Timeline of key dates in the struggle to give women the vote
1787 (May to September)
At the United States Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia it was decided that states would have the right to determine voting qualifications.
1840 (June 12-23)
Women were excluded from the 1840 World Antislavery Congress in London. Reduced to spectators, they were not allowed to take part. In response, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott resolved to “form a society to advocate the rights of women.”
1848 (July 19-20)
Three hundred attended the Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, organized in part by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Frederick Douglass was one of those present. One hundred of the attendees signed the Declaration of Sentiments, which included a call for women’s access to the vote.
1851 (May 29)
Sojourner Truth gave her “Ain’t I a Woman” speech at a women’s convention in Ohio. Throughout the decade conventions were held annually.
1868 (July 9)
The Fourteenth Amendment was adopted, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Therefore, women were determined to be citizens (unless part of a group excluded from this amendment). After this, questions of what rights and responsibilities come with citizenship were open to debate.
1869 (May)
The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) was established by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and others. In November the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) was founded, led by Lucy Stone.
1890 (July 10)
Wyoming became a state, with women’s suffrage included in its constitution - the first state to allow women full voting rights. Several states allowed limited suffrage for women, typically for local school district elections.
1893 (November 7)
Colorado approved women’s suffrage, with 55% of the vote, the first state to do so by popular vote.
1912
Theodore Roosevelt and the Bull Moose party announced support for suffrage and Arizona passed suffrage for women by a 2 to 1 margin.
1913 (March 3)
The Woman Suffrage Procession, organized by Alice Paul and The Congressional Union, marched through the streets of Washington, DC before Woodrow Wilson’s presidential inauguration. The parade was viewed by as many as half a million people. Participants were attacked by mobs. Boy Scouts provided some protection and first aid to some of the hundreds of women who were injured. No arrests were made.
1915 (January 12)
A woman’s suffrage amendment reached the US House of Representatives. It was defeated by a vote of 174 to 204.
1916 (November)
Jeannette Rankin was elected to represent Montana in the US House of Representatives, the first woman elected to US Congress.
1917
Throughout the WWI years protesters demanding votes for women in front of the White House were forcefully arrested and jailed. During hunger strikes in jail they were “compelled to take nourishment” as accounts of the day reported. They were force fed.
1918 (January 9)
President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech promoting the United States as a beacon of democracy. He urged Congress to support woman suffrage as a war measure. The next day Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin introduced the 19th Amendment to the US House of Representatives. The Amendment passed 274 to 136 and moved to the Senate where it was two votes short of the needed two-thirds majority required to pass.
1919 (May 21)
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the 19th Amendment legislation. The Senate approved it on June 4. The race to ratification began! On December 15 Colorado ratified the amendment.
1920 (August 26)
The 19th Amendment was certified by the Secretary of State, granting full voting rights to women. The struggle for voting rights for people of color would continue for decades.
1965 (August 6)
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law. With this act, individual states could no longer prevent people from voting on the basis of race or language. The 19th Amendment granted voting rights to all women, but in many states literacy tests, poll taxes and other "devices" kept them disenfranchised for an additional forty-five years.
Don't forget the election on November 3. Mail in your ballot early. Honor the hard work and sacrifices of those who struggled for the right to vote by voting!
