Davis & Davis Attorneys at Law
Call For An Appointment :
724-437-2799

History of the 19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States extended full voting rights to women. The Amendment was ratified in 1920 and was the result of decades of effort by feminist groups that push for equal rights. It all started with the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. Before the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, 28 states had already granted voting rights to women. Wyoming,
known as the Equality State, entered the Union in 1890 with equal voting rights; the very first state to enfranchise women. Illinois became the first state east of the Mississippi River to extend voting rights to women and that occurred in 1913. By 1919, most western states and New York State also had provided voting rights to women. Several large states, including Virginia, Massachusetts and
Pennsylvania, refused. The 19th Amendment's fate was uncertain until the very last minute. As recently as 1915, the U. S. House of Representatives had defeated a similar proposal. The support of President Woodrow Wilson, who campaigned for the Amendment beginning in 1918, proved crucial to its passage. 

Both the House and the Senate approved the Amendment in 1919, and the states rushed to ratify it in time for women to participate in the 1920 Presidential Election.

By the time the Amendment passed, many of the women who were founders of the women's rights movement including Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony had all died. In just 70 years though, their movement had turned the notion of women's suffrage from a laughing stock into reality.

As Carrie Chapman Catt, another suffragist leader, said, "when a just cause reaches its flood tide, whatever stands in the way must fall before its overwhelming power." 

No Comments

Leave a comment
Comment Information
Email Us For a Response

Contact Us Today

Bold labels are required.

Contact Information
disclaimer.

The use of the Internet or this form for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be sent through this form.

close

Privacy Policy

Super Lawyers AV LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell | Peer Review Rated Avvo Ratings. Guidance. The Right Lawyer. NBLSC Board Certified Lawyers Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum Trustwave Trusted Commerce | Click to Validate

Davis & Davis Attorneys At Law

107 East Main St.
Uniontown, PA 15401

Phone: 724-437-2799
Fax: 724-437-2035
Uniontown Law Office Map

113 Thorton Road
Brownsville, PA 15417

Phone: 724-437-2799
Phone: 724-785-7733
Map & Directions

Davis & Davis Attorneys at Law

Davis & Davis Attorneys At Law