Free Essay on 100 Years Since Women Gained Right to Vote: Imagining a World Without It

What would the women's world look like if they had no right to vote? Can you imagine not having the freedom even to make laws concerning them? On August 26, 2020, it reached a hundred years since the 19th Amendment was ratified in the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote. In a world where women's voting rights are evident, it is easy to take that ownership for granted. However, it took many campaigns and suffragettes for things to be as they are today concerning women's rights to vote. In this paper, I will focus on America's struggle to get the 19th Amendment of the Constitution ratified.

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This Amendment prohibits the federal government from denying anyone the right to vote regarding their race or gender. The Amendment did not happen overnight, instead, it meant that women had to fight and wait. Firstly, the introduction of the Amendment of the constitution to Congress occurred in 1878, but unfortunately, the attempts for the formation of the women's suffrage amendment were not approved. On May 21, 1919, there was a passing in the House of Representatives, and later the Senate. The certification of the Amendment took place in the following year, 1920 (Haynes). The detail mentioned above is a brief scope of the 19th Amendment portraying the onset of the suffrage amendment's journey.

Women suffrage incorporated the adoption of many tactics as they fought their way to achieving the ultimate goal of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, thus allowing women a voting right. Suffragettes applied tactics such as lobbying elected representatives and other officials during their statewide campaigns. The suffrages activists went ahead and conducted door to door campaigning, convincing male voters to give them votes in the election, which was a ballot initiative. So far, it is evident that the American women's right to vote did not come easy. There had to be struggles and efforts to make without giving up on the campaigns.

The creation of political ephemera was another creative political tactic that the women used during their fights. It involved the use of cartons, fliers, and badges. This tactic is useful since it has a visual impact on the public, thus influencing their take on the matter. It could also help catch the attention of other prominent members of the Senate, thus motivating them to vote yes in the suffrage ballot initiative. On top of the political ephemera tactic, they used symbolism hacks during their public contests. For instance, women would wear white clothes during the period when it was unlikely to have a public gathering. This act was a symbol of boldness and readiness to have to say in the law-making process.

The women’s suffrage activists supported their fights during the ratification of the 19th Amendment in America’s constitution with valid reasons for women's right to vote. It indicates that the American women had to struggle to get the right, to the point of having to give convincing reasons (Sayej). Some of the primary reasons were that most laws affect both men and women, while others affect women more than men. As much as it would seem straightforward for women's involvement in the voting activity, thus creating a platform for their contribution to decision-making, some people were still against the ratification. No wonder women had to keep fighting for a seat at the table of the decision-making process through voting rights.

The movement of acquiring women's right to vote was not successful until after World War I. The roots of this movement date back to the early nineteenth century. In 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, together with other activists, brought together a women's rights convention at Seneca Falls. There was the drafting of an amendment to the constitution in 1878 by Anthony and Stanton, but it faced massive resistance (Celebrating Women's Suffrage). Alice Paul and other determined suffragists kept moving forward with the work. Eventually, after forty-one years of actively waiting, the 19th Amendment's ratification took place in 1920. The waiting period called for progressive activism despite the considerable resistance. There was also an improvement in women's public policy participation since more women understood their voting rights' importance and impact.

Following the prior discussion in this article, the struggle for American women is evident. The forty-one-year wait was worth the rights that came with the ratification of the Amendment. There are so many reasons for the women's long delay without giving up the fight until they won the war. The activists argued that it was suitable for all, including men. It is because a vast number of intelligent women desire franchises, thus contributing to the development of the nations. The women had to wait for so long to get the right to vote, and at no given point did they give up the fight. Eventually, the great struggles and the long wait paid off in the form of the ratification of the 19th Amendment leading to the acquisition of rights to vote in the US elections, thus playing a part in making national decisions.

Works Cited

Haynes, Suyin. Why Some States Waited Decades to Ratify the 19th Amendment. 17 Aug. 2020, time.com/5876762/19th-amendment-ratified/.

K, Harhai M, and Krueger M. “Celebrating Women's Suffrage and the 19th Amendment Using AASL Standards.” Proquest, 2019, search.proquest.com/docview/2264119567?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true.

Sayej, Nadja. “100 Years, 100 Women: Female Artists Celebrate the Right to Vote.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, August 18, 2020, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/aug/18/artists-right-to-vote-women-19th-amendment.