Suffrage at Last

August 24, 1920

Susan B. Anthony was a leader in the suffrage movement, serving as the head of the National Woman Suffrage Association.

She practiced Civil Disobedience (a nonviolent refusal to obey a law in an effort to change the law.)

1. Get individual states to permit women to vote• At first this approach seemed to be more

successful…..especially in the western states2. Press for a constitutional amendment

• The more difficult of the two approaches • 1868 an amendment introduced in Congress stalled• 1878 an amendment introduced finally received a

committee hearing• Elizabeth Stanton described the chair of the

committee, Senator Wadleigh of New Hampshire as a picture of “inattention and contempt.” It stalled again

• 1887 it was debated again and but got defeated in the Senate by a vote 16 for to 34 against, and 26 absent

• Supports reintroduced the bill (Anthony Amendment as it had been named) every year until 1896 into which it disappeared until 1913

Suffragists failed in the courts to get the ability to vote, so they turned to their only available option: a Constitutional Amendment.

Two options are available to make an amendment:

1. Get 2/3rds of each house to pass the measure, then get 3/4ths of the states to pass it.

2. Get individual states to give women the right to vote.

Women used parades, rallies, and public debates to generate interest

and publicity for their cause.

But in the South, there was an effort to get only white women to

vote, perpetuating established patterns of racism.

Another suffrage group, the Congressional Union,

demonstrated in front of the White House, burned Wilson in effigy, and burned copies of Wilson’s speeches. Many of

these women were put in prison.

Many of the Western states gave women the right to vote, leading to slow change throughout the nation.

Finally in 1918 Congress proposed the suffrage amendment. On August 24, 1920, Tennessee became the critical 36th state to ratify the amendment.

They think I’m hot!

He’shot!

The 19th Amendment marked the last major

reform of the Progressive

Era.

Key Terms to Know• Susan B. Anthony

• National Woman Suffrage Association

• Civil Disobedience

• Congressional Union

• The 19th Amendment