On August 18, 1920 the 19th Amendment was passed allowing women to vote in the United States. The victory took decades of marches, protests, and petitions to finally win constitutional approval by Congress. Although the amendment may have been a positive progress in the equal rights of all women to vote, what is interesting is why the founding fathers left the right to vote in the discretion of the states when the Constitution was ratified in 1778. Obviously women were present in America at that time. However, I believe that the 19th Amendment was inevitable due to the progressive women’s movement of independence and the growing participation in the workplace into the 20th century. What is interesting since the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1920 to present, is the divorce rate in America has risen exponentially. I am not implying the 19th Amendment is the sole factor in this trend, but I do find the correlation to be interesting. I have to wonder if the states excluded women’s right to vote because the traditional family unit was the norm in America in 1780’s or were they purposely attempting to suppress women in American society from gaining equal rights? Whatever the reason, the 19th Amendment was no doubt a major victory in the progress of women’s rights in America.
19th Amendment – Women’s Vote
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