Women's Suffrage in The United States

Women's suffrage in the United States was achieved gradually, at state and local levels, during the late 19th century and early 20th century, culminating in 1920 with the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which provided: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 formulated the demand for women's suffrage; after the Civil War agitation for the cause resumed. In 1869 the proposed Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave the vote to black men, split the movement. Campaigners such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton refused to endorse the amendment, as it did not give the vote to women. Others, such as Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe argued that if black men were enfranchised, it would help women achieve their goal. The conflict caused two organizations to emerge, the National Woman Suffrage Association, which campaigned for women's suffrage at a federal level as well as for married women to be given property rights, and the American Woman Suffrage Association, which aimed to secure women's suffrage through state legislation. The groups merged and after 1900 made a new argument to the effect that women's alleged superior characteristics, especially purity, immunity from corruption and concern with children and local issues, made their votes essential to promoting the reforms of the Progressive Era. Women's contributions to American participation in the First World War (1917–18) gave the impetus for final victory.