1848 - 1920
A Legacy of Struggle: The Fight for Women's Suffrage
The Beginning: Seneca Falls and the Birth of the Movement (1848)
In July 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. This historic gathering marked the formal beginning of the women’s suffrage movement in the United States. The convention produced the Declaration of Sentiments, a revolutionary document modeled after the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming that "all men and women are created equal." The declaration demanded the right to vote for women, a radical idea at the time.
Over 300 attendees participated, including prominent abolitionist Frederick Douglass, who argued passionately in favor of universal suffrage. Douglass later wrote, "Right is of no sex—truth is of no color—God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren." [1] The convention laid the ideological foundation for the decades of activism that followed.
Petitioning Congress: The Early Fight for Enfranchisement (1871)
Following the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870, which granted Black men the right to vote, suffragists intensified their calls for women’s enfranchisement. In December 1871, a petition signed by Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other activists was submitted to Congress. This petition demanded suffrage rights for women and requested the privilege of addressing Congress directly.
Anthony and Stanton, co-founders of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869, recognized that federal action was essential to securing voting rights for women. Despite the petition’s rejection, it symbolized a growing movement that would not relent in its demands.
Civil Disobedience: Susan B. Anthony’s 1872 Vote
In 1872, Susan B. Anthony escalated the fight for suffrage by testing the boundaries of the law. She registered to vote in Rochester, New York, and cast her ballot in the presidential election. Anthony was subsequently arrested and charged with "knowingly, wrongfully, and unlawfully" voting. Her trial gained national attention, and though she was convicted and fined $100, she defiantly declared, "I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty." [2]
Anthony’s act of civil disobedience highlighted the injustice of women’s disenfranchisement and brought national awareness to the suffrage cause. Her refusal to pay the fine became a symbolic protest against systemic inequality.
The Role of Black Women in the Suffrage Movement
Black women were vital contributors to the suffrage movement, often linking the fight for voting rights to broader struggles for racial equality. Activists like Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, and Adella Hunt Logan emphasized the dual oppression of racism and sexism that Black women faced.
Wells-Barnett, a journalist and anti-lynching activist, famously confronted racism within the suffrage movement itself. During the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., she refused to march in a segregated section designated for Black participants and instead joined the Illinois delegation. Terrell, the first president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), declared, "A white woman has only one handicap to overcome—that of sex. I have two—both sex and race." [3]
Logan, writing in The Crisis, argued that Black women needed the vote even more urgently than white women because they were victims of both racial and gender discrimination. Their activism broadened the suffrage movement’s goals and highlighted the interconnectedness of social justice issues.
Unifying the Movement: The Push for a Federal Amendment (1916)
By 1916, major suffrage organizations united behind the goal of a federal constitutional amendment. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), led by Carrie Chapman Catt, focused on state-level campaigns, while the National Woman’s Party (NWP), led by Alice Paul, adopted more militant tactics to pressure the federal government.
In 1917, New York State granted women the right to vote, marking a significant victory for the movement. The following year, President Woodrow Wilson, who had previously opposed a federal amendment, publicly endorsed women’s suffrage, declaring, "We have made partners of the women in this war; shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and not to a partnership of privilege and right?" [4]
Militancy and World War I
During World War I, militant suffragists demanded that President Wilson support a federal amendment. Members of the NWP stood vigil outside the White House with banners comparing Wilson to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. These protests, seen as unpatriotic by some, provoked violence and arrests, yet they kept the suffrage issue in the national spotlight.
![Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War Letter to U.S. House Judiciary Committee Many of the women who had been active in the suffrage movement in the 1860s and 1870s continued their involvement over 50 years later. Mary O. Stevens, secretary and press correspondent of the Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War was one such woman. In 1917 she asked the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to help the cause of woman suffrage by explaining, "My father trained me in my childhood days to expect this right. I have given my help to the agitation, and work[ed] for its coming a good many years."](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXGufEwgtoG_7Nsl7q4kHJB0pfap88ykhZSUhhlRHhQwSQNZg3NKIY8GTp1fo3Tk1hcksyzUGCbh_nFDRY_NWVI3HGH8vfHZFFVP-3jmdPaqESfJA-K-_Pvz-jKBWxpFaNOe8wWjjC_w/s1600/army-nurses-l.gif "Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War Letter to U.S. House Judiciary Committee - - http://womansuffrage.com/")
The contrast between the United States’ rhetoric about democracy abroad and its denial of voting rights to women at home intensified calls for change. The suffragists’ persistence pressured lawmakers to act, even in the face of widespread opposition.
Ratification of the 19th Amendment (1920)
The 19th Amendment was first passed by the House of Representatives in 1919 with a vote of 304 to 90 and subsequently by the Senate at 56 to 25. The ratification process moved swiftly in some states but faced resistance in others. The final showdown occurred in Tennessee in August 1920.
In a dramatic turn of events, 24-year-old legislator Harry Burn changed his vote in favor of suffrage after receiving a letter from his mother urging him to "be a good boy." Despite last-minute efforts by anti-suffragists to delay the process, Tennessee reaffirmed its vote, becoming the 36th state to ratify the amendment. On August 24, 1920, the 19th Amendment was officially adopted, guaranteeing women the constitutional right to vote.
Global Context: Women’s Suffrage as a Human Right
In the decades following the 19th Amendment’s ratification, women’s suffrage was increasingly recognized as a universal human right. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), adopted by the United Nations in 1979, affirmed the global importance of enfranchising women. However, some nations, particularly in the Muslim Middle East, continued to deny women the vote, highlighting the ongoing struggle for gender equality worldwide.
The Legacy of Women’s Suffrage
The fight for women’s suffrage transformed American society, securing a fundamental democratic right for half the population. From the Seneca Falls Convention to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the movement demonstrated the power of collective action and the resilience of those who challenged entrenched norms.
The success of the suffrage movement serves as a testament to the persistence of activists who refused to accept inequality. It also underscores the importance of civic engagement in advancing social justice. The records preserved by the National Archives and projects like Failure is Impossible ensure that this history remains a living resource, inspiring future generations to continue the pursuit of equality. -- Source: The National Archives Lessons By ERA
Footnotes
[1] Frederick Douglass, The North Star, 1848.
[2] Susan B. Anthony, Speech at Monroe County Court House, Rochester, NY, 1873.
[3] Mary Church Terrell, Address to the NACW, 1898.
[4] Woodrow Wilson, Speech to the Senate on Woman Suffrage, 1918.
For students and teachers of U.S. history, this video features Stanley and Christopher Klos presenting America's Four United Republics Curriculum at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Filmed in December 2015, this video is an informal recording by an audience member capturing a presentation attended by approximately 200 students, professors, and guests. To explore the full curriculum, [download it here].
September 5, 1774 | October 22, 1774 | |
October 22, 1774 | October 26, 1774 | |
May 20, 1775 | May 24, 1775 | |
May 25, 1775 | July 1, 1776 |
July 2, 1776 to February 28, 1781
July 2, 1776 | October 29, 1777 | |
November 1, 1777 | December 9, 1778 | |
December 10, 1778 | September 28, 1779 | |
September 29, 1779 | February 28, 1781 |
March 1, 1781 to March 3, 1789
March 1, 1781 | July 6, 1781 | |
July 10, 1781 | Declined Office | |
July 10, 1781 | November 4, 1781 | |
November 5, 1781 | November 3, 1782 | |
November 4, 1782 | November 2, 1783 | |
November 3, 1783 | June 3, 1784 | |
November 30, 1784 | November 22, 1785 | |
November 23, 1785 | June 5, 1786 | |
June 6, 1786 | February 1, 1787 | |
February 2, 1787 | January 21, 1788 | |
January 22, 1788 | January 21, 1789 |
Commander-in-Chief United States of America
United States in Congress Assembled (USCA) Sessions
USCA | Session Dates | USCA Convene Date | President(s) |
First | 03-01-1781 to 11-04-1781* | 03-02-1781 | |
Second | 11-05-1781 to 11-03-1782 | 11-05-1781 | |
Third | 11-04-1782 to 11-02-1783 | 11-04-1782 | |
Fourth | 11-03-1783 to 10-31-1784 | 11-03-1783 | |
Fifth | 11-01-1784 to 11-06-1785 | 11-29-1784 | |
Sixth | 11-07-1785 to 11-05-1786 | 11-23-1785 | |
Seventh | 11-06-1786 to 11-04-1787 | 02-02-1787 | |
Eighth | 11-05-1787 to 11-02-1788 | 01-21-1788 | |
Ninth | 11-03-1788 to 03-03-1789** | None | None |
* The Articles of Confederation was ratified by the mandated 13th State on February 2, 1781, and the dated adopted by the Continental Congress to commence the new United States in Congress Assembled government was March 1, 1781. The USCA convened under the Articles of Confederation Constitution on March 2, 1781.** On September 14, 1788, the Eighth United States in Congress Assembled resolved that March 4th, 1789, would be commencement date of the Constitution of 1787's federal government thus dissolving the USCA on March 3rd, 1789.
Philadelphia | Sept. 5, 1774 to Oct. 24, 1774 | |
Philadelphia | May 10, 1775 to Dec. 12, 1776 | |
Baltimore | Dec. 20, 1776 to Feb. 27, 1777 | |
Philadelphia | March 4, 1777 to Sept. 18, 1777 | |
Lancaster | September 27, 1777 | |
York | Sept. 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778 | |
Philadelphia | July 2, 1778 to June 21, 1783 | |
Princeton | June 30, 1783 to Nov. 4, 1783 | |
Annapolis | Nov. 26, 1783 to Aug. 19, 1784 | |
Trenton | Nov. 1, 1784 to Dec. 24, 1784 | |
New York City | Jan. 11, 1785 to Nov. 13, 1788 | |
New York City | October 6, 1788 to March 3,1789 | |
New York City | March 3,1789 to August 12, 1790 | |
Philadelphia | Dec. 6,1790 to May 14, 1800 | |
Washington DC | November 17,1800 to Present |
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