Every year, millions of women head to the polls to vote in local, state, and national elections. But this wasn’t always the case. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification, or approval, of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It ensures that the right to vote cannot be denied on the basis of sex.
When the United States was founded in 1776, women had no say in how the nation was run. In 1848, the first public meeting on women’s rights was held in Seneca Falls, New York. It marked the start of the movement for women’s suffrage, or the right to vote. Activists such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Alice Paul were some of the leaders in the fight. These women and their followers organized protest marches, gave speeches, and signed petitions demanding the right to vote.
“It was a long struggle,” says Paula Casey, a speaker on the women’s suffrage movement. “This was also the greatest nonviolent struggle in the history of our country.” Eventually, their efforts paid off. In 1920, women were finally guaranteed the right to vote. “What I think is interesting is that it took so long—72 years,” says Casey.
Women have come a long way since then in engaging with politics. Today, more women than ever are serving in the U.S. Congress. In the most recent presidential elections, women have voted in higher numbers than men.