Words of Freedom

The Nineteenth Amendment (1920)

Suffrage for women was demanded by the Seneca Falls convention in 1848, and what became the Nineteenth Amendment was first proposed in Congress in 1878, after the Supreme Court had ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did not mandate the vote for women. The movement was led first by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, later by Susan B. Anthony and then by many others. By 1912, nine western states had given women the vote, beginning with Wyoming in 1890. New York followed in 1917, and President Woodrow Wilson reversed his earlier opposition in 1918. Congress passed the amendment on May 21, 1919 and it was ratified August 18, 1920.

Section 1. The right of the 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.

Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

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