Women's Rights Timeline

E. Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone ask friends to send petitions for women's suffrage

Dec 26, 1865

Stanton, Anthony, and Stone all wrote to friends to ask them to send petitions for women's suffrage to congress.

Universal Suffrage Petition

Jan 29, 1866

The Universal Suffrage Petition was one of the first national drives to focus on women’s voting rights and was signed by some of the most prominent women rights advocates at the time: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ernestine Rose, Lucy Stone, and Antoinette Brown Blackwell.
The petition asks for an amendment to the Constitution that shall prohibit the several states from disfranchising any of their citizens on the grounds of sex.

Womens March, Suffragette Parade, Washington, DC

Mar 3, 1913

Petition Protesting the Women's Suffrage Amendment

Jun 12, 1913

The citizens from Macon, Georgia, sent in a petition to Congress protesting the votes for the Women Suffrage Amendment. The petition sent in claims that the proposed women suffrage amendment is dangerous and could end up being hurtful to the best interests of the Country especially within the Southern states, with that, the result of the legislation proposed would be to destroy states' rights, along with white entitlement.

Joint Resolution Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution Extending the Right of Suffrage to Women

May 28, 1919

Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Jun 4, 1919

The federal woman suffrage amendment passes in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

19th Amendment

Aug 18, 1920

The 19th Amendment passed and gave women the right to vote

Tennessee's Ratification of the 19th Amendment

Aug 24, 1920

Tennessee was the 36th out of the existing 48 states at the time to ratify the 19th amendment, allowing women the right to vote.

Proposing an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution

Dec 13, 1923

The Equal Rights Amendment was introduced to Congress for the first time, introduced by Congressman Daniel Anthony. This amendment failed, as it did over 1,100 more attempts.

first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

Jan 12, 1932

Hattie Wyatt Caraway, of Arkansas, becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate

House Resolution, Prohibiting Discrimination in Pay on Account of Sex

Jun 19, 1944

Although not passed by Congress, this bill, introduced by Representative Winifred Stanley, was the first to propose that employers be required to pay women equal pay for equal work. This principle was later used to enact the Equal Pay Act of 1963.
H.R5056

The Equal Pay Act , 6/10/1963

Jun 10, 1963

The equal pay act of 1963 was passed and promised equitable wages for the same work, regardless of the race, color, religion, national origin, or sex of the worker.

Prohibition of Sex Discrimination

Jun 23, 1972

President Nixon signed the Education Amendments of 1972 that included Title IX, which prohibits discrimination in academic activities based on sex.

Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade makes abortion legal

Jan 22, 1973

This file consists of the civil cases, Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Wade. This plaintiff was seeking to obtain an abortion in Dallas, Texas.

first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

Jul 7, 1981

Sandra Day O'Connor being sworn in aa the first woman Supreme Court Justice by Chief Justice Warren Burger;

Wrongful Overturning of Roe V Wade

Jun 24, 2022

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 50 years of precedent, overruling Roe v. Wade.