The Nineteenth Amendment -- Women's Vote

When the Constitution was ratified, women were denied the right to vote in every state of the Union. Although some women (including Dolly Madison) made an early push for the right to vote, the women's suffrage movement came together in 1848, when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other feminist leaders organized a convention in Seneca Falls, New York. At their convention, they passed a resolution "that it is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise."

The Seneca Falls convention intensified political pressure for women's rights, including the right to vote. Because of the suffragists' efforts, several states and territories began to give women the right to vote. For example, in 1869, Wyoming became the first territory to grant women the vote. Several other states, such as Utah, Colorado, and Idaho, followed Wyoming's lead.

However, several states resisted granting women this basic political right. In response, members of the suffrage movement and their allies in the Progressive movement stepped up the pressure on elected officials, using protests, marches, hunger strikes, and other direct action techniques.

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, supporters saw an opportunity to win the crucial support of President Woodrow Wilson. After all, how could the United States be claiming to fight for freedom and democracy if half of its citizens were denied basic political rights? In January 1918, Wilson lent his support to full voting rights for women. Two years later, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was adopted. This amendment prohibits states from denying anyone the right to vote on the basis of sex.