Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

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Amendment XIX in the National Archives
Amendment XIX in the National Archives

The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution provides that neither any individual state nor the federal government may deny a citizen the right to vote because of that citizen's sex.

Contents

[edit] Text

“ The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

 ”

[edit] History

The Nineteenth Amendment was specifically intended to extend suffrage to women. It was proposed on June 4, 1919 and ratified on August 18, 1920.

The Nineteenth Amendment was the culmination of the work of many activists in favor of women's suffrage. One such group called the Silent Sentinels protested in front of the White House for 18 months starting in 1917 to raise awareness of the issue.

On January 9, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson announced his support of the amendment. The next day, the House of Representatives narrowly passed the amendment but the Senate refused to even debate it until October. When the Senate voted on the amendment in October, it failed by three votes.[1]

In response, the National Woman's Party urged citizens to vote against anti-suffrage senators up for election in the fall of 1918. After the 1918 election, most members of Congress were pro-suffrage. On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment by a vote of 304 to 89, and 2 weeks later on June 4, the Senate finally followed, where the amendment passed by a vote of 56 to 25.[2]

It was ratified on August 18, 1920, upon its ratification by Tennessee, the thirty-sixth state to do so. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920.

On February 27, 1922, a challenge to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment was rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Leser v. Garnett, 258 U.S. 130 (1922).

[edit] Proposal and ratification

The Congress proposed the Nineteenth Amendment on June 4, 1919.[3] The following states ratified the amendment:

  1. Illinois (June 10, 1919, reaffirmed on June 17, 1919)
  2. Michigan (June 10, 1919)
  3. Wisconsin (June 10, 1919)
  4. Kansas (June 16, 1919)
  5. New York (June 16, 1919)
  6. Ohio (June 16, 1919)
  7. Pennsylvania (June 24, 1919)
  8. Massachusetts (June 25, 1919)
  9. Texas (June 28, 1919)
  10. Iowa (July 2, 1919)[4]
  11. Missouri (July 3, 1919)
  12. Arkansas (July 28, 1919)
  13. Montana (August 2, 1919)[4]
  14. Nebraska (August 2, 1919)
  15. Minnesota (September 8, 1919)
  16. New Hampshire (September 10, 1919)[4]
  17. Utah (October 2, 1919)
  18. California (November 1, 1919)
  19. Maine (November 5, 1919)
  20. North Dakota (December 1, 1919)
  21. South Dakota (December 4, 1919)
  22. Colorado (December 15, 1919)[4]
  23. Kentucky (January 6, 1920)
  24. Rhode Island (January 6, 1920)
  25. Oregon (January 13, 1920)
  26. Indiana (January 16, 1920)
  27. Wyoming (January 27, 1920)
  28. Nevada (February 7, 1920)
  29. New Jersey (February 9, 1920)
  30. Idaho (February 11, 1920)
  31. Arizona (February 12, 1920)
  32. New Mexico (February 21, 1920)
  33. Oklahoma (February 28, 1920)
  34. West Virginia (March 10, 1920, confirmed on September 21, 1920)
  35. Washington (March 22, 1920)
  36. Tennessee (August 18, 1920)

Ratification was completed on August 18, 1920. The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following states:

  1. Connecticut (September 14, 1920, reaffirmed on September 21, 1920)
  2. Vermont (February 8, 1921)
  3. Delaware (March 6, 1923, after being rejected on June 2, 1920)
  4. Maryland (March 29, 1941 after being rejected on February 24, 1920; not certified until February 25, 1958)
  5. Virginia (February 21, 1952, after being rejected on February 12, 1920)
  6. Alabama (September 8, 1953, after being rejected on September 22, 1919)
  7. Florida (May 13, 1969)[5]
  8. South Carolina (July 1, 1969, after being rejected on January 28, 1920; not certified until August 22, 1973)
  9. Georgia (February 20, 1970, after being rejected on July 24, 1919)
  10. Louisiana (June 11, 1970, after being rejected on July 1, 1920)
  11. North Carolina (May 6, 1971)
  12. Mississippi (March 22, 1984, after being rejected on March 29, 1920)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hakim, Joy (1995). War, Peace, and All That Jazz. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 29-33. ISBN 0-19-509514-6. 
  2. ^ Modern History Sourcebook. Retrieved on Jul 28, 2007.
  3. ^ Mount, Steve (Jan 2007). Ratification of Constitutional Amendments. Retrieved on Feb 24, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d date on which approved by governor
  5. ^ For more on Florida's ratification

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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