The 19th Amendment: From Seneca Falls To Ratification Americans have long fought for equal rights, and they continue to fight for them today. Despite America’s founding idea of democracy, only white Protestant male who owned property could actually vote. As voting rights evolved, all white males gained the right to vote without discrimination towards age or social status. Even with the evolution of voting rights, women remained barred from the ballot. Though the Suffrage Movement started as a women’s social movement, it evolved into a driving force that held the power to ratify a nineteenth constitutional amendment. The Women’s Rights Movement introduced the idea of universal suffrage at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York, headed
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Anthony participated in this plan and applied to vote in November of 1872. However, voting officials did not stop Anthony from casting her ballot illegally, which led to her arrest two weeks later. The infamous Justice Ward Hunt presided over the case, showing his blatant distaste for the trial. Hunt even prevented Anthony from testifying in court, instructing the jury to find her guilty. The jury complied and sentenced her to a fine of $100. While Anthony’s case failed in regards to the NWSA’s mission, another case prevailed. Virginia Minor, a member of the NWSA and founder of the Woman Suffrage Association of Missouri, applied to vote on October 15, 1872. Voting officials denied her application because it violated the Missouri constitution, which stated that male citizens retained the right to vote. Minor sued at the Missouri State Court for violation of her Fourteenth Amendment Rights. She lost her case and then appealed to the State Supreme Court, where she lost again. Minor then appealed to the United States Supreme Court in Minor v. Happerstet. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court declared that the Fourteenth Amendment does not include the right to vote among the privileges it entitles to citizens. Thus, Minor’s rights remained unviolated. No longer relying on the Fourteenth Amendment, the Suffrage Movement turned to a state-by-state approach before going on to become a national movement. In 1878, Susan B. Anthony and …show more content…
In 1849 California became the first state to hold a constitution which extended property rights to women. In 1860 in Vineland, New Jersey, 172 women cast their ballots in a separate box for the presidential election. Maine also allowed women to vote, but only in selective elections. In 1868 Senator S.C. Pomeroy of Kansas introduced a federal women’s suffrage bill to congress, though it did not succeed. In 1887 Anthony first introduced the Anthony Bill, which the Senate voted against. Wyoming had adopted suffrage as a territory in 1869, and in 1890 it joined the Union, becoming the first state with general women’s suffrage. Likewise, other states soon began ratifying suffrage at the state level. Colorado adopted women’s suffrage in 1893 and in 1896 Utah and Idaho joined as well. 1910 saw the state of Washington adopt suffrage and in 1911 the California suffrage campaign succeeded, but only by a small margin. Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona adopted suffrage in 1912, with Nevada and Montana following in 1914. Several states including New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania continued to reject suffrage. While Arkansas did not adopt full state-wide suffrage, they did allow women to vote in the 1917 primaries. 1917 was also the year New York finally adopted suffrage. In 1918 the Anthony Bill passed in the House of Representatives but continued to fail in the Senate. That same year, Michigan, South
Anthony participated in this plan and applied to vote in November of 1872. However, voting officials did not stop Anthony from casting her ballot illegally, which led to her arrest two weeks later. The infamous Justice Ward Hunt presided over the case, showing his blatant distaste for the trial. Hunt even prevented Anthony from testifying in court, instructing the jury to find her guilty. The jury complied and sentenced her to a fine of $100. While Anthony’s case failed in regards to the NWSA’s mission, another case prevailed. Virginia Minor, a member of the NWSA and founder of the Woman Suffrage Association of Missouri, applied to vote on October 15, 1872. Voting officials denied her application because it violated the Missouri constitution, which stated that male citizens retained the right to vote. Minor sued at the Missouri State Court for violation of her Fourteenth Amendment Rights. She lost her case and then appealed to the State Supreme Court, where she lost again. Minor then appealed to the United States Supreme Court in Minor v. Happerstet. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court declared that the Fourteenth Amendment does not include the right to vote among the privileges it entitles to citizens. Thus, Minor’s rights remained unviolated. No longer relying on the Fourteenth Amendment, the Suffrage Movement turned to a state-by-state approach before going on to become a national movement. In 1878, Susan B. Anthony and …show more content…
In 1849 California became the first state to hold a constitution which extended property rights to women. In 1860 in Vineland, New Jersey, 172 women cast their ballots in a separate box for the presidential election. Maine also allowed women to vote, but only in selective elections. In 1868 Senator S.C. Pomeroy of Kansas introduced a federal women’s suffrage bill to congress, though it did not succeed. In 1887 Anthony first introduced the Anthony Bill, which the Senate voted against. Wyoming had adopted suffrage as a territory in 1869, and in 1890 it joined the Union, becoming the first state with general women’s suffrage. Likewise, other states soon began ratifying suffrage at the state level. Colorado adopted women’s suffrage in 1893 and in 1896 Utah and Idaho joined as well. 1910 saw the state of Washington adopt suffrage and in 1911 the California suffrage campaign succeeded, but only by a small margin. Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona adopted suffrage in 1912, with Nevada and Montana following in 1914. Several states including New York, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania continued to reject suffrage. While Arkansas did not adopt full state-wide suffrage, they did allow women to vote in the 1917 primaries. 1917 was also the year New York finally adopted suffrage. In 1918 the Anthony Bill passed in the House of Representatives but continued to fail in the Senate. That same year, Michigan, South