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NYC Suffrage Parade
Over 25,000 Women gathered on 5th Ave to march for women’s right to vote. It was one of the largest demonstrations yet, and it garnered much attention from the public, as well as outrage. Newspapers at the time, including the New York Times, continued to write pieces about reservations for women being granted the vote. Many worried that if women were granted the right to vote, they would not stop pushing for equality in all aspects of life. -
“The Transcontinental Tour”
Starting in September of 1915, suffragettes Maria Kindberg, Sara Bard Field, and Indgeborg Kindstedt drove across the country to get signatures for petitions calling for women’s right to vote. The women did not know each other prior to the journey and dedicated several grueling months to travel over 3,000 miles. They gained over 50,000 signatures on a Congressional petition, showing not only how dedicated women were but also how many were ready to fight for the vote. -
Jeannette Rankin is elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
Rankin is the first woman ever elected to Congress. She was elected in Montana, where she had already helped women get the right to vote. She was born in 1880 to progressive parents and later attended the University of Montana. She was a dedicated suffragette and had a long political and activist career. -
Alice Paul’s Hunger Strike
Alice Paul and other suffragettes went on hunger strike in prison after being arrested outside the White House. The women wanted to be considered political prisoners. After one week, prison guards and officials end up force feeding the women by restraining them and utilizing tubes filled with eggs, milk, and other items. The force feeding was extremely painful and degrading for these women. -
White House Picketing
The National Women’s Party began picketing outside the White House, trying to pressure President Woodrow Wilson into supporting an amendment for women’s right to vote. They did this six days a week for 18 months and had different signs to spark outrage. One infamous sign read, “Mr. President, What Will You Do For Women’s Suffrage.” Many women were later arrested for “obstructing traffic” outside the White House, including Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, leaders in the National Women’s Party. -
“Night of Terror”
In Occoquan Workhouse in Virgina, suffragettes that had been arrested, such as Lucy Burns, were beaten, physiologically tortured, thrown, and choked by prison officials. The women were denied medical care, blankets, and endured severe pain. Word about the night got out through letters, newspapers, and later testimony, leading to public outrage and more attention to the suffrage movement. -
House Passes 19th Amendment
Jeannette Rankin introduced a national amendment for women’s suffrage in the House, and it passed for the first time… It did not pass through the Senate, forcing women to keep fighting and demanding equality. -
Wilson officially supports women’s suffrage
For the first time, President Wilson stands before Congress to publicly support granting women the right to vote. He did this after public outrage from the “Night of Terror” and the Senate’s Blocking of the amendment. His support was what many women had been waiting for. -
Congress Passes the 19th Amendment
By Joint Resolution, the House and Senate passed the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. The House voted 304-89 in favor, and the Senate voted 56-25 in favor. This was the first time it had made it through the Senate, but the states still had to approve it. -
Georgia says “NO”
Georgia became the first state to vote no to ratifying the 19th amendment, illustrating the Southern states’ continued resistance to issues relating to gender and race. Southern states’ voter registration rules were also cited as reasons for not ratifying. Initially, 12 states rejected the amendment. -
19th Amendment Ratified
Tennessee became the 36th state to approve the Amendment, hitting the three-fourths of states needed to ratify it in the U.S. 24-year-old Harry T. Burn Cast the deciding vote in Tennessee after being urged by his mother to “do the right thing.” It had been over 70 years since women first came together in 1848 at the first Seneca Falls Convention. -
First presidential election women are allowed to vote in
The 1920 presidential election between James Cox and Warren Harding was the first presidential election in which women could participate. Female voter turnout was not as high as anticipated due to lack of voter education, violence, discrimination, and restrictions put in place by the states.