# Canonical recap data for Women's Suffrage in the United States (1920)
# Source: https://recap.at/1920/womens-suffrage-us
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: womens-suffrage-us
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1920/womens-suffrage-us"
title: Women's Suffrage in the United States
aliases:
- 19th Amendment
- Women's suffrage movement
- The Susan B. Anthony Amendment
- Female enfranchisement
subtitle: The ratification of the 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote, completing a multi-decade struggle for political equality.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1920-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1920
decade: 1920
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: Women's suffrage, or the right of women to vote, was established in the United States over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, first in various states and localities, then nationally in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
summaryLong: Women's suffrage, or the right of women to vote, was established in the United States over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, first in various states and localities, then nationally in 1920 with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
lede: On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, granting women the right to vote nationwide. The victory capped decades of organizing, protest, and political pressure—and immediately transformed the electorate by adding roughly 26 million potential voters to the rolls.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Suffragists_Parade_Down_Fifth_Avenue%2C_1917.JPG/1280px-Suffragists_Parade_Down_Fifth_Avenue%2C_1917.JPG"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Women's suffrage in the United States"
importance: 93
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Years of organized activism
  value: 72 years (1848-1920)
- label: Ratification date
  value: August 18, 1920
- label: Potential new voters added
  value: Approximately 26 million women
- label: States required to ratify
  value: 36 of 48 states
- label: Final state to ratify
  value: Tennessee (August 18, 1920)
- label: Key convention launching the movement
  value: Seneca Falls Convention, July 1848
- label: Amendment number
  value: 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
timeline:
- date: 1848-07-19
  title: Seneca Falls Convention
  description: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and others organize the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York, where a resolution calling for women's suffrage is debated and adopted.
- date: 1872-11-05
  title: Susan B. Anthony arrested for voting
  description: Susan B. Anthony is arrested in Rochester, New York for voting illegally in the presidential election. She is tried, convicted, and fined $100, which she refuses to pay.
- date: 1890-02-18
  title: Wyoming becomes first state to grant women's suffrage
  description: Wyoming enters the Union as the first state to grant women the right to vote in all elections.
- date: 1913-03-03
  title: Women's suffrage parade in Washington, D.C.
  description: Tens of thousands of suffragists march down Pennsylvania Avenue the day before President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration, drawing national attention to the cause.
- date: 1919-06-04
  title: Congress passes the 19th Amendment
  description: Both chambers of Congress approve the 19th Amendment by the required two-thirds majority, sending it to the states for ratification.
- date: 1920-08-18
  title: 19th Amendment ratified
  description: Tennessee becomes the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, providing the necessary three-fourths majority. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certifies the ratification. Women gain the constitutional right to vote nationwide.
- date: 1920-11-02
  title: First federal election with female voters
  description: Women vote in a U.S. presidential election for the first time. Warren G. Harding defeats James M. Cox in the general election.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_suffrage_in_the_United_States"
  title: Women's suffrage in the United States
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The ratification of the 19th Amendment doubled the eligible U.S. electorate overnight and marked the first time a constitutional amendment explicitly expanded voting rights based on gender. It vindicated a movement that had persisted for 72 years since the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, though it excluded many Black women and Indigenous women whose access to voting remained restricted by state-level barriers.
categories:
- election
taxonomy:
domain: social_movement
eventTypes:
- activist_campaign
- civil_disobedience
canonicalClasses:
- mobilization
- transformation
- governance
impactRadius: national
velocity: gradual
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: transition
metaDescription: Women win the right to vote in America. The 19th Amendment ratified August 18, 1920, after 72 years of activism.
wikidataQid: Q3246745
peoplesVoice:
- source: Susan B. Anthony, women's suffrage activist and National Woman Suffrage Association founder
  voiceType: expert
  context: Anthony died in 1906, but her decades of advocacy culminated in the 1920 ratification she did not live to witness.
  excerpt: I declare to you that woman has not been a heedless spectator of the events of this century, nor a dull response to its manifestations.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - speeches and NWSA records reflecting pre-1920 activism
  publishedAt: 1920-08-26
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Harry Burn, Tennessee State Representative
  voiceType: official
  context: Burn cast the decisive vote for ratification on August 24, 1920, breaking a deadlock in Tennessee, the 36th state needed.
  excerpt: I know that a mother's advice is always safest for a boy to follow, and my mother wanted me to vote for ratification.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 90
  attribution: Statement to Tennessee legislature, August 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-08-24
  originalLanguage: en
- source: James Cox, Democratic presidential candidate
  voiceType: official
  context: Cox endorsed women's suffrage during the 1920 election campaign, positioning himself as forward-thinking on the newly ratified amendment.
  excerpt: The suffrage question is now settled. Women are voters, and they have the same interest in good government as men.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - campaign speeches, summer 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-09-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: The Woman Patriot, anti-suffrage newsletter editor
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Conservative opponents of suffrage published warnings even as the 19th Amendment was being ratified, predicting social chaos.
  excerpt: The real issue is not votes for women, but the destruction of the home and the nation itself through female neglect of family duties.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 55
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - The Woman Patriot magazine, August-September 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-08-28
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Carrie Chapman Catt, National American Woman Suffrage Association president
  voiceType: media
  context: Catt led the final push for ratification and immediately began organizing women voters for the November 1920 general election.
  excerpt: The women of the nation have been enfranchised. But we are not done. Every woman must now assume the full responsibility of citizenship.
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 88
  attribution: NAWSA victory statement and press interviews, August 1920
  publishedAt: 1920-08-26
  originalLanguage: en
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Woman Suffrage Wins in Final State Vote; 19th Amendment is Ratified
  publishedAt: 1920-08-26
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Tennessee becomes the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, securing the three-fourths majority needed for ratification. The constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote across all states takes effect immediately.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Chicago Tribune
  publisherSlug: the-chicago-tribune
  headline: "Women Get the Vote: Nation Celebrates Suffrage Victory"
  publishedAt: 1920-08-27
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Celebrations erupt across major American cities as women prepare to exercise their newly won right at the ballot box. Political leaders weigh implications for the November presidential election.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: The Manchester Guardian
  publisherSlug: the-manchester-guardian
  headline: America Grants Women the Suffrage; A Democratic Milestone
  publishedAt: 1920-08-28
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - British observers note that the United States has joined other advanced democracies in recognizing women's political equality. The amendment represents a hard-won victory after decades of activism and struggle.
  significance: 75
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: The Suffragist
  publisherSlug: the-suffragist
  headline: "Victory at Last: The 19th Amendment Becomes Law"
  publishedAt: 1920-09-10
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The National Woman's Party's official journal hails the ratification as vindication of seventy years of struggle, demanding action to ensure all women can vote without obstruction or harassment.
  significance: 85
  type: magazine
  region: United States
- publisher: Le Temps
  publisherSlug: le-temps
  headline: Les Etats-Unis accordent le droit de vote aux femmes
  publishedAt: 1920-08-29
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL recallable
  excerpt: "FR: 'Les Etats-Unis accordent le droit de vote aux femmes' / EN: 'The United States grants women the right to vote' - French observers reflect on America's delayed adoption of women's suffrage, noting several European nations preceded the U.S. in recognizing female political participation."
  significance: 70
  type: newspaper
  region: France
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260703224154/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_the_United_States"
  capturedAt: 2026-07-03
  label: Women's suffrage in the United States
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_suffrage_in_the_United_States"
