Reasoning Behind the 19th Amendment

When the constitution was written, the idea of universal suffrage was too radical for our founding fathers to address. They decided to leave the states with the authority to decide the requirements for voting. (Janda) By allowing the states to decide who voted, the authors had not intended for each state 's discriminations to prevent the country from maintaining true democracy. However, by not setting up a nationwide regulation, the authors launched the country into a century and a half long fight for freedom and equality for all.
White males over the age of 21 were the first to be able to participate in American democracy. Besides some taxpaying or property owning laws, the majority of all working class white males were eligible to vote by 1850. During this time, the nation was on the brink of a civil war. One of the underlying issues of the Civil War was slavery. Blacks were beginning to cry for equality, and their right to vote was not far off. The 15th amendment was quick to follow the Civil War, making it illegal to deny the right to vote to anyone on account of their race. Blacks did not actually gain the right to vote in all states until The Voting Rights Act in the 1960s.
The government gave blacks the right to vote because they saw it could produce an immediate political gain. Nothing could be gained from allowing women to vote, so the government refrained from amending the constitution for women. (Flexner) Once blacks gained their right to vote, women began to cry for equality.
"The beginning of the fight for women suffrage is usually traced to the ‘Declaration of Sentiments ' produced at the first woman 's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N. Y. in 1848." (Linder) A few years before this convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott had to sit as observers at an anti-slavery gathering because they were women. Neither was very happy with that arrangement which led to the creation of Stanton 's, "Declaration of Principles." This document called for a change in women 's current social status in America. The Woman 's Rights Convention in Syracuse in 1852 introduced one of the most prominent speakers in women 's suffrage, Susan B. Anthony. She and Stanton became two of the biggest influences that helped women gain equality.
Women activists involved in the movement were called suffragists. The typical woman activist was middle class, and usually unmarried. These were the women who were not afraid to step outside their traditional role in American history. They were becoming frustrated with their status, economically, because they had just watched black slaves gain more rights than they held.
Not all states denied women from voting; Wyoming and Colorado gave women the right to vote in 1869 and 1893, respectively. The western states awarded women this right more quickly than other states because the women who pioneered out west were rebelling from the traditional role of women in society. (Janda) The western states were just being created and the founders were, usually, more modern thinkers.
Ironically, many women were deeply opposed to women gaining the right to vote. They were comfortable with their positions as socialites, completely dependent on men. "Women were considered sub-sets of their husbands, and after marriage they did not have the right to own property, maintain their wages, or sign a contract." (Flexner) For many women, the idea of complete equality was too radical and unrealistic to pursue.
In 1866 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her followers created The American Equal Rights Association. The goal of this organization was to organize the fight for women 's rights. However, the women heading the organization were beginning to have differing ideas on how to reach their ultimate goal. Because of this tension, the organization split into two different groups. The more radical of the two, the "National Woman Suffrage Association", was founded by Stanton and Anthony in New York. The "American Woman Suffrage Association," founded by Lucy Stone and Julia Howe, was a much more conservative organization in Boston. By 1890, these two groups combined to form the "National American Woman Suffrage Organization."
Throughout the later 1870s, women were beginning to introduce the courts to their struggle. In 1875, the case of Virginia Minor vs. Reese Happersett was brought before the Supreme Court. Virginia Minor, the head of a suffrage group in Missouri, tried to register to vote in 1872; and Happersett would not allow it. Minor decided to try her case with the courts in a lawsuit. The Supreme Court "rejected the argument that voting was a right of citizenship" (Rochester Council) and continued to allow each state to decide whether women were eligible to vote. After Susan B. Anthony was arrested for attempting to vote in the 1872 election, women decided the courts could not benefit them.
The suffragists decided to try different tactics. Instead of focusing on the courts, women began to petition Congress and the states for support. "In 1878, a Woman 's Suffrage Amendment was introduced to U.S. Congress," (Flexner) where it would sit for the next 41 years. The amendment "provided ‘The right of citizens to vote shall not be abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." (Linder) By the 1890s, many new women 's suffrage groups had been formed: the National Council of Jewish Women, the Women 's Christian Temperance Union, the National Association of Colored Women and, the Women 's Trade Union League.
Pressure from all of these groups was beginning to have an effect on the government. "In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt 's Progressive (Bull Moose) Party became the first national political party to have a plank supporting women suffrage." (Linder) Women were actually beginning to gain the attention they had been hoping for. WWI proved to be a hindrance in the struggle because women everywhere turned their attention to helping with the war effort.
Finally, in 1919 both Houses passed the Woman 's Suffrage Amendment. According to one story, the women needed the vote of Tennessee, and it looked as though they were going to lose by one vote. Twenty-four year old Harry Burn cast the deciding vote in favor of the amendment because of a note his mother had placed in his pocket that morning. The note told him "to be a good boy and vote for women 's suffrage." (Linder) On August 26, 1920, the amendment was ratified during Woodrow Wilson 's term as president. The 19th Amendment states:
Section 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2: Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
The fundamental reason this amendment was established was because of a breach of the constitution. America was founded on the principles of the unalienable rights of liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness for all. These rights were not being extended to all human beings before this amendment. By not allowing certain people to vote, democracy was not being fulfilled. Rule by the people was, in fact, rule by a select few. As women began to stand up and unite against the unlawfulness of voting regulations, the country as a whole was forced to pick a side. People were compelled to accept that tradition had become entangled with constitutional law. Tradition was not enough to justify the removal of an unalienable right from any human being; therefore, women were granted their right to vote. This amendment has a direct effect on my life today because I am a twenty- year old female with hopes of pursuing a career in law. Before the 19th amendment, the only hope I would have had for my future would have been to find a good husband and raise a good family. Men were considered superior to women; and if studied closely, women were closer to being property than people. The 19th amendment opened up a new world for women everywhere. If women had never been given the right to vote, they would never have been allowed to participate in any form of democratic government. Laws affecting women were made by men unsympathetic to women 's issues in the past. By giving women the right to vote and participate in government, the 19th amendment gave women a voice and an opportunity. Laws impacting women could now be decided by women, instead of men. Presidential candidates had to address women 's issues in a positive manner in order to assure their votes. Women 's issues had never been a concern addressed by candidates before!
The 19th amendment indirectly gives women, myself included, the opportunity to step outside the chains held by society for thousands of years. I attended private school my entire life competing with males for grades. I was never concerned about finding a husband to ensure my survival. My father told me I could be whatever I wanted to be. My right to vote guaranteed me the same education as every male I grew up with. There are no restrictions on what career I choose. If I want to join the military, I can sign up tomorrow. Before the 19th amendment, all of these choices I have grown up taking for granted were unheard of. Simply by allowing women to vote, the government was declaring that women were equal to men and could not be held back because of their sex. Hilary Clinton is a presidential candidate in the 2008 election as a result of the 19th amendment. She has the possibility of running, backed by the largest political party in America. As a woman, this is an amazing feat made possible by the 19th amendment. The 19th amendment has been the single greatest achievement in history for attaining complete equality for women. In the next election, I can vote and make a woman the chief executive of the United States of America; and if I were a democrat I would do it. Being conservative or liberal is another choice this amendment has given me. I can become an active member of a political party and help influence others to do the same. When I take my LSAT and my bar exam, my gender will not hamper my chances of passing. When I become an attorney, I will be respected and judged on my ability to defend my client rather than on my appearance or sex. This amendment has granted me the unalienable rights it gave my male ancestors. I am capable of using any legal means in my pursuit of happiness. If I do not agree with what is going on in the government, I now have a voice and a vote to change it. There is no longer a line dividing men 's rights and women 's rights. I, by the law of the 19th amendment of the Constitution, am a United States Citizen equal to each and every one of my fellow citizens, whether male or female.

References
Flexner, Eleanor (n.d). The History of Woman 's Suffrage in America. October 8, 2007, from http://www.history.com/exhibits/woman/herstory.html.

Janda, Kenneth. Berry, Jeffrey. Goldman, Jerry (2008). The Challenge of Democracy (9th ed.). Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Linder, Doug (2007). Women 's Fight for the Vote: The Nineteenth Amendment. October 8, 2007, from http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/nineteentham.htm.

Rochester Regional Library Council (2000). Western New York Suffragists: Winning the Vote. October 8,2007, from http://www.winningthevote.org/glossary.html.

References: Flexner, Eleanor (n.d). The History of Woman 's Suffrage in America. October 8, 2007, from http://www.history.com/exhibits/woman/herstory.html. Janda, Kenneth. Berry, Jeffrey. Goldman, Jerry (2008). The Challenge of Democracy (9th ed.). Boston; New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Linder, Doug (2007). Women 's Fight for the Vote: The Nineteenth Amendment. October 8, 2007, from http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/nineteentham.htm. Rochester Regional Library Council (2000). Western New York Suffragists: Winning the Vote. October 8,2007, from http://www.winningthevote.org/glossary.html.