Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Amendment XIX (the Nineteenth Amendment) to the United States Constitution, also known as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, was passed by a joint resolution of the U.S. Congress on June 4, 1919, and was ratified by a thirty-sixth state, Tennessee, on August 18, 1920. The Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920. The amendment grants women the right to vote. It reads:
- 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.
On February 27, 1922, a challenge to the 19th Amendment was rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Interpretation and history
The 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 two votes.
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 56 to 25.
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