Summary

Grants women the right to vote.

History and Context

The Nineteenth Amendment was the triumphant result of a grueling, seventy-two-year struggle. The women's suffrage movement, born at Seneca Falls in 1848, was one of the most brilliant and determined political movements in American history. Generations of women organized, marched, picketed, and were arrested in their fight for the ballot. They argued that a government that taxed them and passed laws that affected them, but denied them a voice, was illegitimate. The amendment, often called the 'Susan B. Anthony Amendment,' was a monumental step towards a more inclusive and just democracy, finally granting millions of women the most basic right of citizenship.

Key Figures