Ratification of the 19th Amendment: Timeline and Story Map

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1. Illinois Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 10/17, 1919

The suffrage movement in Illinois began in 1869 with the founding of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association. In 1912 Grace Wilbur Trout and Jane Addams took over leadership of the Association and lobbied for the right to vote within Illinois. The following year, in 1913, Illinois women earned the right to vote in presidential and municipal elections. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment on June 4, 1919 there was a race to be the first state to ratify it. Illinois was the first to vote to ratify the Amendment on June 10, beating Wisconsin by one hour. The vote was unanimous in the state Senate and only three opposing votes were cast in the House. Unfortunately, in the rush to vote on the amendment the Illinois legislature voted on the wrong wording, and they had to do another vote on June 17, 1919. In some places Illinois is listed as the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment and in others it is listed as the 7th because of the necessity of revoting.

2. Wisconsin Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 10, 1919

Wisconsin women saw some early success in gaining limited access to voting within the state. Starting in 1869 women could run for school board positions and in 1884 legislation passed allowing women to vote on issues related to schools and education. Unfortunately, this access to the vote was largely eliminated by the courts by 1887 and it would not be restored until 1901. Despite the work of the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association (WWSA) the state legislature again took away women’s ability to vote in education matters and eliminated their elected positions on school boards in 1913. Despite these setbacks, when the 19th Amendment passed Congress Wisconsin was one of the first states to ratify it, competing with Illinois for the #1 spot.

3. Michigan Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 10, 1919

Michigan women were petitioning for the right to vote even before the Civil War and in the 1870s reformers founded the Michigan State Woman Suffrage Association (MSWSA) to campaign for the vote. Like many other states, Michigan women won some limited voting rights in school board elections and education matters. The MSWSA and Michigan Equal Suffrage Association campaigned for state suffrage for the next few decades until in 1912 Governor Chase Osborne actively called on the state legislature to consider granting women the vote. In 1918 Michigan women were granted the vote and in 1919 Michigan was the third state to ratify the 19th Amendment.

4. Kansas Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 16, 1919

Kansas was the first state to hold a referendum on women voting in 1867, but the idea was defeated. Afterwards, the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association formed to gain the vote in local elections. Twenty years later (1887), Kansas women gained the ability to vote in local elections and elected the first female mayor in the U.S., Susanna Salter. Kansas approved the Equal Suffrage Amendment to the state constitution in 1912, becoming the 8th state to grant suffrage to women. The state voted to ratify the 19th Amendment on June 16, 1919.

5. Ohio Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 16, 1919

After the Civil War Ohio counties and communities created local women’s suffrage groups. In 1885 the Ohio Woman Suffrage Association (OWSA) was founded to focus on Ohio local and state laws. Women earned the right to vote in board of education elections in 1894, but did not earn the right to vote in all elections until the 19th Amendment. Ohio ratified the 19th Amendment on June 16, 1919, and also passed a state bill allowing women to vote in the 1920 presidential election in case the amendment did not go into effect before then.

6. New York Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 16, 1919

In many ways New York is the birthplace of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. The July 1848 Seneca Falls Convention is largely considered the start of the suffrage movement, even though women had been calling for increased political rights since the Revolution and Early National period. In addition, leading suffragette Susan B. Anthony called New York home and she led the movement of lobbying Congress for a national amendment (the 19th Amendment is often called the Susan B. Anthony Amendment). After a campaign by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) to get individual states to give the vote to women, New York granted the vote to women in November 1917. New York voted to ratify the 19th Amendment on June 16, 1919.

7. Pennsylvania Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 24, 1919

Pennsylvania was the center of reform movements starting in the antebellum period, but it was a state that did not grant the vote to women until the 19th Amendment. After the Civil War several organizations formed in the state to advocate for the right to vote. Carrie Burnham attempted to vote in 1871 and took her case to the state Supreme Court; however, the only result was the state amending the constitution to specify “male citizens” in terms of voting rights. Pennsylvania women came close to the vote in 1915 with a state referendum. The state legislature passed an amendment to the state constitution allowing women to vote in 1913 and it went to voters for ratification in 1915. The referendum failed and Pennsylvania women would not get the vote until 1920. Pennsylvania ratified the 19th Amendment on June 24, 1919.

8. 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.

9. Massachusetts Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 25, 1919

The state of Massachusetts was both an early site for suffrage advocacy and had one of the strongest anti-suffrage organizations in the nation. The National Woman’s Rights Convention met in Worchester, MA in 1850 and the first meeting of the American Equal Rights Association was held in Boston after the Civil War. While Massachusetts women could not vote under the state constitution, they could be elected to school committees starting in 1868 and about a decade later could vote for school committee members. Referendums on allowing women’s suffrage were voted on and defeated in 1895 and 1915. The Massachusetts Association Opposed to the Further Extension of Suffrage to Women (the Women’s Anti-Suffrage Association of Massachusetts) was founded in 1895 and opposed the state’s suffrage movement and referendums. Massachusetts women did not gain the right to vote prior to 1920. The state ratified the 19th Amendment on June 25, 1919.

10. Texas Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 28, 1919

Texas considered constitutional amendments to allow women to vote in both 1868-69 and 1875, neither successful. Despite the early activism, support for the movement slowed down in the last decades of the nineteenth century. Women were active in other reform movements (like temperance), but suffrage organizations saw low membership. The movement saw another rise in interest in the 1890s when the Texas Equal Rights Association was founded in 1893, but it was not until the 1910s that the movement really gained traction in the state. In 1913 reformers reenergized the defunct Texas Woman Suffrage Association and in 1915 opponents organized the Texas Association Opposed to Women Suffrage. Suffragists worked to pass a suffrage resolution in 1915 but it failed to get the necessary number of votes. After some political dealings and a new governor, Governor William Hobby called a special session of the state legislature to introduce a bill for women’s suffrage in state primaries. The bill passed the legislature once a literacy test was added, and the governor signed it into law on March 26, 1918. Governor Hobby also supported a full amendment to the state constitution allowing for women’s suffrage in the beginning of 1919, but it was defeated in a referendum vote in May. The very next month, however, the 19th Amendment went to the states for ratification and Texas voted to ratify on June 28, 1919.

11. Iowa Ratifies the 19th Amendment, July 2, 1919

Immediately after the Civil War there were discussions about changing the constitutional language about voters in Iowa and in 1868 they took racial language out to allow all men to vote but kept the word “male” in the constitution. The next year the first women’s suffrage organizations met in the state and the first statewide convention was held in 1870. Women first attempted to get a constitutional change in 1870 and did so several times over the next few decades. In Iowa a constitutional change required two legislatures to vote on approval and the legislature only met every two years; this made passing women’s suffrage difficult. Iowan women did get partial suffrage in 1894 and were allowed to vote in elections on issues. Finally, in 1916, the legislature passed a constitutional amendment allowing women to vote, however it was defeated in the general referendum. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Iowa voted to ratify it on July 2, 1919.

12. Missouri Ratifies the 19th Amendment, July 3, 1919

Missouri women quickly organized to advocate for suffrage, utilizing their networks from previous reform and war aid work. The Woman Suffrage Association of Missouri formed in 1867, one of the earliest such organizations in the United States. Missouri women asked the state legislature for a suffrage amendment eighteen times between 1867 and 1901 with no success. In 1868 the 14th Amendment was ratified to the Constitution and Missouri suffrage leaders argued that the 14th Amendment protected a women’s right to the vote. Virginia Minor and her husband Frank advocated for a strategy where women showed up to polling places and asked to register for the vote. After Virginia Minor was turned away from the St. Louis County Courthouse in 1872, the Minors sued the city registrar, Reese Happersett, in a case that advanced to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the case Minor v. Happersett (1874) the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution did not grant suffrage to anyone and reaffirmed that it was the power of the states to decide who could vote. In the 1910s Missouri women continued to push for suffrage and in March 1919 the state passed legislation allowing women to vote only in presidential elections. A few months later Missouri was the 11th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on July 3, 1919.

13. Arkansas Ratifies the 19th Amendment, July 28, 1919

Discussion of women’s suffrage began in Arkansas after the Civil War but did not spread widely to rural areas. Early reform focus remained on temperance in the state, although many women used the temperance movement to also advocate for suffrage. In 1868 Miles Ledford Langley proposed a motion to the Arkansas Constitutional Convention that “all citizens 21 years of age, who can read and write the English language, shall be eligible to the elective franchise and entitled to equal political rights and privileges.” Langley addressed the convention on the need of women’s suffrage but was laughed at by his colleagues. After this initial attempt to advance women’s suffrage, the movement ebbed and waned over the decades as several organizations tried to gain traction. The Arkansas Woman Suffrage Association organized between 1881 and 1885, the Arkansas Equal Suffrage Association between 1888 and 1899, and the Political Equality League in 1911. A new reiteration of the Arkansas Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) formed in 1914 and partnered with the Political Equality League and national suffrage organizations to campaign more actively in the state. In the late 1910s Arkansas women gained the support of Governor Charles Brough and his wife Anne and in 1917 the state legislature voted to allow women to vote in primary elections. More than 40,000 women voted in the 1918 primaries and 50 women were elected as delegates to the Democratic State Convention. Suffragists tried to get full suffrage included in the constitution again that year, but their attempt failed when it went to a popular vote. Governor Brough remained an open supporter of full women’s suffrage and when Congress passed the 19th Amendment he called a special session of the General Assembly to ratify it. Arkansas ratified the 19th Amendment on July 28, 1919.

14. Montana Ratifies the 19th Amendment, August 2, 1919

Montana achieved statehood in 1889 and quickly debated the issue of women’s suffrage during its state constitutional convention. The initial effort was defeated, but the suffrage movement in Montana continued to gain support. Suffragist leaders such as Emma Ingalls and Jeanette Rankin continued to advocate for the right to vote until Montana voted on November 3, 1914 to give women the full vote in the state. Not only did Montana achieve women’s suffrage prior to the 19th Amendment, the state also elected Emma Ingalls and Maggie Smith Hathaway to the state legislature in 1916. That same year Montana elected Jeannette Rankin to the U.S. House of Representatives, the first woman elected to Congress. While in Congress, Rankin used her seat to advocate for the “Susan B. Anthony Woman Suffrage Amendment” and pushed for the creation of a Woman Suffrage Committee in the House. After Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Montana voted to ratify the amendment on June 30, 1919. A few days later, on August 2, 1919, the governor certified the state’s ratification.

15. Nebraska Ratifies the 19th Amendment, August 2, 1919

Immediately upon becoming a state in 1867 the Nebraska state legislature debated women’s suffrage in every session. While women did earn the right to vote in school board elections in 1869 there was no other progress made. In 1881 Erasmus Correll (Nebraska House of Representatives) introduced a bill to take the word “male” out of the state constitution, thus allowing women to vote. There was very little support for this measure, but he negotiated with fellow lawmakers to pass the change if it was approved by Nebraska voters. Suffragists campaigned into the next year to gain support for the measure, but it was defeated in the popular vote in November 1882. The Nebraska Woman Suffrage Association continued to work towards extending voting rights, but there were strong anti-suffrage sentiments in the state (especially from religious leaders and also from the alcohol industry due to women’s work in the temperance movement). Progress came in 1917 when pro-suffrage governor Keith Neville took office. In that year both municipal and presidential suffrage for women passed the legislature and became law. Opponents tried to challenge the new law but were not successful prior to the 19th Amendment passing Congress. Nebraska voted unanimously to ratify the amendment on August 2, 1919.

16. Minnesota Ratifies the 19th Amendment, September 8, 1919

Women in Minnesota began to organize for suffrage in the 1870s and could vote in school board elections starting in 1875. Fourteen women founded the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association in 1881 and quickly grew in numbers into the 1890s. The MWSA gained enough support by 1893 that the state Senate considered and approved a resolution to remove the word “male” from the state’s voting requirements. However, the change did not pass the House before its session ended and the motion failed. Despite the setback, the women’s suffrage movement continued to grow in the 1910s and in 1919 Governor J. A. A. Burnquist supported a resolution to support the federal suffrage amendment being considered in the U.S. Congress. While the federal amendment was in debate Minnesota granted women the right to vote in presidential elections in January 1919. Just a few months later Congress passed the 19th Amendment and Minnesota voted to ratify on September 8, 1919.

17. New Hampshire Ratifies the 19th Amendment, September 10, 1919

After the Civil War and the success of the abolition movement, many female reformers turned to the women’s suffrage cause. In New Hampshire abolitionists Armenia S. and Nathaniel White founded the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Association in 1868. Women immediately advocated for the right to vote in the state and some—such as Marilla Marks Young Ricker—tried to vote and hold office (unsuccessfully). In 1871, New Hampshire women could serve on school committees and in 1878 they could vote in school elections. However, attempts to pass legislation for full suffrage were defeated in 1887 and 1903. There was strong opposition to women’s suffrage in the state, formalized in the New Hampshire Association Opposed to Further Suffrage for Women. With little progress in the state, New Hampshire suffragists focused on supporting the passage of a federal amendment. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment, New Hampshire voted to ratify it on September 10, 1919.

18. Alabama Rejects the 19th Amendment, September 22, 1919 (Ratifies September 8, 1953)

While Alabama suffragists campaigned for a state amendment for voting rights, there was a strong anti-suffrage campaign that defeated attempts at state legislature and opposed the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Alabama fully rejected the suffrage amendment and refused ratification on September 22, 1919. The state did not ratify the 19th Amendment until 1953.

19. Utah Ratifies the 19th Amendment, September 30, 1919

Suffrage in Utah was closely tied to issues of religion and Mormonism in the 1800s. While still a territory most Utah men supported women’s suffrage for a variety of reasons and in 1870 Utah passed legislation giving the vote to women. Utah’s women voted for 17 years, but then they were disenfranchised in 1887. The practice of polygamy among Utah Mormons was highly controversial and Congress passed the Edmund-Tucker Anti-Polygamy Act. This legislation put restrictions on polygamy and the power of the Mormon Church, but also took the vote away from Utah women. Consequently, women quickly formed suffrage associations to advocate for regaining the franchise. Utahns largely supported universal suffrage so when the Church of Latter-Day Saints ended polygamy and the United States allowed Utah to apply for statehood in 1894, the issue of women’s suffrage was included in the state’s constitution. Utah became a state in 1896 and women were again given the vote. At the time only three states allowed women full suffrage: Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment Utah ratified it on September 30, 1919.

20. California Ratifies the 19th Amendment, November 1, 1919

In the 1800s California suffragists proposed several suffrage bills to the state legislature. They almost had success in 1893 when the legislature passed a suffrage bill, but the governor vetoed it. A popular referendum in 1896 also defeated women’s suffrage, largely due to voters fearing women would pass temperance laws. Suffrage organizations advocated for the vote until in 1911 another referendum narrowly passed and gave California women the vote. The vote held on October 10, 1911 initially looked as if the motion would be defeated, but as the count came in from rural counties the measure passed by only 3,587 votes. California became the 6th state to grant suffrage to women and in 1918 the first four women were elected to the California State Assembly. California ratified the 19th Amendment on November 1, 1919.

21. Maine Ratifies the 19th Amendment, November 5, 1919

The suffrage movement in Maine began prior to the Civil War when a group of women sent a petition to the state legislature asking for a constitutional amendment to enfranchise women. The Maine Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) formed in August, ME in 1873 and they again approached the state legislature about voting rights. This time the legislature paid attention to their petitions, but still voted them down. In 1917, the Maine state legislature passed a constitutional amendment for women’s suffrage, but it was defeated in an electorate vote later that year 36,713 votes to 19,428. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Maine Governor Miliken called a special session of the legislature to vote. On November 5, 1919 Maine voted 72-68 to ratify the 19th Amendment.

22. North Dakota Ratifies the 19th Amendment, December 1, 1919

Prior to statehood, women earned the right to vote in school elections in 1883 and that continued after statehood in 1889. North Dakota was close to enfranchising women in 1893; a bill granting women suffrage passed both chambers of the state legislature, but the speaker of the House refused to sign it. Women hoped that the governor would still sign it into law, but the bill was “lost” on its way to his office. The House then expunged the record of mentions of the bill. Legislation about women’s suffrage continued to be introduced to the legislature, but the women’s suffrage movement in North Dakota was relatively quiet until 1912. With new support for the movement, suffragists finally saw a bill passed by the state legislature in 1913 but law was then defeated in a 1914 general election 40,209 to 49,348 votes. Another attempt in 1915 did not pass through the legislature. In 1917 North Dakota Women were granted limited suffrage: women could vote for presidential electors, county officials, some city officials, and township officers, but not for members of the state or national legislature. North Dakota ratified the 19th Amendment on December 1, 1919.

23. South Dakota Ratifies the 19th Amendment, December 4, 1919

As a territory, South Dakota considered the issue of women’s suffrage several times starting in 1868, but only allowed women to vote in school district elections. In the 1889 state constitution the word “male” was used to define voting eligibility in the new state of South Dakota, however, it also called for the population to vote in 1890 on an amendment that would extend the vote to women. The South Dakota Equal Suffrage Association formed to advocate for the vote, but the amendment was defeated in 1890 (and again in 1895, 1898, and 1910). Campaigning for the vote proved difficult for suffragists because South Dakota was so rural and there was also a lot of opposition due to the connection between suffragists and the temperance movement. In the 1910s, Mary Shields “Maime” Pyle organized a new suffrage organization, the South Dakota Universal Franchise League, and separated the cause from the temperance movement. In 1916 suffragists tried to again get a constitutional amendment passed; the prohibition amendment on the ballot passed, but the suffrage amendment was again defeated. South Dakota women won the vote in 1918 with the “Citizenship Amendment” which removed the word “male” from the voting eligibility but added a requirement of U.S. citizenship. The following year South Dakota ratified the 19th Amendment on December 4, 1919.

24. Colorado Ratifies the 19th Amendment, December 15, 1919

Colorado became a state in 1876 and quickly held a referendum to vote on the issue of women’s suffrage. Colorado narrowly voted down women’s suffrage that year, largely due to fears that women voters would ban alcohol. Between 1876 and 1893 women organized into organizations such as the Colorado Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association to advocate for women’s rights. In a referendum vote in 1893 Coloradans voted by a margin of 6,000 votes in support for women’s suffrage. Colorado was the first state to enact women’s suffrage through a referendum. After Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Colorado ratified it on December 15, 1919.

25. Rhode Island Ratifies the 19th Amendment, January 6, 1920

Members of the abolitionist movement started the women’s suffrage movement in Rhode Island prior to the Civil War. Paulina Wright Davis was the first suffrage leader in the state, chairing the 1850 national women’s rights convention in Massachusetts and publishing a newspaper devoted to women’s issues. Davis and Elizabeth Buffum Chace (another abolitionist) founded the Rhode Island Woman Suffrage Association (RIWSA) and helped found the New England Woman Suffrage Association. Suffragists attempted to pass a suffrage constitutional amendment in 1887; the amendment was passed by the state legislature but defeated by voters. Through the next few decades reformers continued to press for women’s suffrage and other reform issues. In addition, African American suffragists formed their own suffrage organizations. The suffrage movement continued in the early twentieth century with the creation of a College Equal Suffrage League chapter, the formation of a Woman Suffrage Party in 1912, and the activism of Alva Belmont. In 1917 Rhode Island women gained partial suffrage and were able to vote in presidential elections, but full suffrage would not come until the 19th Amendment. Rhode Island ratified the 19th Amendment on January 6, 1920.

26. Kentucky Ratifies the 19th Amendment, January 6, 1920

Kentucky was unique in that women who were taxpayers could vote on certain issues as early as 1838, which was the first partial suffrage for women in the U.S. after New Jersey women lost the vote in 1807. The Kentucky Equal Rights Association formed in 1888 and pushed for suffrage as well as other rights and protections for women. Like many other states, women also earned the right to vote in school elections in 1894. Kentucky reversed the access to school votes in 1902 because they wanted to restrict African American voting, and then reestablished the school vote in 1912 with a literacy test meant to prevent African American women from participating. Despite being an early leader in voting rights for women, Kentucky would not grant full suffrage before the 19th Amendment. Kentucky voted to ratify the 19th Amendment on January 6, 1920 and in March also passed an additional law allowing women to vote in presidential elections (this was made unnecessary by the full ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920).

27. Oregon Ratifies the 19th Amendment, January 14, 1920

Organizing for suffrage rights began in the early 1870s with small, local women’s groups, attempts to vote in the 1872 presidential election, and publication of Abigail Scott Duniway’s New Northwest newspaper which advocated for women’s rights. In 1873 the Oregon Woman Suffrage Association formed and suffrage leaders engaged in both the state and national suffrage movements. Like many states women did win the right to vote in school elections in 1878, but did not gain full suffrage for many more years. The Oregon state legislature debated women’s suffrage as early as 1872 but the vote was first put to a ballot in 1884. Voters rejected giving women the right to vote on five ballots: 1884, 1900, 1906, 1908, and 1910. Suffragists coordinated again to get the issue on the ballot a sixth time in 1912 and by a vote of 52% approval women gained full suffrage. After 1912, Oregon suffragists continued to work on a national scale to support the passage of a women’s suffrage amendment. Oregon voted to ratify the 19th Amendment on January 14, 1920.

28. Indiana Women's Suffrage Historical Marker (Ratification on January 16, 1920)

This historical marker was dedicated in 2022 and recognizes Indiana’s women’s suffrage movement, which began shortly after the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. Although several measures to recognize women's right to vote were passed in 1917, the state Supreme Court intervened, and the women of the Hoosier State could not legally vote until Indiana ratified the 19th Amendment on January 16, 1920.

29. Wyoming Ratifies the 19th Amendment, January 27, 1920

Wyoming was the first state to give women full suffrage. As a territory, legislators passed the Wyoming Suffrage Act of 1869 which gave women the right to vote and hold office if they were a citizen. In 1870, Louisa Swain was the first woman in the world to cast a ballot under a law that granted equal political rights as men. Wyoming officially became a state in 1890 and women retained their political rights in the new state constitution. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Wyoming ratified the amendment on January 27, 1920.

30. South Carolina Rejects the 19th Amendment, January 28, 1920 (Ratifies July 1, 1969; vote certified August 22, 1973)

The women's suffrage movement in South Carolina began during the period of Reconstruction and then reemerged in the 1890s. Despite the work of suffragists, South Carolina did not grant voting rights to women at the state level and rejected the 19th Amendment on January 28, 1920. South Carolina voted to ratify the 19th Amendment on July 1, 1969, although the vote was not certified until 1973.

31. Mississippi Rejects the 19th Amendment, February 1920 and March 29, 1920 (Ratifies March 22, 1984)

Mississippi was strongly apposed to the 19th Amendment and voted twice to reject it, in February and March of 1920. The state finally ratified the 19th Amendment in March 1984. It was the last of the 1920 United States (excluding states like Alaska and Hawaii that were territories at the time).

32. Nevada Ratifies the 19th Amendment, February 7, 1920

In the 1864 Nevada state constitution the right to vote was specifically for men. In 1869, a women’s suffrage bill was introduced and passed by both houses of the legislature, but it failed to pass again at the next legislative session two years later (as required by the state constitution). The women’s suffrage movement did not gain new momentum until the 1900s. In 1911 women organized the Nevada Equal Franchise Society and under the leadership of Jeanne Elizabeth Weir, Anne Martin, and Bird Wilson women again pushed for the right to vote. The state legislature passed an amendment to allow women’s suffrage in 1911 and again in 1913, allowing the issue to go to a general vote. The Nevada suffrage movement faced a fierce anti-suffrage movement that included prominent women and business leaders. Several businessmen threatened to pull their businesses out of the state if women’s suffrage was approved. Because much of the opposition was concentrated in urban areas, the Nevada Equal Franchise Society focused their campaigning on rural areas where voters would not face the same economic pressure. As a result, when the issue of women’s suffrage went to a general vote in 1914, the suffrage amendment was approved by a vote of 10,936 to 7,258. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Nevada ratified it on February 7, 1920.

33. New Jersey Ratifies the 19th Amendment, February 9, 1920

Early in United States history New Jersey was a leader in suffrage, with both women and African Americans able to vote if they met residency and property requirements. Both groups lost the right to vote in 1807 when the state changed their voting eligibility to only white, male, tax-paying citizens. In 1867 Lucy Stone founded the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association and the following year women petitioned the state legislature for suffrage. Women petitioned the legislature for the vote again in 1884 and were granted the ability to vote in school elections in 1887, but the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed that in 1894. Despite the work of New Jersey suffragists, women in the state did not receive the vote before the 19th Amendment. In 1912 a new resolution for women’s suffrage and it passed both houses of two successive legislatures but was defeated in the public election in 1915. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment, New Jersey ratified it on February 9, 1920.

34. Idaho Ratifies the 19th Amendment, February 11, 1920

In 1871, one year after the 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote, Representative Joseph William Morgan proposed women’s suffrage for the first time in the Idaho territory. The proposal was defeated in a tie vote and similar proposals were defeated in 1885 and 1887. When Idaho requested statehood, they specifically excluded women’s suffrage from the new constitution, fearing that it would hinder the acceptance of statehood. When women’s suffrage was not included in the state constitution, the first suffrage organization formed in 1893. The Idaho Equal Suffrage Association organized in 1895 and a year later a constitutional amendment granted Idaho women full suffrage. Idaho ratified the 19th Amendment on February 11, 1920.

35. Arizona Ratifies the 19th Amendment, February 12, 1920

Arizona became a territory in 1863 and did not achieve statehood until 1912. During the territorial period, women did press for suffrage and several bills were introduced into the legislature in the 1880s but were defeated. In 1891 Arizona decided to apply for statehood and Josephine Brawley Hughes, Frances Willard Munds, and other suffragists organized the state’s first women’s suffrage organization to campaign for the inclusion of suffrage in the new state constitution. Arizona’s attempt at statehood failed. The Arizona Suffrage Association continued to campaign and got a suffrage bill passed through the legislature in 1903, but the governor vetoed it. Arizona faced difficulty getting Washington to accept their statehood, and the governor (and other politicians) feared that including women’s suffrage would further decrease their chances. Finally in 1910 Congress told Arizona to write a new state constitution and submit it for statehood. Suffragists appealed to the constitutional convention to include women’s suffrage in the new constitution, but the delegates did not include the issue because they were afraid it would cause the constitution to be rejected again. However, most Arizonians generally supported women’s suffrage. Arizona finally gained statehood on February 14, 1912 and just five months later suffrage qualified to be on the ballot for voters to decide. In November 1912 male voters overwhelmingly approved of women’s suffrage in Arizona. After the passage of the 19th Amendment, Arizona voted to ratify the amendment on February 12, 1920.

36. Virginia Rejects the 19th Amendment, February 12, 1920 (Ratifies February 21, 1952)

Virginia had possibly the largest suffrage organization of the southern states, but the state legislature remained anti-suffrage. Virginia rejected bills about women's suffrage in 1912, 1914, and 1916, and voted to reject the 19th Amendment on February 12, 1920. Virginia did not ratify the 19th Amendment until February 21, 1952.

37. New Mexico Ratifies the 19th Amendment, February 21, 1920

New Mexico became a territory in 1850 but the women’s suffrage movement did not gain traction until the 1890s with the formation of the Albuquerque Suffrage Club in 1893 and New Mexico Woman Suffrage Association in 1896. In 1910 New Mexico drafted a constitution to apply for statehood. Within the constitution was a provision that granted women some rights to vote in school elections if their local communities approved, but the legislature rejected including full suffrage for women. When New Mexico became a state in 1912 only men were able to vote. While most other western states granted suffrage by 1912, New Mexico did not give women the right to vote before the 19th Amendment. With little support from state politicians, New Mexican suffragists focused on the national campaign for the 19th Amendment in the years between statehood and 1920. After the passage of the 19th Amendment by Congress, New Mexico ratified in on February 21, 1920.

38. Maryland Rejects the 19th Amendment, February 24, 1920 (Ratifies March 29, 1941; vote certified February 25, 1958)

Maryland rejected ratifying the 19th Amendment on February 24, 1920 and encouraged other states to also reject the amendment on the grounds of states' rights. After the 19th Amendment was ratified Maryland challenged the constitutionality of the 19th Amendment in the U.S. Supreme Court Case Leser et al. v. Garnett et al. Maryland finally ratified the 19th Amendment in 1941.

39. Oklahoma Ratifies the 19th Amendment, February 28, 1920

The territory of Oklahoma (at the time separate from Indian Territory) organized in 1890 and the same year the territorial legislature considered the issue of women’s suffrage and voted down full suffrage. Women were able to vote in school elections as well as serve in public offices in rural areas. Suffrage organizations formed in the 1890s to campaign for the vote and sent several bills and petitions through the territorial legislature. In 1904 the Woman Suffrage Association of Oklahoma and Indian Territory organized and as Oklahoma prepared to apply for statehood women pushed for the issue of suffrage again. In the 1906-1907 constitutional convention suffrage was hotly debated and there were many delegates in favor of granting women the vote. However, white Oklahomans were more united behind the idea of restricting the African American vote in the state. Full suffrage would extend the vote to blank women as well as white, and that ultimately meant that full suffrage was not granted by the 1907 state constitution. Between 1907 and 1917 suffragists continued to pressure the state legislature to pass an amendment for suffrage. In 1917 the state legislature approved the suffrage issue for a general vote in November 1918. Although there was a strong anti-suffrage campaign and election officials tried to rig the vote against suffrage, the suffrage amendment passed on November 5, 1918 and Oklahoma granted women full suffrage. Less than two years later, Oklahoma ratified the 19th Amendment on February 28, 1920.

40. West Virginia Ratifies the 19th Amendment, March 10, 1920

West Virginia’s 1863 state constitution limited the vote to white men (African American men were given the vote with the 15th Amendment, but WV laws largely prevented them from voting). In 1867, state senator Samuel Young attempted to introduce a resolution in favor of women’s suffrage, but it failed. The West Virginia women’s suffrage movement formalized in 1895 with the organization of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association (WVESA). The work of the WVESA in tandem with the Women’s Christian Temperance Union created enough support that the House of Delegates passed a women’s suffrage amendment in 1913. It failed to pass the Senate, but when introduced again in 1915 the amendment was passed by both houses of the state legislature. The amendment then went to a statewide referendum in 1916 where it was soundly defeated. Once Congress passed the 19th Amendment in 1919, West Virginia had possibly the most dramatic ratification process. The tension was already high because women needed three more states to ratify the 19th Amendment and it was not clear which way West Virginia would vote.

41. Washington Ratifies the 19th Amendment, March 22, 1920

Washington territory’s first outspoken suffragist was Catharine Paine Blaine, a signer of the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls, who moved to Seattle in 1853. The following year, Blaine’s acquaintance state representative Arthur Denny, proposed a bill to allow women to vote in the very first territorial legislative session. The bill failed in a close vote. In 1867 the territorial legislature removed the word “male” from the voting law so that it stated that “all white American citizens” that met the age requirement could vote. Women tried to vote after this change but were still turned away. 1871 saw the formation of a more organized suffrage movement, with another attempt at passing a bill in the legislature, Washington’s first suffrage convention, and the establishment of the Washington Territory Woman Suffrage Association. Unfortunately, the anti-suffrage legislature responded by passing a law stating "Hereafter, no female shall have the right of ballot, or vote at any poll or election precinct in this territory until the Congress of the United States of America shall, by direct legislation, declare the same to be the supreme law of the land." Suffragists continued their campaigning, but with little success for more than a decade. Surprisingly (considering the 1871 law) Washington women gained the right to vote in 1883 and the majority of women flocked to the polls in 1884. Only a few years later, women again lost the right to vote when the Territorial Supreme Court revoked the 1883 law. A revitalized suffrage movement emerged in 1905 led by Emma Smith DeVoe and May Arkwright Hutton. The work of Washington suffragists resulted in a suffrage amendment being passed by the legislature and signed by the governor in February 1909. On November 8, 1910 the male voters of Washington ratified the constitutional amendment and women gained the right to vote. Almost a decade later, Washington was the 35th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on March 22, 1920.

42. Delaware Rejects the 19th Amendment, June 2, 1920 (Ratifies March 6, 1923)

After Washington ratified the 19th Amendment on March 22, 1920, all focus turned to Delaware which would be next to vote on ratification. Suffragists were confident that Delaware would be the 36th state to ratify the suffrage amendment into law. The governor supported suffrage, no major organizations opposed the amendment, and most legislators had indicated that they would vote in support of suffrage. Nevertheless, when the special session of the Delaware Assembly convened on March 22, 1920 there was strong lobbying on the part of both pro- and anti-suffrage factions. On May 5, 1920 the Delaware Senate voted 11-6 to ratify the 19th Amendment, strengthening suffragists' hope that the vote would soon be secured for women. Many were surprised when about a month later, the Delaware House of Representatives voted against the amendment 24-10, rejecting women’s suffrage. With defeat in Delaware the women’s suffrage movement had to shift their hopes on the few states left, such as Tennessee and North Carolina. The 19th Amendment achieved ratification in August 1920 with the state of Tennessee and women’s suffrage became law. Mostly a symbolic act since the 19th Amendment was already official, Delaware voted to ratify the 19th Amendment on March 6, 1923.

43. Louisiana Rejects the 19th Amendment, July 1, 1920 (Ratifies June 11, 1970)

Louisiana had several women's suffrage organizations in the state, but most of the population preferred suffrage to come through state action instead of a federal amendment. When the Louisiana State Legislature considered the 19th Amendment in 1920 it voted to defeat ratification and the Louisiana governor urged other states to reject it. Louisiana finally ratified the 19th Amendment in 1970.

44. Tennessee Ratifies the 19th Amendment, August 18, 1920

The fate of the 19th Amendment ended up resting with Tennessee in 1920. After March 1920 35 states had ratified the amendment for women’s suffrage. Suffragists needed one more state for ratification, but eight states had already rejected the amendment and a few others were either undecided or had decided not to vote.

45. North Carolina Rejects the 19th Amendment, August 19, 1920 (Ratifies May 6, 1971)

In August 1920 both North Carolina and Tennessee held special sessions to consider the 19th Amendment for ratification and women waited to see which state would become the 36th to ratify the amendment into law. North Carolina delayed until Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920 and then voted to reject the amendment on August 19. North Carolina did not ratify the 19th Amendment until 1971.

46. Connecticut Ratifies the 19th Amendment, September 14, 1920

A formal women’s suffrage movement began after the Civil War when Frances Ellen Burr and Isabella Beecher Hooker formed the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. Like many suffrage associations, there was division in the last decades of the nineteenth century over tactics and there was a strong anti-suffrage portion of the population. Women in the state gained the right to vote in school elections in 1893 and on library issues in 1909 (although this was never put into practice). Support for the suffrage movement declined severely by the early 1900s, but under the new leadership of Katharine Houghton Hepburn the movement gained new momentum. In the 1910s Connecticut women worked in the national campaign for a suffrage amendment, gathering petitions and several CT women picketed at the White House with the “Silent Sentinels.” Fourteen Connecticut suffragists were arrested during the pickets.

47. Vermont Ratifies the 19th Amendment, February 8, 1921

Vermont women began calling for more rights in the 1850s and again in the 1870s. In 1880 Vermont women who were taxpayers could vote in school elections and hold limited public positions. Also, in the 1880s the Vermont Equal Suffrage Association organized to call for voting rights within the state as well as increasingly working with the national movement. As women became more active in war efforts during World War I it seemed that they were also making progress for state suffrage. In 1917 new legislation allowed female taxpayers to vote in town meetings and the call for a federal suffrage amendment was steadily gaining traction. The roadblock stopping full suffrage in Vermont ended up being the state’s governor, Percival Clement, who was opposed to women’s suffrage and a strong ally to the liquor industry. In 1919 the Vermont state legislature passed a bill to give women the right to vote in presidential elections, but Clement vetoed it. After Congress passed the 19th Amendment, supporters of suffrage called on the governor to call a special session in summer 1920 to ratify it. Clement refused. Ultimately 36 states ratified the 19th Amendment, and it was signed into law in August 1920. Vermont women went to the polls in November 1920 and in the next legislative session the Vermont legislature ratified the 19th Amendment on February 8, 1921.

48. Florida Ratifies the 19th Amendment, May 13, 1969

Ella Chamberlain organized Florida’s first suffrage organization in 1893, but her Florida Woman Suffrage Association only lasted for about 4 years. The movement restarted in 1912 and the Florida Equal Suffrage Association and Florida Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs advocated for voting rights. The movement was smaller than other states, but suffragists campaigned locally for suffrage and lobbied legislators for the vote. For the most part, Florida politicians remained anti-suffrage. Like the other southern states, Floridians supported states rights and did not want a federal amendment changing voting regulations within their state. They also feared the 19th Amendment would expand voting to more African Americans, something that most southern states were restricting. Neither of Florida’s US Senators voted in favor of the 19th Amendment when it passed Congress. Congress sent the 19th Amendment to the states for ratification at the end of Florida’s legislative session. Suffragists traveled to Tallahassee to urge legislators to vote on the amendment before the session ended but found that there was very little support for suffrage among the politicians. The legislative session ended before the 19th Amendment could be discussed and since there was very little support for suffrage Governor Sidney Catts did not call a special session for ratification. As a result, Florida did not vote on the 19th Amendment during the 1919-1920 ratification process. Florida symbolically ratified the 19th Amendment on May 13, 1969.

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Ratification of the 19th Amendment: Timeline and Story Map

Created by Kathleen Thompson on June 25th 2021, 8:31:02 pm.

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"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." The United States Congress passed the 19th Amendment, or "Susan B. Anthony Amendment" on June 4, 1919 and sent it to the states for ratification. At the time, women needed 36 states to ratify the 19th Amendment for it to be signed into law. Between June 1919 and August 1920 states argued, ratified, and rejected the 19th Amendment which was ultimately made official on August 26, 1920. The last ratification did not occur until 1984.

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Ratification of the 19th Amendment: Timeline and Story Map

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