The Nineteenth Amendment Grants Women Suffrage
Grade 8 students study how the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1920, granted American women the right to vote after decades of campaigning by suffragists like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Carrie Chapman Catt. The suffrage movement used both traditional lobbying and militant demonstrations to achieve this landmark victory. This topic appears in California myWorld Interactive Grade 8.
Key Concepts
For much of American history, the right to vote was largely determined by individual states, and most denied this right to women. This led to a long and organized political movement known as women's suffrage , which sought to secure voting rights for all women through a constitutional amendment.
After decades of advocacy, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920. It states that the right of citizens to vote "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." This amendment was a landmark expansion of American democracy, overriding state laws to guarantee the vote to millions of women.
Common Questions
When did women get the right to vote in the U.S.?
Women gained the constitutional right to vote when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, after more than 70 years of campaigning by the women's suffrage movement.
Who led the fight for women's suffrage?
Key suffrage leaders included Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Carrie Chapman Catt of NAWSA, as well as more militant activists like Alice Paul who picketed the White House during World War I.
What tactics did suffragists use to win voting rights?
Suffragists used state-by-state campaigns, congressional lobbying, parades, petitions, hunger strikes while imprisoned, and picketing the White House to pressure Congress and the president to support the 19th Amendment.
What chapter in California myWorld Interactive Grade 8 covers the 19th Amendment?
California myWorld Interactive Grade 8 covers the 19th Amendment and women's suffrage victory in its chapters on the Progressive Era and reform movements.