It took women over a century to gain the right to vote in 1920; now looking back almost a century later, women in America are some of the most active members of the political sphere. The Nineteenth Amendment empowered women to have their voices heard in politics.

The 19th Amendment guarantees that “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.” Its passage is historic and, truly, is only the beginning of a suffrage that still moves today.

A century after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, women are still advocating for their rights. But the passage of the 19th Amendment was an important milestone in women’s history. The amendment gave women the power to vote and have a say in running our democracy.

The Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified on August 18, 1920. It declares that “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.

On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment was adopted.

The measure passed the House 304 to 89—a full 42 votes above the required two-thirds majority. Two weeks later, on June 4, 1919, the U.S. Senate passed the 19th Amendment by two votes over its two-thirds required majority, 56-25. The amendment was then sent to the states for ratification.

During the Progressive Era, a period of significant social activism and institutional reform from the 1890s through the 1920s, political actors in the United States adopted four constitutional amendments in a short span of roughly 10 years: the Sixteenth Amendment, authorizing a direct income tax2; the Seventeenth …

The woman’s suffrage movement is important because it resulted in passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which finally allowed women the right to vote.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

The women’s issues became so important in the American culture, because it shows how hard these women fought for what they believed in and never gave up no matter how long it took.

During the Civil War, reformers focused on the war effort rather than organizing women’s rights meetings. Many woman’s rights activists supported the abolition of slavery, so they rallied to ensure that the war would end this inhumane practice. Some women’s rights activists, like Clara Barton, served as nurses.

They worked as scouts, spies, prison guards, cooks, nurses and they fought in combat. One of the best-documented female soldiers is Sarah Edmonds—her alias was Frank Thompson. She was a Union soldier, and she worked for a long time during the war as a nurse.

The lives of women changed dramatically during the American Civil War. On the home front, women for both sides had to manage the household while their husbands and sons were off fighting battles. On the battlefield, women helped to supply the soldiers, provide medical care, and worked as spies.