August 18, 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote. The Amendment states: “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.”
While women could not be denied the right to vote simply by being a woman, other obstacles were in place that prevented women of all backgrounds from making their voices heard. A number of important events occurred in the years preceding the ratification of this amendment, and continued after to ensure that all women in the United States were eligible and able to vote. Here are some key events on the road to women’s suffrage:
1776: The Declaration of Independence. Abigail Adams writes to her husband John, telling him to “remember the ladies” when writing the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence instead states that “all men are created equal.”
1848: Seneca Falls Convention. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott launch the women’s rights movement on a national level with the convention at Seneca Falls. They form the convention after a suggestion from former slave, abolitionist, and writer Frederick Douglass. They draft and sign the “Declaration of Sentiments Resolutions,” which outlines the goals for the women’s movement.
1872: The struggle to have a voice. Susan B. Anthony is arrested for voting. Sojourner Truth demands to vote but is turned away. Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman to run for president even though women are not allowed to vote.
1920: The 19th Amendment passes, giving women the right to vote. There are still significant obstacles for many women, especially for those who are not white or of a lower socioeconomic status. Poll taxes and literacy tests, which were part of the Jim Crow laws, are used to prevent many individuals from being able to vote.
1943: Chinese immigrant women get the right to vote with the Magnuson Act. Prior to the Magnuson Act, Chinese immigrants could not be considered United States citizens, and therefore could not vote. The Magnuson Act began to remedy what President Franklin D. Roosevelt called “a historic mistake” of Chinese exclusion. Though there was a quota on the number of Chinese immigrants given citizenship status, the Magnuson Act allowed those who were accepted (and future generations of their families) to be able to vote.
1948: Landmark cases Harrison v. Laveen and Trujillo v. Garley recognize the right to vote for Native Americans — including Native American women. The Snyder Act of 1924 granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States. Despite their citizenship, the right to vote for Native Americans could vary from state to state. The first state to enfranchise Native Americans to vote was Arizona, and the last was New Mexico in 1962.
1952: The 1790 Naturalization Act is struck down by the McCarran-Walter Act. In an effort to improve relations with Asian countries after World War II, this gave first generation Asian women and men the right to vote. Similar to the Magnuson Act, the McCarran-Walter Act gave citizenship (and voting rights) to Asian immigrants, but also limited their immigration to the United States. The children of those immigrants who came over, however, were fully naturalized citizens and had the right to vote.
1964: The 24th Amendment passes. This amendment abolished poll taxes and literacy tests, which disproportionately affected African Americans and individuals of lower socioeconomic status. This increased voting access for women and men all over the country.
1965: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 passes, preventing racial discrimination in voting, which increases African American women’s participation on elections. The Act protects the voter registration of racial minorities.
1975: An extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 calls for the destruction of discrimination to language-minorities, making it easier for Latina women to vote. An all-English ballot can be prohibitive for non-native speakers, and adding a ballot in the language of any group that possesses 5% of the population makes voting more accessible to everyone.