A Century of Voting

If you’ve been keeping up with the news, you know that we have a presidential election coming up on Nov. 3. This year’s contest is different than in years past because of the coronavirus pandemic and other issues affecting Americans.

Even with these challenges, voting remains a crucial civic duty of all adult U.S. citizens.

An important centennial

The date Aug. 26 is special. It marks the 100th anniversary, or centennial, of the date that women gained suffrage (Suff-ridge), or the right to vote.

On that date, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was approved. Women finally had full voting rights.

The amendment says, in part: “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.”

Let’s learn more about how women gained the right to vote.

No constitutional right

The U.S. Constitution did not say that women could not vote. Each state had its own qualifications or laws for who could vote.

At first, only white males who owned property were allowed to vote in most states.

Women in most states were not allowed to vote in any elections. Many felt this was unfair.

Working for suffrage

From the 1850s on, women fought for the right to vote. After the Civil War ended, women continued working for voting rights. In 1869, Wyoming became the first territory (it was not yet a state) to allow women to vote. But not all women across the nation enjoyed that right — and not all women believed in suffrage.

But women kept working. They signed petitions. They met and talked with members of Congress to try to influence their vote. They wrote many letters and marched in the streets.

A changing world

During World War I, many nations around the world saw how much women were doing while men were away fighting and gave women the right to vote. But suffrage bills in the U.S. Congress were defeated again and again.

Finally, in June 1919, both the House and the Senate passed the 19th Amendment, but it would not become law until Aug. 18, 1920, when three-fourths of the 48 states had ratified it.

On Aug. 26, the U.S. secretary of state made the law official in all 48 states.

Mini Fact: Women who marched for their rights to vote were called “suffragists.”