Let Us Vote (1848 - 1920)

Right Fought For: The right to vote

For most of American history, women had no political voice. They paid taxes, raised future citizens, and followed laws—but they had no say in any of it. That started to change in 1848, when a group of women met in Seneca Falls, New York, and publicly declared what many had been thinking for years: women deserved the right to vote.

These women weren’t allowed to vote, run for office, or even speak in many public forums. Still, they spoke anyway. Over the next 72 years, thousands of women organized protests, wrote petitions, marched in parades, and were even jailed and force-fed during hunger strikes. They were ridiculed, threatened, and often silenced by newspapers, neighbors, and even their own families. But they didn’t stop.

This was never just about casting a ballot. It was about being counted. It was about recognizing that a woman’s opinion mattered as much as a man’s. In 1920, the 19th Amendment was finally ratified. It said the right to vote could not be denied on the basis of sex. That one sentence changed everything—and yet, for many women of color, the fight was far from over.

Sources:

• National Archives. “19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote.” archives.gov

• Library of Congress. “Votes for Women: The Struggle for Suffrage.” loc.gov

• National Park Service. “Women’s Rights Movement.” nps.gov