Amendment XIX Granting Women the Right to Vote (Constitutional Amendments Beyond the Bill of Rights)

168 Pages·2009·7.65 MB·English

by  Carrie Fredericks

Amendment XIX
Granting Women the
Right to Vote
Date: December 11, 2008 Comp Specialist: adarga Edit session: 603
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Amendment XIX
Granting Women the
Right to Vote
Carrie Fredericks, Book Editor
Date: December 11, 2008 Comp Specialist: adarga Edit session: 604
ChristineNasso,Publisher
ElizabethDesChenes,ManagingEditor
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LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
AmendmentXIX:grantingwomentherighttovote/CarrieFredericks,book
editor.
p.cm.--(Constitutionalamendments:beyondtheBillofRights)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-7377-4127-8(hardcover)
1.Women--Suffrage--UnitedStates--History.2.UnitedStates.Constitution.19th
Amendment--History.3.Women--Suffrage--UnitedStates.I.Fredericks,Carrie.
II. Title: Amendment 19. III. Title: Amendment nineteen. IV. Title: Granting
womentherighttovote.
KF4895.A9542009
342.73’072--dc22
2008045046
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 13 12 11 10 09
Contents
Foreword 9
Amendment Text and Explanation 12
Introduction 13
Chronology 20
Chapter 1: Historical Background on
the Nineteenth Amendment
The Seneca Falls Convention 28
Frederick Douglass
This newspaper editorial written by the renowned former
slave and abolitionist describes the Seneca Falls Conven-
tion held in the summer of 1848, offering support for
women’s rights.
Post–Civil War Struggles 32
Ellen DuBois
When the Civil War ended, women turned their focus
from the abolition of slavery to voting rights. Two na-
tional groups with very different strategies and views
emerged to work for women’s suffrage.
The Resignation of a Legend 40
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
InJanuary1892ElizabethCadyStantonresignedaspresi-
dent of the National American Woman Suffrage Associa-
tion. In her farewell speech, she outlined her views on
what lay ahead for women in their quest for equal rights.
The “Night of Terror” 54
Mary A. Nolan
In November 1917, Mary A. Nolan and other suffragists
were arrested for picketing in front of the White House.
She describes the brutal treatment they received from the
police during their incarceration.
Date: January 13, 2009 Comp Specialist: adarga Edit session: 608
Congress Passes the Nineteenth Amendment 58
The New York Times
On June 4, 1919, the U.S. Senate voted 56 to 25 to adopt
the constitutional amendment granting voting rights for
women. Much debate and discussion led up to the final
Senate vote.
Women Finally Get the Vote 66
Associated Press
On August 26, 1920, Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby
signed the proclamation declaring that the Nineteenth
Amendment had been ratified and was now part of the
U.S. Constitution.
Chapter 2: Voting Rights Trials
The Trial of Susan B. Anthony 73
Doug Linder
On June 17, 1873, Susan B. Anthony went on trial for
voting in the 1872 presidential election in Rochester,
New York. She was tried, convicted, and fined for her il-
legal actions.
Minor v. Happersett: The Fourteenth Amendment 90
Does Not Give Women Voting Rights
Morrison R. Waite
In 1874 the U.S. Supreme Court took up the case of Vir-
ginia Minor of Missouri, who alleged that the state’s re-
fusal to allow her register to vote violated her civil rights
under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court disagreed,
asserting that suffrage is not among the privileges and
immunities guaranteed by the Constitution.
The National Woman’s Party Trials 100
Kathryn Cullen-DuPont
In 1917 Alice Paul, head of the National Woman’s Party,
was arrested for picketing outside the White House. She,
along with more than 100 other women, was tried and
convicted for obstructing traffic.
The Nebraska Referendum of 1919 105
James E. Potter
A Nebraska law granting women limited voting rights
was challenged by antisuffragists, who conducted a peti-
tion drive to put the issue on the ballot. Alleging impro-
prieties in the petition drive, Nebraska suffragists took
the matter to court. Barkley v. Pool eventually reached
the Nebraska Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the
suffragists.
The Poll Tax Case: Breedlove v. Suttles 116
Pierce Butler
In this 1937 Supreme Court case, the only one to deal
with the Nineteenth Amendment, a white man claimed
that poll tax laws in Georgia were unconstitutional based
on the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Nineteenth Amend-
ments. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality
of the poll tax.
Chapter 3: Current Debates on Equality
and Voting Rights
Guaranteeing the Right to Vote 122
John Bonifaz
A constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to
vote is needed. Following the 1937 voting rights case
Breedlove v. Suttles, which cited the Nineteenth Amend-
ment, several challenges to voting rights and the poll tax
have come before the Supreme Court.
The Perception of Women in Politics 128
Gloria Steinem
This opinion piece discusses why the gender barrier is
not taken as seriously as the racial barrier in U.S. poli-
tics.
Date: January 13, 2009 Comp Specialist: adarga Edit session: 610
The Electoral College Should Be Abolished 132
The Rest of Us
Even though the founding fathers made the Electoral
College an integral part of the voting process, that sys-
tem is no longer necessary. It would be no simple matter
to abolish the Electoral College, as the Constitution
would have to be amended,but five amendments,includ-
ing the Nineteenth Amendment, have already been rati-
fied to make voting more fair and equal.
The Electoral College Should Be Retained 137
Kevin R.C. Gutzman
The Electoral College serves an important role and
should be retained. The United States was established as
a federal rather than a national republic, and the Elec-
toral College helps preserve the nation’s federal system of
government.
Women Are Still Not Equal 142
Lis Wiehl
In the years since the passage of the Nineteenth Amend-
ment, women have made many strides toward equality.
While much has been done to further women’s rights,in-
equalities still exist, and now the younger generation of
women must do their part to protect their rights and
those of future generations.
Appendices
A. The Amendments to the U.S. Constitution 154
B. Court Cases Relevant to the Nineteenth 156
Amendment
For Further Research 158
Index 162
Granting Women the Right
to Vote
“Today’s Constitution is a realistic docu-
ment of freedom only because of several
corrective amendments. Those amend-
ments speak to a sense of decency and
fairness.”
Thurgood Marshall
While the U.S. Constitution forms the backbone of
American democracy, the amendments make the Con-
stitution a living, ever-evolving document. Interpretation and
analysis of the Constitution inform lively debate in every
branch of government, as well as among students, scholars,
and all other citizens, and views on various articles of the
Constitution have changed over the generations. Formally al-
tering the Constitution, however, can happen only through
the amendment process. The Greenhaven Press series The Bill
of Rights examines the first ten amendments to the Constitu-
tion. Constitutional Amendments: Beyond the Bill of Rights
continues the exploration, addressing key amendments ratified
since 1791.
The process of amending the Constitution is painstaking.
While other options are available, the method used for nearly
every amendment begins with a congressional bill that must
pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives by a
two-thirds majority. Then the amendment must be ratified by
three-quarters of the states. Many amendments have been
proposed since the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791, but
only seventeen have been ratified.
It may be difficult to imagine a United States where women
and African Americans are prohibited from voting, where the
9
Date: December 11, 2008 Comp Specialist: adarga Edit session: 3273