90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution (08/18/1920)

[ilovepaydays]

Wikipedia - 19th Amendment of the United States Constitution‎

90 years ago today the 19th Amendment was ratified, guaranteeing women the right to vote in the United States. Let's celebrate!

Tennessee was the 36th and final state needed for ratification. Go Volunteers!

Here is a list of the rest of the states that followed:

Ratification was completed on August 18, 1920. The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following states:

Connecticut (September 14, 1920, reaffirmed on September 21, 1920)
Vermont (February 8, 1921)
Delaware (March 6, 1923, after being rejected on June 2, 1920)
Maryland (March 29, 1941 after being rejected on February 24, 1920; not certified until February 25, 1958)
Virginia (February 21, 1952, after being rejected on February 12, 1920)
Alabama (September 8, 1953, after being rejected on September 22, 1919)
Florida (May 13, 1969)
South Carolina (July 1, 1969, after being rejected on January 28, 1920; not certified until August 22, 1973)
Georgia (February 20, 1970, after being rejected on July 24, 1919)
Louisiana (June 11, 1970, after being rejected on July 1, 1920)
North Carolina (May 6, 1971)
Mississippi (March 22, 1984, after being rejected on March 29, 1920)

[attyfan]

What a great anniversary! It is a pity that it took some states so very long to ratify it.

[Jenna]

[Fergus]

A great and important anniversary to celebrate!

"Well done!" to the Suffragettes who fought the good fight!

[smurfy]

So glad my State was #1!!!!

[skatingfan5]

A great and important anniversary to celebrate!

"Well done!" to the Suffragettes who fought the good fight!

Yes, especially to Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, and all the myriad others who worked for many decades to get the right to vote for women in the United States but who didn't live long enough to see that day come. As a woman, I most gratefully salute you.

So glad my State was #1!!!!

Smurfy, I'm afraid that Connecticut wasn't the first. It was the first after the amendment was officially ratified. Several states were the first, more than a year earlier on June 10, 1919. But at least CT didn't wait for another 50 years, like a few of the states did.

[skatesindreams]

I'm embarassed for Florida!

[skatingfan5]

I'm embarassed for Florida!

Well, at least Florida had a step up on both of the Carolinas and Louisiana.

[Jenna]

Some of the states didn't let women vote until the 70's? That's sort of shocking. I did not know that..

Shame on South Carolina. I was alive for the ratification of that ammendment.

[skatingfan5]

Some of the states didn't let women vote until the 70's? That's sort of shocking. I did not know that..

No, women could vote in ALL states once the 19th Amendment was ratified. It's just that some states didn't get around to officially ratifying it until much later -- sort of moot by then. Now, Switzerland, on the other hand, didn't give women the right to vote until 1971, 8 years after Afghanistan. At the other end of the spectrum, Finland was the first country to give full suffrage to all citizens (both the right to vote and the right to run elected office) in 1906 -- so that's just been a little over 100 years.

[Jenna]

Oh, okay. I thought that was really strange.

It's incredible that women were not allowed to vote in SUI until 29 years ago. Wow.

[skatingfan5]

Oh, okay. I thought that was really strange.

It's incredible that women were not allowed to vote in SUI until 29 years ago. Wow.

Actually, 39 years ago. But yeah, it still was a "wow" for me when I learned about that.

[HisWeirness]

The women in Appenzell Innerrhoden in Switzerland did not have the right to vote until 1990.

http://history-switzerland.geschicht...itzerland.html

[Jenna]

Math failure.

[Norlite]

Wonderful subject! Thanks for posting, and congratulations Americans! Interesting facts about other countries too. Finland!


Info on Canada, (copied from Wiki)

Widows and unmarried women were granted the right to vote in municipal elections in Ontario in 1884. Such limited franchises were extended in other provinces at the end of the 19th century, but bills to enfranchise women in provincial elections failed to pass in any province until Manitoba finally succeeded in 1916. At the federal level it was a two step process. On Sept. 20, 1917, women gained a limited right to vote: According to the Parliament of Canada website, the Military Voters Act established that "women who are British subjects and have close relatives in the armed forces can vote on behalf of their male relatives, in federal elections." About a year and a quarter later, at the beginning of 1919, the right to vote was extended to all women in the Act to confer the Electoral Franchise upon Women. The remaining provinces quickly followed suit, except for Quebec, which did not do so until 1940. Agnes Macphail became the first woman elected to Parliament in 1921.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_suffrage#Canada

And a special shout out to the amazing Agnes Macphail