Georgia Rejects the 19th Amendment, July 24, 1919 (Ratifies February 20, 1970)

While Georgia did have a women's suffrage movement, the state was largely opposed to granting women the vote. When the 19th Amendment passed Congress Georgia was the first to reject ratification and called on the other southern states to also stand against ratification. Georgia did not ratify the 19th Amendment until 1970.

Because of the association between the women’s suffrage movement and abolitionist movement prior to the Civil War, suffrage was not a popular cause in the south. Georgia did not see a formal suffrage movement until 1890 when a small group of women founded the Georgia Women’s Suffrage Association in Columbus, GA. The group’s leader, Helen Augusta Howard, worked hard to build a movement in Georgia and convinced the National American Women’s Suffrage Association to hold its 1895 convention in Atlanta.

Georgia’s movement was divided by race. To gain support in the state the national suffrage movement distanced itself from its Black allies when campaigning in the state. African Americans were excluded from the main state organizations and instead organized through the National Association of Colored Women. For white Georgians, the Georgia Woman Equal Suffrage League formed in 1913 and, for more aggressive suffragettes, the Equal Suffrage Party of Georgia organized in 1914. Opposition in Georgia was particularly strong, and the suffrage movement was small compared to other states. Georgia’s chapter of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, founded in 1914, had far more members than the pro-suffrage organizations.

The General Assembly did hear arguments about women’s suffrage starting in 1914, but legislation never made it out of committee. When the 19^th Amendment passed Congress suffragists knew that Georgia would not ratify it, but Georgia wanted to more demonstrably reject women’s suffrage. The Georgia Senate voiced their opposition to the 19^th Amendment for about a week, claiming that giving women the vote would break down the fundamental social and racial order of the south. Both houses introduced resolutions about suffrage with the only intent being to strike them down on record. While states in the Midwest raced to be the first to ratify the 19^th Amendment, states in the south raced to be the first to reject it. Georgia was the first to refuse ratification on July 24, 1919.

Once the 19^th Amendment was successful ratified in August 1920, Georgia still did not give easy access to the vote. Most states waived requirements that would block women from voting in the 1920 presidential election, but Georgia kept in place the requirement that voters register six months prior to the election. This meant that women could not vote in state elections for another two years. Georgia finally ratified the 19^th Amendment in 1970. 

Bevington, Rickey. "Georgia Took 50 Years to Back Women's Right to Vote." Georgia Public Radio. August 26, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.gpb.org/news/2020/08/26/georgia-took-50-years-back-womens-right-vote.

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Hallerman, Tamar. "How women got the vote, in spite of Georgia." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 21, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.ajc.com/news/how-women-got-the-vote-in-spite-of-georgia/GHRER6WLM5DM7ELEE4TIVCQ2Z4/.

Pirani, Fiza. "An unfinished movement: Reflecting on 100 years on women's suffrage in Georgia." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 17, 2020. Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.ajc.com/life/an-unfinished-movement-reflecting-on-100-years-of-womens-suffrage-in-georgia/3MPXEQIG4ZALPMEUKBF3CHLGSQ/.