National American Woman Suffrage Association - Gaining The Vote - 1916-20

1916-20

In 1916 at the NAWSA annual convention, President Woodrow Wilson unveiled his plan to gain suffrage. It required the coordination of all suffrage workers across the country, in state and local groups. In 1917, women in New York state won the right to vote, after a petition drive amassed more than a million signatures. At the eleventh hour, the powerful Tammany Hall Democratic machine in New York decided not to oppose the measure, and it passed by a slim majority.

During the involvement of the United States in World War I, many women's rights activists, led by the NAWSA, decided to table the measures that they had been promoting. This prudent move was appreciated by male legislators who saw in it another reason why women deserved the right to vote.

In special sessions conducted during May and June, 1919, the Nineteenth Amendment passed both the House and the Senate. The proposed amendment was sent to the states for ratification. The approval of 36 states was required for the constitution to be changed, and Tennessee became the 36th to do so on August 18. On August 26, 1920, the amendment was certified for adoption by the United States Secretary of State.

From 1920 to 1921, the NAWSA reformed into the League of Women Voters, with Maud Wood Park as president.