How American women won the vote

100 years ago, after decades fighting for suffrage, women in the US were given a voice

Voting gives us a voice. It allows us to express our beliefs, act on our views and have a say in matters that will impact the way we live. In America today, everyone over the age of 18 can vote, but many take this for granted. For women this was not always the case.

Partaking in an election was an unlikely ambition for many, and some women dedicated their lives to turning this into a reality. When the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, everybody in the country was guaranteed the right to vote, regardless of their sex. Before this American women were made to abide by laws which they could not vote for or against. They were treated as inferior to men, with irrational rules telling them what they could and couldn’t do. Their position in society was so fixed that many women had simply accepted their place.

While there was so much women were forbidden from doing, there were some who believed they could bring about change. This is the story of those who fought relentlessly for equality at a time when the odds were not in their favour. These are the people who gave every woman after them the voice and rights that they were forced to live without.