The 19th Amendment

SECTION 1. The right of the 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.

SECTION 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Congress sent the 19th Amendment to the states for ratification on this date in 1919. By August of 1920, the necessary 36 states (of 48) had ratified the amendment and it went into effect.

It’s interesting to note the 12 states that had not yet ratified, including several that had rejected the amendment.

  • Connecticut ratified in September 1920.
  • Vermont ratified in 1921.
  • Delaware rejected the amendment in 1920, but did ratify in 1923.
  • Maryland rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1941.
  • Virginia rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1952.
  • Alabama rejected the amendment in 1919, but ratified it in 1953.
  • Florida ratified in 1969.
  • South Carolina rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1969.
  • Georgia rejected the amendment in 1919, but ratified it in 1970.
  • Louisiana rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1970.
  • North Carolina ratified in 1971.
  • Mississippi rejected the amendment in 1920, but ratified it in 1984.

Not that long ago.

For comparison, the 15th amendment, ratified 50 years earlier.

SECTION 1. 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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

And the 26th, ratified in 1971.

SECTION 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.

SECTION 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.