Who Supported The 19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment We have all heard of the 27 amendments at one time or another, but could you tell the meaning of each one? Each individual amendment has a its reasons for becoming an amendment, going through the process of being ratified and then eventually becoming an amendment. The 19th amendment took time and many people, especially women fighting for their rights that they deserved.

Prior to the US constitution and any acts for civil rights, people have always desired certain rights and liberties that were once considered far from reach. The Bill of Rights outlines the basic rights, such as freedom of speech, the right to a fair court trial, and the right to vote. Although these civil liberties were written into the constriction it would be decades of struggle and sacrifice before they would apply to all men and women. Civil rights give people the right not to be treated unequally based on certain characteristic, such as their race. Although the Bill of Rights were established, it was not specific enough to include everyone.

First woman to serve in Congress, Jeannette Rankin, stated “How shall we explain to them the meaning of democracy if the same Congress that voted to make the world safe for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country.” The 19th amendment was a major step for women’s rights in America. Many years of hardships led up to the breakthrough that serves as a reminder to all those who fought for their rights. There were many key people and organizations that fought for the woman’s suffrage movement. They took part in protest, strikes, and conventions for the right to vote.

Nowhere in the Constitution does it state that women are citizens. Women have never been legally declared persons in this country, not by the Founding Fathers, not by the Constitution, not by the Supreme Court. The Fifteenth Amendment guarantees to right to vote to all U.S. citizens, whatever their race, whether they had been born free or born a slave, but it didn’t include women the right to vote. Women fought along for the abolition of slavery. When the battle was won, black men got the right to vote.

On July 9th, 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted in order to secure the previously infringed on rights of formerly enslaved African Americans. This racially charged amendment was intended to guarantee the protection for these former slaves, yet this amendment was distorted in order to justify and deny rights for women, gay couples, men, and various other minority groups. Through examining specific cases such as, Muller v. Oregon and Bradwell v. Illinois, it becomes evident that this amendment has been used both positively and negatively to effect women’s rights and protection under the law. Especially in regarding the 19th century, the Fourteenth Amendment was used to rationalize sexist actions by employers, states, and other officials.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were two symbolic laws passed by Congress in response to the nonviolent protests, boycotts, demonstrations, and sit-ins. The people were expressing their first amendments rights of freedom of speech and right to peacefully assemble. As a result, the movement managed to end separation by law in American society; however, separation among some citizens remained.

For a very long time, the voting rights of the citizens have been a problem in the US. It started out with only men with land being able to vote, and then expanded to white men, and then to all men. However, women were never in the situation, they were disregarded and believed to not be worthy enough to have the same rights as men. They were essentially being treated as property, therefore having no rights. But, in Susan B. Anthony’s speech, she hits upon the point that women are just as righteous as men.

They Did It ! Recently a decision was made that will change America forever. On August 18th Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment, therefore granting women the right to vote in all states. This decision with certainly be met with both support and opposition from many.

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby develops an illustration of women and their position in society during this time period, based on the characters and events in the novel. As traditional Victorian values were left behind, the 1920s roared with a new era of freedom for women and their roles. Remarkable changes occurred for women in their appearance, jobs, politics, and social expectations. Women stood up, laws were enacted, and attitudes and views gradually changed. The 1920s brought a new found liberation for women that progressively changed their roles in society.

Advances are Being Made The gender divide has been around since man and woman walked the earth. Women have always had to fight to be equal with men. There were many movements such as Women’s suffrage that took many years to even be heard. In 1918 Representative Rankin opens debate on a suffrage amendment in the House.

The history.com’s staff explains the stages that the women of the past went through to gain them the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920. Simplified the 19th Amendment is the right for the citizens of the United States to be able to vote and not be denied by the United States or by any State on account of their sex. It talks about when the 14th amendment was ratified in 1868, it granted all citizen the right to be able to vote. But they defined “citizen as male”, giving the right to vote to the black men. Because of this many women, including Susan B. Anthony rallied and protested the 15th amendment, believing that it could push lawmakers into making it so that women could vote along with the men.