Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States granted women the right to vote. It reads, “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.” The United States Congress passed the amendment in 1919. It formally became part of the Constitution in 1920.
In the mid-1800’s, such leaders as Lucretia Mott , Elizabeth Cady Stanton , Susan B. Anthony , and Lucy Stone began speaking out for equal rights for women. Suffrage (the right to vote) soon became their chief goal. The suffrage movement gained strength after 1870, when the 15th Amendment extended voting rights to black men. Between 1890 and 1920, 15 states passed laws giving women full voting rights. Twelve other states allowed women to vote in presidential elections.
Starting in the late 1860’s, several U.S. congressmen had proposed amendments that would grant woman suffrage. Senator Aaron Sargent of California proposed the woman suffrage amendment in its final form in 1878. He and his wife, Ellen Clark Sargent, were long-time supporters of the suffrage movement. Sargent’s amendment failed to pass, but it was reintroduced in every session of Congress for the next 40 years. The House of Representatives approved the 19th Amendment in 1918, but the Senate defeated it.
The House passed the amendment again on May 21, 1919. The Senate finally passed it on June 4. However, the amendment still needed the approval of three-fourths of the states. On Aug. 18, 1920, the Tennessee legislature approved the amendment, giving the measure the support it needed. On August 26, U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the amendment.
