Monday, August 17, 2020

Ratification Eve!

It's the day before the centennial of ratification of the 19th Amendment!   What position did your state take regarding ratification?  Here is the run down:

On June 4, 1919, the Senate finally passed the 19th Amendment.  The House had already passed it once in 1918 and again in 1919.   36 states were needed to ratify the 19th Amendment.  


Alice Paul sewed a star on a banner each time a state ratified.

Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan were the first states to ratify on June 10, 1919.  Michigan had already granted women full suffrage while Illinois and Wisconsin allowed women to vote for President.
Seneca Falls Convention in New York, 1848 

A few days later,  New York, Ohio, and Kansas followed in voting in favor of women's suffrage.  Kansas and Ohio had already approved women's suffrage in their states and Ohio allowed women to vote for President.



June 24, 1919 marked the entrance of Pennsylvania to states favoring ratification; Massachussetts followed the following day.

Texas was the first southern states to ratify on June 28.

In early July, Iowa joined the states in favor of ratification on July 2; Missouri approved the amendment the following day.

Georgia voted against ratification on July 24, 1919.  Four days later, Arkansas voted to approve ratification.



Both Montana and Nebraska approved the vote on August 2, 1919.  Montana had given women full suffrage in 1914 and in Nebraska, women could vote for president.

Minnesota women could also vote for president.  On September 8, 1919  the amendment passed the there.

Two days later New Hampshire voted in favor of the women.

September 22, 1919 marked another rejection of the amendment as Alabama would not ratify women's right to vote.



Utah approved the amendment on September 30, 1919.  As you remember from previous posts, Utah had already granted women full suffrage in 1896.

California approved the amendment on November 1, 1919.  Four days later, Maine did as well!




Women received special Christmas presents in December of 1919 as North Dakota (December 1), South Dakota (December 4) and Colorado (December 14) voted YES! 

 Colorado and South Dakota were states where women already had suffrage.  North Dakota allowed women to vote for president.

In January of 1920, five states voted in favor: Kentucky and Rhode Island (January 9), Oregon (January 13), Indiana (January 16) and Wyoming, the first suffrage state approved on January 27.

In that same month, the amendment was rejected by South Carolina.

February is the month of Valentines Day.  Many states said to women, will you be my valentine and my equal voting partner?

Nevada, long a suffrage state, ratified on February 7.  New Jersey followed two days later.  Other states that ratified included Arizona (February 12), New Mexico (February 21), and Oklahoma (February 28).




No valentines for Maryland and Virginia who both rejected the amendment that month.

West Virginia voted in favor on March 10!  March 22, marked the 35th state to pass the amendment and Washington gave the women two thumbs up! 

Unfortunately, Mississippi opposed on March 31 and Delaware rejected the amendment on June 2.

The states remaining to vote included Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina,Tennessee, and Vermont.


Stay tuned!  
Have a safe and happy day!

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