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In the early days
A lot of the time, women were denied some of the main rights men had. An example would be that married women couldn't own property. Another would be women could not vote. -
Coming together
It wasn't until 1848 that the movement began to come together. The movement was for women's rights at the national level. In July of that year that Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott put together the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls. New York. -
About the convention
More than 300 (mostly women but men attended too) people attended including African American slave and activist Frederick Douglass. Most of Seneca Falls delegates agreed that American women were deserving of their own political identities. The Declaration of Sentiments was soon created and it stated "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In other words, women should be able to vote. -
After the convention
After the convention, the idea of voting for women was mocked in the press and some delegates backed out and discontinued their support. However, Elizabeth and Lucretia didn't stop after that. They went on to spread the word. Eventually, Susan B. Anthony joines them. -
Progress
The 20th century brought speed to the suffrage cause. However Stanton died in 1902 and Anthony in 1906 and it resulted in setbacks. Between 1910 - 1918 the Alaska Territory, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington extended their voting rights for women. -
Finally!
On June 4, 1919, the Senate passed the 19th Amendment by two votes over its required majority, 56-25. After that the amendment was then sent to the states for ratification. Within 6 days, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin ratified the amendment. On June 16, 1919, Kansas, New York, and Ohio followed. By March, a total of 35 states had ratified the amendment, just one state shy of the required for ratification. Southern states were opposed. But seven has already rejected. It was up to Tennessee. -
The end
More than 8 million women across the US voted in the elections for the first time on November 2, 1919. It took over 60 years for the remaining 12 states to ratify the 19th Amendment. Mississippi was the last state to do so on March 22, 1984.