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First Women's Rights Convention Held
About 300 activists gather in Seneca Falls,
N.Y., to strategize on how to achieve wom-
en’s suffrage nationwide. Participants,
including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott, sign the Declaration of Sen-
timents and Resolutions, modeled on the
Declaration of Independence, which calls
for equal treatment of women and men un-
der the law and voting rights for women. -
Period: to
Economic
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Racial Equality Issue SplitsTwo Suffrage Associations
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Territory of Wyoming GivesWomen the Right to Vote
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First Woman Nominated for President
Nominated by the Equal
Rights Party, Victoria
Chaflin Woodhull is the
first woman to run for
president of the United
States. But neither she nor
any other woman is al-
lowed to vote. -
Susan B. Anthony Arrestedfor Attempting to Vote
Susan B. Anthony casts her first
vote to test whether the 14th
Amendment would be interpreted
broadly to guarantee women the
right to vote. She was arrested
and tried on June 17-18, 1873, in
Canandaigua, N.Y., and convict-
ed of “unlawful voting.” -
Supreme Court Denies Voting Right to Women
The Supreme Court decides in Minor v.
Happersett that a Missouri law limiting the
right to vote to male citizens is constitu-
tional. The Court rejects the claim by Vir-
ginia Minor that the state law deprives her
of one of the “privileges or immunities” of
citizenship in violation of the 14th Amend-
ment. While women are “persons” under
the 14th Amendment, the Court says, they
are a special category of “non-voting” citi-
zens, and states may grant or deny them
the right to vote. -
National Association of Colored Women Organized
Leaders of more than 100 African Ameri-
can women’s clubs unite to form an orga-
nization to promote equality for women,
raise funds for projects that benefit women
and children and oppose segregation and
racial violence. In 1935, Mary McLeod
Bethune will organize the National Coun-
cil of Negro Women, a coalition of black
women’s groups that lobbies against job
discrimination, racism and sexism. -
The 19th Amendment Is Ratified
Seventy-two years after the Seneca Falls
Convention, the 19th Amendment, which
gives women the right to vote, is ratified.
Only one person who had signed the con-
vention’s Declaration of Sentiments and
Resolutions, Charlotte Woodward, is alive
and able to exercise her right to vote. The
amendment reads: “The right of citizens
of the United States to vote shall not be de-
nied or abridged by the United States or by
any state on account of sex.” -
League of Women Voters Created
After ratification of the 19th Amendment,
the League of Women Voters is founded
to educate women about their right to vote
and encourage them to exercise it. Today,
the league promotes greater participation
in the democratic process and advocates
on a wide range of public policy issues. -
First Equal Rights Amendment Introduced
Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party
succeed in having a constitutional amend-
ment introduced in Congress that says:
“Men and women shall have equal rights
throughout the United States and every
place subject to its jurisdiction.” In 1943,
it is revised to what is known today as the
Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA was
sent to the states for ratification in 1972
with a seven-year deadline and quickly
won 22 of the necessary 38 ratifications.
But the pace slowed as opposition began
to organi -
Eleanor Roosevelt Leads Commission on the Status of Women
President John F. Kennedy establishes the Pres-
ident’s Commission on the Status of Women
and appoints Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwom-
an. Although she dies in 1962, a report is issued
in 1963 documenting substantial discrimina-
tion against women in the workplace. It makes
recommendations for improvement, including
fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and
affordable child care. -
Title VII of the Civil Rights Actof 1964 Passed
Title VII bars employment discrimination
by private employers, employment agen-
cies and unions based on race, sex, and
other grounds. To
enforce the law,
the Equal Employ-
ment Opportunity
Commission is cre-
ated. In 1980, the
commission
will
issue
guidelines
that define sexual
harassment as ille-
gal sex-based dis-
crimination under
Title VII. -
Civil Rights ProtectionsExtended to Women
President Lyndon B. Johnson issues
Executive Order 11375, which expands
affirmative action policies of 1965 to
cover discrimination based on sex. As a
result, federal agencies and contractors
must take active measures to ensure that
women, as well as minorities, have the
same employment and educational oppor-
tunities as men. -
Congress Passes Title IXof the Education Amendments
The law requires that schools receiving
federal funds provide equal access to edu-
cational programs for men and women.
Among other things, Title IX is credited
with the explosive growth of sports for
women and girls at the high school, col-
legiate and professional levels. The law
will take effect in 1976 after withstanding
repeated court challenges. -
Supreme Court Establishes Abortion Right
In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decides
that a woman has a constitutional right
to choose whether to have an abortion or
carry her pregnancy to term, effectively
nullifying anti-abortion laws in 46 states. -
Women-Only Branches in U.S. Military Eliminated
The male-only draft during the Vietnam
War ends, and women are integrated into
all branches of the U.S. military as they
become all-volunteer forces. In 1976,
U.S. military academies will be required
to admit women. Over the years, military
policy that prevented women from combat
assignments will ease. In the Afghanistan
and Iraq wars, women will
become more fully involved
on the battlefield.