Amendment 19 of 27 · 1920
Nineteenth Amendment
Women's right to vote
The one-line version
No government can deny or limit your right to vote because of your sex.
The Nineteenth Amendment in plain English
The right of U.S. citizens to vote cannot be denied or limited by the federal government or by any state because of sex.
Congress has the power to enforce this amendment by passing appropriate laws.
Original text, 1920
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.
Phrase by phrase
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged
- No one can take away or limit a citizen's right to vote
on account of sex
- because of their sex.
Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
- Congress can pass laws to enforce this.
Picture it
Example. Not legal advice.
You turn 18 and register to vote, along with friends of every gender. Each of you gets the same ballot and the same single vote. A little over 100 years ago, women in many states could not vote for President. The Nineteenth Amendment is the reason that changed everywhere.
What this means for you
Your sex cannot block your vote
The Nineteenth Amendment says no government can deny or limit your right to vote because of your sex. It applies to the federal government and every state. Women and men 18 or older vote on the same terms.
What it took
The campaign for women's right to vote started at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. It took 72 years of marches, petitions, and protests. Some suffragists were jailed for picketing the White House.
Not every woman could vote in 1920
Many Black women in the South still faced poll taxes, reading tests, and threats. Many Native American women were not citizens until 1924. For many women of color, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 mattered as much as the Nineteenth Amendment.
Myth check
MythWomen could not vote anywhere in the United States until 1920.
FactWyoming let women vote in 1869, while it was still a territory. By 1920, women already had full voting rights in more than a dozen states, mostly in the West.
MythAfter 1920, every woman could vote.
FactMany Black women in the South were blocked by poll taxes, reading tests, and threats until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Many Native American women could not vote until Congress made Native Americans citizens in 1924, and some states blocked them longer.
Common questions
What does the 19th Amendment say in simple terms?
No government can deny or limit a citizen's right to vote because of sex. It applies to the federal government and every state. Congress can pass laws to enforce it.
When did women get the right to vote?
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. It says the right to vote cannot be denied because of sex. Some states let women vote earlier, and many women of color still faced barriers after 1920.
Could women vote before the 19th Amendment?
Yes, in some places. Wyoming let women vote in 1869, while it was still a territory. By 1920, women had full voting rights in more than a dozen states, mostly in the West. Before then, each state decided.
Which state was the 36th to ratify the 19th Amendment?
Tennessee. It voted in August 1920, which met the three-fourths requirement. A 24-year-old lawmaker, Harry Burn, voted yes after his mother wrote asking him to.
Could all women vote after 1920?
No. Many Black women in the South were blocked by poll taxes, reading tests, and threats until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Many Native American women could not vote until Congress made Native Americans citizens in 1924, and some states blocked them longer.
Go deeper
The scene · 1920
In 1848, activists at Seneca Falls, New York, called for women's right to vote. For the next 72 years, suffragists marched, gave speeches, and were jailed for protesting outside the White House. In August 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify. A 24-year-old lawmaker, Harry Burn, voted yes after his mother wrote asking him to.
Back then
Before 1920, each state decided whether women could vote. The Fifteenth Amendment had protected voting against race discrimination but said nothing about sex. In Minor v. Happersett (1875), the Supreme Court said being a citizen did not by itself give women the right to vote. Suffragists then focused on a constitutional amendment.
Words that changed
- “suffrage”
ThenThe right to vote. Suffragists were people who fought for women's right to vote.
NowSame meaning, though the word is used less today.
Who argued what
Suffragists
Women are citizens who pay taxes and follow the laws. They should help choose the people who make those laws.
Anti-suffragists
Some argued that voting rules belonged to the states, not the federal government. Others argued women already had influence through family and community and did not need the vote.
Key cases
- 1875
Minor v. Happersett
Before this amendment, being a citizen did not by itself give women a constitutional right to vote.
- 1922
Leser v. Garnett
The Nineteenth Amendment was validly adopted and applies in every state, including states that did not ratify it.
More history and context
The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. The final vote came in the Tennessee legislature, where a single lawmaker's switch made the difference. Tennessee was the 36th state, which met the three-fourths requirement.
Before this amendment, each state decided whether women could vote. Wyoming let women vote in 1869, while it was still a territory. Several Western states followed. The Nineteenth Amendment made the right the same everywhere.
The amendment did not bring equal voting right away. Many women, especially Black women in the South, faced the same poll taxes, literacy tests, and threats that blocked Black men. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was as important for Black women as for Black men.
The Equal Rights Amendment, proposed by Congress in 1972, would add a broader guarantee of equal rights regardless of sex. By 2020, 38 states had ratified it, but several did so after the deadline Congress set. Its status is disputed, and the National Archives has not certified it as part of the Constitution.
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