No4: 19TH AMENDMENT
PHOTO BY LUCIA AUERBACH
GRACE PLAVOCOS
Women's suffrage began in 1848 in Seneca Falls New York, where a convention was held to discuss the lack of rights women held in the 1800s. This launched the women’s right movement, eventually leading to the 19th Amendment ratifying the U.S. constitution in 1920, granting American women the right to vote and ending over a century of protest. While still prevalent today, the constitution was transformed, guaranteeing the right of citizens to vote, regardless of sex. Nowadays, we can still see the effects it has on our government today. The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment. May 1st, 2020 Law Day’s theme will be “Your Vote, Your Voice, Our democracy” The 19th amendment at 100” to show and commemorate the adversity and struggle women had to go through to get the right to vote, and the impacts that the amendment has on America today.
At the beginning of America's history, the patriarchy was ruling, therefore denying women many basic rights. Married women couldn’t even own property; they had no legal claim to any money they may earn and they couldn’t even vote. They were expected to be the picture-perfect housewife; house chores, maternal roles, and certainly nothing in the political sector. The movement began in the early ’20s, decades before the civil war. Many small reform groups throughout the U.S. such as the temperance league, abolitionist and religious movements. Many women played various key roles in the groups that proliferated throughout the U.S. Although, it wasn’t until 1848 when the movement began to organize at a more national level, rather than just a small-state level. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women's rights convention Seneca Falls NY, where over 300 women attended. From there, the movement skyrocketed, the word being spread throughout. Eventually being joined by other activists such as Susan B Anthony, the National Woman's Suffrage Association (NWSA) was formed, leading to the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920 by U.S. Secretary of State, Bainbridge Colby. All of these powerful women fought through countless struggles and challenges, just to be able to vote in elections.
Looking through a more modern-day view, the 29th Amendment had an incredibly large impact in its months after being passed, resulting in 8 million women voting in elections for the first time. Today, it holds just as much value as it did back in the day. After the amendment was passed, more and more women began voting. Today, past numbers have even proven to show that more women voted than men. According to www.census.gov, women vote at higher rates than men and have since every midterm election since 1998. “In the 2018 midterm election, 55 percent of women voted compared with 52 percent of men, a 3 percentage point gap.” Although not seeming like much, the 3% gap is a drastic change compared to the percentage of women voting 50 years ago, much less 100. According to the Census Bureau, even a record number of women were elected to the House of Representatives in the November 2018 election.
The 19th amendment was one of the most impactful amendments, contributing to many changes throughout history. Not only did women fight through adversity, discrimination, and inequality, but they fought and won. Nowadays, millions of women vote in elections, even more than men do. The 2020 Law Day will help bring awareness to how much women struggled. “The true republic: men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.” -Susan B. Anthony.
