Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library LibGuides: Women's Suffrage: Home

(1918). Suffrage march. New York City.. Retrieved from https://library.artstor.org/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822001764172

19th Amendment to the United States Constitution

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.

Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY

Women’s Rights National Historical Park tells the story of the first Women’s Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, NY on July 19-20,1848. It is a story of struggles for civil rights, human rights, and equality, global struggles that continue today. The efforts of women’s rights leaders, abolitionists, and other 19th century reformers remind us that all people must be accepted as equals.

Women's Suffrage

The Women's Suffrage Movement in the United States took a lot of its early cues from the movement began in Great Britain. The aim was to grant the right to vote to women-a right that had been denied since the inception of the country. The Women's Right's convention in Seneca Falls started the Suffrage movement in America, but it wasn't until 1920, seventy-two years later, that the 19th Amendment would pass, allowing women the right to vote in all states.

Work Unfinished

Not all women received the right to vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920. Native Americans were not consider US citizens until 1924. Asian Americans were not granted voting rights until 1952. Voter suppression was rampant with literacy tests and intimidation tactics directed toward BIPOC being used at the polls until 1965 (PBS.org, 2020). Even today, citizens of US territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa, are not allowed to vote in presidential elections (Ferreira, 2020) and voter suppression tactics are used in BIPOC predominate areas.

While there were many advocates for universal suffrage- that is the legal right to vote for all American regardless of race, sex, status, or creed- the primary objective was the right to vote for white women. In fact there were several prominent suffragettes who opposed the right to vote for women of color. There were others who, while they were not opposed, also believed it was a battle best left put off while the initial rights of white women should come first.

Important people

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Alice Paul

Susan B. Anthony

Lucretia Mott

Sojourner Truth

Jeannette Rankin

Lucy Stone

Anna Howard Shaw

Ida B. Wells

Sally Heathcote

Maria Baldwin

Amy Kirby Post

Citations

Ferreira, R. (2020, October 28). The history of voting in the United States. The Elm. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://elm.umaryland.edu/voices-and-opinions/Voices--Opinions-Content/The-History-of-Voting-in-the-United-States.php.

PBS.org (Ed.). (2020, July 6). Not all women gained the vote in 1920. PBS. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/vote-not-all-women-gained-right-to-vote-in-1920/.