Today In History : Women Granted The Right To Vote

World News Rudolph Rodriquez
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August 26 is observed as Women’s Equality Day. It is the day that women in all parts of the country were officially granted voting rights. It was on a Friday, 96 years ago that there was an adoption of the 19th Amendment that proclaimed all United States citizens’ right to vote should not be abridged or denied by any state or the United States on the grounds of sex. In November that year, for the first time over 8 million Americans were allowed to vote because of the new law.

The origin of women’s suffrage can be traced to the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention when there was a gathering of close to 200 women to deliberate on the rights of women. They supported the rights of women to vote with a declaration and an opinion among other resolutions that caused public ridicule. Several women became educated and entered the labor force as the momentum of the movement rose over the next 70 years. The movement was phenomenal according to the National Women’s History Project because the leaders employed other means of raising awareness while lacking financial and legal resources. The organization also explained that women had to travel the country, publish newspapers, give speeches, and circulate numerous petitions to win the voting rights. They were harassed and repeatedly mocked and sometimes assaulted by police and mobs. Some were brutally treated or jailed when they protested.

The 1919 proposed Amendment was barely recognized in August 1920. Reports say that after being persuaded by his mother to support the cause, a 23-year-old legislator from Tennessee cast a vote that put it over the edge.

Today, the NWHP commemorates August 26 by creating awareness on the history of the movement.