Woman Suffrage in 1919

 

The Suffrage Flag

The National Women's Party under Alice Paul had engaged in militant activism including demonstrations and hunger strikes to popularize the cause of Woman Suffrage.  By 1919 in the United States, decades of persistent activism finally began to bear fruit. The landscape was one of mounting momentum, as suffragists had successfully shifted public opinion through a combination of peaceful protests, persuasive arguments, and increasingly visible political pressure.

The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), under Carrie Chapman Catt's strategic leadership, had effectively pursued what she called her "Winning Plan" – a dual approach targeting both state-by-state victories and federal amendment passage. By 1919, fifteen states had already granted women full voting rights, while others permitted women to vote in presidential elections, creating a patchwork of partial enfranchisement across the nation.

In Congress, the tide was finally turning. After decades of the Susan B. Anthony Amendment (which would become the 19th Amendment) being introduced and defeated, it passed the House of Representatives in May 1919 with a vote of 304 to 89. The following month, on June 4, 1919, the Senate finally approved it with a vote of 56 to 25 – just two votes over the required two-thirds majority.

The movement's success was propelled by several converging factors: women's vital contributions to the World War I effort had weakened arguments against their political participation; the more militant tactics of Alice Paul's National Woman's Party had kept constant pressure on President Wilson and Congress; and the growing number of western states with women voters had demonstrated that women's suffrage could function effectively without social upheaval.

This moment in 1919 represented the culmination of a struggle that had begun at Seneca Falls in 1848, though the work was not yet complete. The real challenge of ratification by 36 states still lay ahead, as suffragists pivoted from federal lobbying to state-by-state campaigns. The road had been long – spanning generations of activists from Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony to Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul – but the finish line was finally in sight.

The Suffrage Flag became the symbol of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment as a star was added to the flag every time a state ratified the amendment until the number  of 36 states was reached, the required number for national certification.

Choose a Button

As you enter the house on the front porch you will be offered an historic recreation of a button worn in 1919 to support Women's Right to Vote. Join the residents of the 1919 Version of the Abernethy-Shaw House in celebrating a woman's right to vote and the decades of struggle it took to arrive at that point before finally achieving their goal in 1919. Please wear your button to commemorate the struggle to win the vote.