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Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-28195)In 1848, taking up the cause of women’s rights, Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton call a convention at Seneca Falls, New York, the first of its kind, “to discuss the social, civil, and religious rights of women.” The convention issues a “Declaration of Sentiments” modeled on the Declaration of Independence; it begins by asserting that “all men and women are created equal.”
Daguerreotype collection/Visual materials from the Blackwell family papers/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ6-2055)In 1850 the first national convention of the women’s rights movement is held in Worcester, Massachusetts, by Lucy Stone and a group of prominent Eastern suffragists. Another convention, held in Syracuse, New York, in 1852, is the first joint venture between Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.
1869
The National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) is formed with the aim of securing the ballot for women through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Anthony and Stanton lead the organization. Stone helps establish another organization, the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), with the aim of securing woman suffrage by obtaining amendments to the constitutions of the various states.
1872
In Rochester, New York, Anthony casts a vote in the U.S. presidential election. Police arrest her. A court convicts her and fines her, but she refuses to pay the fine. She insists, “There shall never be another season of silence until women have the same rights men have on this green earth.”
1878
Congress considers amending the U.S. Constitution so that women can vote. The bill fails overwhelmingly.
1890
women's suffrageAn international gathering of women's suffrage advocates held in Washington, D.C., in 1888. Seated (from left) are Alice Scotchard (England), Susan B. Anthony (United States), Isabella Bogelot (France), Elizabeth Cady Stanton (United States), Matilda Joslyn Gage (United States), and Baroness Alexandra Gripenberg (Finland). The names of the individuals standing could not be determined.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.The NWSA and the AWSA unite under the name National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).
1914
Congress again considers a women’s suffrage bill. This one also fails.
1917–18
The United States enters World War I in 1917. The war, and the major role that women played in it in various capacities, breaks down most of the remaining opposition to women’s suffrage in the United States. By 1918 both major political parties are committed to women’s suffrage. A women’s suffrage amendment is carried by the necessary two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate in January 1918 and June 1919, respectively. Vigorous campaigns follow to secure ratification of the amendment by two-thirds of the state legislatures.
August 18, 1920
Tennessee becomes the 36th state to formally approve the women’s suffrage amendment. This means the amendment can become federal law.
August 26, 1920
The Nineteenth Amendment is formally proclaimed as part of the U.S. Constitution. Women are enfranchised on an equal basis with men.
Courtesy of the League of Women Voters of IllinoisFollowing the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment, Carrie Chapman Catt reorganizes the two million-strong NAWSA into the League of Women Voters. This organization will continue to work for progressive legislation on a national and local level.
