Women's suffrage in the United States
Women's suffrage in the United States, the legal right of women to vote in that country, was established over the course of several decades, first in various states and localities, sometimes on a limited basis, and then nationally in 1920.
The demand for women's suffrage began to gather strength in the 1840s, emerging from the broader movement for women's rights. In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention, passed a resolution in favor of women's suffrage despite opposition from some of its organizers, who believed the idea was too extreme. By the time of the first National Women's Rights Convention in 1850, however, suffrage was becoming an increasingly important aspect of the movement's activities.
The first national suffrage organizations were established in 1869 when two competing organizations were formed, one led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the other by Lucy Stone. After years of bitter rivalry, they merged in 1890 as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) with Anthony as its leading force.
Hoping the U.S. Supreme Court would rule that women had a constitutional right to vote, suffragists made several attempts to vote in the early 1870s and then filed lawsuits when they were turned away. Anthony actually succeeded in voting in 1872 but was arrested for that act and found guilty in a widely publicized trial that gave the movement fresh momentum. After the Supreme Court ruled against them in 1875, suffragists began the decades-long campaign for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would enfranchise women. Much of the movement's energy, however, went toward working for suffrage on a state-by-state basis.
In 1916 Alice Paul formed the National Woman's Party (NWP), a militant group focused on the passage of a national suffrage amendment. Over 200 NWP supporters were arrested in 1917 while picketing the White House, some of whom went on hunger strike and endured forced feeding after being sent to prison. Under the leadership of Carrie Chapman Catt, the two-million-member NAWSA also made a national suffrage amendment its top priority. After a hard-fought series of votes in the U.S. Congress and in state legislatures, the Nineteenth Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution on August 20, 1920. It states, "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."
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American History USA Articles
- Jeanette Rankin, First Woman in Congress
Jeanette Rankin was the first woman elected to Congress in the United States, winning an at-large seat in Montana in 1916. - The National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association
The NWSA and AWSA operated independently, with some antagonism, until they reunified in 1890, forming the NAWSA. - Quakers, Abolitionism, and Women's Suffrage
For much of American history, Quakers were at the forefront of abolitionism and women's rights. Lucretia Mott and Susan B. Anthony were two famous examples. - The First Woman Presidential Candidate - "Notorious Victoria" Woodhull
Victoria Woodhull was the first woman to run for President of the United States. Her campaign was so controversial that she spent election day in jail.
Books/Sources
- How the Vote Was Won: Woman Suffrage in the Western United States, 1868-1914 - Rebecca Mead
- Women's Movements in the United States: Woman Suffrage, Equal Rights, and Beyond - Steven M Buechler