought about the first national convention of the women’s suffrage movement, held in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1850, by Lucy Stone and a group of prominent Eastern suffragists. One more convention, held in Syracuse, New York, in 1852, was the event of the first common undertaking between Stanton and the active suffragist reformers Susan B. Anthony; together these two leaders headed the American suffragist movement for the next 50 years.