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Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls
In the 1840s, the women's rights movement was led by Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Sojourner Truth. This convention was held to discuss women's right to vote and it was the first time women's suffrage was addressed as a political movement. Unfortunately, the outbreak of the Civil War caused the Women's Suffrage movement to be put on hold. -
Married Women's Property Act
This was the first law in the United States that granted married women the right to own their own property separate from their husbands. Prior to this, married women had no economic or legal identity from their husbands. However, this law focused quite a bit on the right to inherit and transfer enslaved people and it was made clear that this law was made to protect family property. It was not passed in the interest of advancing women's rights. -
Disagreement on the 14th and 15th Amendments
Women's suffragists objected to the 14th amendment which defined both citizens and voters as male. The 15th Amendment introduced language that would grant the right to vote regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude", but notably gender was absent. Susan B. Anthony apposed this and adopted anti-Black rhetoric. This led to the split of the women's suffrage movement into two groups: National Women Suffrage Association and American Woman Suffrage Association. -
Creation of the National American Woman Suffrage Association
The two suffrage movements had largely differing views on how women's suffrage should be achieved. After the NWSA and the AWSA worked separately for two decades, the failed introduction of a women's suffrage amendment in 1878 led them to merge again. This resulted in the formation of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. -
Women's Suffrage Parade
The Women's Suffrage Parade marched on Washington, D.C. which took several hours as the protesters were continually harassed. It was the first organized political march on Washington. The goal was to convince the government to amend the constitution to give women the right to vote. However, this march was segregated placing Black women's groups at the end. -
Full Women's Suffrage Passed in 15 States
By WWI, 15 states had passed full women's suffrage. The irony of women not being allowed to vote in national elections was highlighted by the fact that Montana had elected a woman to the House of Representatives. She was allowed to hold office but could not vote. -
Ratification of the 19th Amendment
The House of Representatives voted to approve the 19th Amendment on May 21, 1919, after which 36 states had to ratify it. By the end of 1919, 22 states had done this. Tennessee was the last state to ratify the 19th Amendment, and it became law in August of 1920. -
Equal Rights Amendment is Introduced to Congress
The ERA was introduced to Congress by Senator Curtis and Representative Anthony, who was the nephew of Susan B. Anthony. It is important to note that the two were Republicans. This Amendment was written by Alice Paul who was the head of the National Women's Party -
Civil Rights Act is Passed
Even after the 19th Amendment was passed, racial discrimination in voting was still legal. Poll taxes aided in this until they were banned by the 24th Amendment in 1964. The passing of the Civil Rights Act prohibited racial discrimination in voting. -
Amended Version of the ERA is Passed
The Senate and the House passed an amended version of the ERA which stated that "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United Sates or by any State on account of sex." instead of "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." It also set a seven year deadline for the Amendment to be ratified. -
Ratification of the ERA Fails
The original seven-year deadline was extended to June 30, 1982. This deadline expired as only 35 of the needed 38 states had ratified the amendment. In accordance with the ratification process, the ERA has been reintroduced in every session of Congress since 1982. The only action taken on it was a House floor vote in 1983 that failed by 6 votes. -
Too Late for Additional States to Ratify ERA
Because of the two deadlines set by Congress, the Justice Department found it to be too late for additional states to ratify the ERA. The Amendment had begun receiving bipartisan support at this point in time. It also had been ratified in 37 states. -
Virigina Ratifies the ERA
Virginia was the 38th state to ratify the ERA, which may make it easier to prove in court that it should be added to the Constitution. The ERA has now technically passed the threshold for being ratified. But, due to the Justice Department finding it to be too late 19 days earlier, it was not ratified into the U.S. Constitution. -
Measure to Remove 1982 Deadline is Approved
The House approved a measure to remove the 1982 deadline in a 232-183 vote. This was a bid to revive the ERA and possibly allow the ratification in Virginia to count towards full ratification. However, the Senate rejected the effort because "... the statutory period to have passed the ERA expired decades ago... necessary for it to be reintroduced to have constitutional viability." -
Federal Court Dismisses Case to Certify the ERA
A case to have the U.S archivist publish and certify the ERA as part of the Constitution was brought forward by two Democratic states. It was dismissed by a federal appeals court in Washington. This was yet another set back in both the effort to ratify the ERA and improve women's rights. -
Senate Blocks Measure to Remove 1982 Deadline for State Ratification
The Senate Republicans blocked a Democratic measure that would remove the 1982 deadline and allow for the ratification of the ERA. This was won in 51-47 vote, with only two Republicans supporting the measure. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer put the measure up for a vote even though it was unlikely to pass due to the political climate after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. -
President Biden Declares ERA Should Be Considered Ratified
President Biden declared that the ERA should be considered ratified and is the "law of the land". However, this was only symbolic and did not resolve the issues of the ERA still not being ratified. 42 years after the ratification deadline, the ERA still has not been added to the constitution.