Seventy-two years from Seneca Falls to ratification — and the ongoing struggle that followed.
July 19–20, 1848
Seneca Falls Convention
The first women's rights convention in American history, organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott in Seneca Falls, New York. The Declaration of Sentiments is adopted, demanding equal rights for women including — controversially even among attendees — the right to vote.
1851
Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" Speech
At the Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, Truth delivers her powerful speech challenging both racism and sexism. She forces the movement to confront the exclusion of Black women from its vision of equality.
1869
Movement Splits
The suffrage movement splits over the 15th Amendment, which gives Black men the vote but excludes women. Stanton and Anthony form the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA); Lucy Stone and others form the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). The division weakens the movement for two decades.
1869
Wyoming Grants Women the Vote
Wyoming Territory becomes the first government in the United States to grant women the right to vote. Colorado (1893), Utah (1896), and Idaho (1896) follow. The western states lead the way.
November 5, 1872
Susan B. Anthony Votes Illegally
Anthony registers and votes in Rochester, New York, arguing the 14th Amendment gives women the right to vote. She is arrested, tried, and fined $100 — which she refuses to pay. The judge refuses to jail her, denying her the appeal she sought.
1890
Movement Reunites
The two suffrage organizations merge into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) with Stanton as president and Anthony as vice president. The movement is reunified but adopts a narrower, more racially exclusionary strategy to win Southern support.
March 3, 1913
Washington Suffrage Parade
Alice Paul organizes a suffrage parade down Pennsylvania Avenue the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. 5,000 women march; crowds attack them while police stand by. The violence generates national outrage and sympathy for the cause. Ida B. Wells marches with the Illinois delegation despite being asked to march separately.
January 10, 1917
Silent Sentinels Begin White House Vigil
Alice Paul's National Woman's Party begins picketing the White House — the first group ever to do so. They hold banners calling Wilson a hypocrite for fighting for democracy abroad while denying it to women at home. Many are arrested and imprisoned.
November 14, 1917
"Night of Terror"
Thirty-three suffragists are arrested and brutally beaten at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia. When news of the brutality spreads, public opinion shifts dramatically toward suffrage.
June 4, 1919
Congress Passes the 19th Amendment
The Senate passes the amendment 56-25 after the House approved it 304-89. It goes to the states for ratification — requiring 36 of 48 states to approve.
August 18, 1920
Tennessee Ratifies — The Amendment is Adopted
Young Harry T. Burn changes his vote after receiving his mother's letter. Tennessee becomes the 36th state to ratify. The 19th Amendment is certified eight days later. After 72 years, American women have the constitutional right to vote.
1920–1965
Black Women Still Denied the Vote
Despite the 19th Amendment, Black women in the South continue to face the same voter suppression as Black men — poll taxes, literacy tests, and violence. The vote promised in 1920 does not become a practical reality for most Black women until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
1923
Equal Rights Amendment Introduced
Alice Paul drafts the Equal Rights Amendment, declaring equal rights under the law shall not be denied on account of sex. It will be debated, defeated, revived, and debated again for the next century — still not ratified.