In 1920, The 19th amendment granted all American women the right to vote. Before the 19th Amendment, which states already gave women the right to vote?
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Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. Before the 19th Amendment, some states had already granted women full suffrage (the right to vote in any election.) What American states had granted women full suffrage by 1917 (Note: Alaska and Hawaii did not become states until 1959)?
In 1917 Arkansas had granted women “Primary suffrage” which meant that women could vote only in primary (not general) elections. In six Midwestern states, women had been given the right to Presidential suffrage (meaning they could only vote in presidential elections.). In 1917, How many American states had given women no suffrage?
In general, how would you describe women’s suffrage in other countries on the map above outside of the United States?
In general, how would you describe the geographical split in women’s suffrage within the United States as illustrated by the map above?
Contrary to popular opinion, the 19th Amendment did not give women the right to vote - it guaranteed women the right to vote. By the time the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, women in many states and territories already had the right to vote. The following states granted women the right to vote prior to the 19th Amendment:
1890 Wyoming
1893 Colorado
1896 Utah, Idaho
1910 Washington
1911 California
1912 Arizona, Kansas, Oregon
1914 Montana, Nevada
1917 New York
1918 Michigan, Oklahoma, South Dakota
Explain the difference between giving and guaranteeing voting rights.
Big Brain Questions
Answer these questions by yourself using your brain and the links below:
According to Virginia Scharff, distinguished professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico and senior scholar at the Autry Museum of the American West, Wyoming was just a territory when it started letting women vote in 1869, which led to a cascade of other Western territories and states allowing the same. Territories like Wyoming wanted more white settlers. More white settlers would allow territories to become states. Western states figured they could bring more white women out by allowing them to vote. According to Scharff, “Long story short, if they could get white women out here, white men would be more likely to settle down, and unsettle the Native People who live there. Really the bottom line is colonialism and white supremacy kind of combined to create ideal conditions under which this women’s suffrage law could pass.” Make a claim explaining why so many of the first states to give women suffrage were Western states?
The abolition of slavery in 1865 prompted a national deliberation about citizenship and voting rights. During the debates on the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, women’s rights advocates lobbied—unsuccessfully—to enshrine woman suffrage in the Constitution. Explain the connection between voting rights for African Americans and women.
Why do you think that Black men received the vote (15th Amendment - 1870) fifty years before White women (19th Amendment - 1920)?
Describe the biggest long term impact of women gaining the right to vote.
In 1797 New Jersey made history by recognizing the right of women to vote. The New Jersey Assembly passed the 1797 voting law, recognizing the right of women to vote across the state. New Jersey women voted in large numbers until 1807, when the Assembly passed a law limiting suffrage to free white males. Rights can be given and taken away. Imagine the 19th Amendment was repealed and women were not guaranteed the right to vote. What states, if any, do you think would still deny women the vote?
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Get Creative
In February 1868, suffragist Laura De Force Gordon created a sensation by lecturing about woman suffrage in San Francisco. Gordon followed up by giving several suffrage talks in Nevada before returning to California to organize suffrage societies. Inspired by Gordon, the 1869 Nevada legislature passed an amendment to eliminate the words “male” and “white” from the voting requirements in the state constitution. What do you think life would have been like for someone who worked so hard to overturn laws that had benefited whites and men. Imagine the people who would have been opposed to Gordon and her ideas. Make something creative to explore the fight between those who wanted change and those who wanted to preserve things.
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