Ratification Of The 19th Amendment

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The 19th Amendment; From the Seneca Falls Convention to Its Ratification The people of America have long fought for equal rights and they continue to fight for them today. The Constitution originally deemed several freedoms to be so important that the Founding Fathers wrote them out in the Bill of Rights. Unfortunately for some, universal suffrage was not amongst those rights. While voting was limited at the founding of America, white males eventually gained the right to vote without discrimination towards age or social status. However, women remained barred from the ballot, regardless of race. Though the Suffrage Movement started as a women’s social movement, it evolved into a driving force that would hold the power to ratify a nineteenth …show more content…
In 1917 Wilson began supporting the Suffrage Movement, and the process for the bill to become a ratified amendment began. Ratification of an amendment occurs via one of two processes in the legislature. The House of Representatives and Senate can vote the amendment in either by a two-thirds majority or via a constitutional convention. Once proposed by Congress, the states receive the amendment for ratification in a required three-fourths vote, or 38 out of 50 states. Only then can the amendment officially become part of the …show more content…
At the time, 15 states had suffrage at the state level, but the Anthony Bill would push for suffrage at a national level. It was not until June 4, 1919 that the Senate finally passed the Anthony Bill by a vote of 56 to 25, and the bill moved on to the states for ratification. Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin ratified the bill in only six days. On June 16, 1919, Kansas, New York, and Ohio ratified as well. From June of 1919 to March of 1920, there was a constant stream of states ratifying the amendment. In the end a total of 38 states had passed the amendment, leaving the bill two votes shy of being ratified as part of the constitution. After Washington ratified in March of 1920, there was a long four month wait until Tennessee finally ratified on August 18, 1920, the last state required to do so. While a majority of the United States ended up being in favor of nationwide suffrage, the Deep South was not. Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia were all adamantly against the bill, rejecting it outright. Tennessee itself remained so divided that on August 31, 1920, their House of Representatives voted to recall their ratification. However, by that time the United States Secretary of State had already ratified the amendment as part of the
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