Wisconsin Women’s Long Road to Political Equality

Every August the history around the official certification of the 19th Amendment is celebrated and recalls the journey to political rights

The struggle for women’s political rights in Wisconsin features a long road to equality, and ultimately, victory. The journey includes key moments in history when women in the Badgers State gained political rights, and spans from the 19th Amendment’s ratification to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting the denial of the right to vote based on gender, in May of 1919. You can read a transcript of the 19th Amendment below.

The Senate followed on June 4, and by June 10, Wisconsin became the first state to ratify the historic amendment. This is also considered a culmination of decades of tireless work by various women’s rights groups, active in the state since 1846.

And though the Amendment protected discrimination against all women, it only gave white women the right to vote. Black women, Native American women, Asian American women, and women from other racial and ethnic minority groups continued to be discriminated against for 45 more years until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). The VRA provided protection to Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color (BIWOC) voters. Women with disabilities only gained protections in 1990 with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The timeline of women’s political empowerment includes several key dates: the 1921 Wisconsin Equal Rights Act, the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Each is an important step in Wisconsin women’s quest for political rights and recognition.

A Brief Look at Early Political Firsts for Women

1870 — The 15th Amendment is ratified, indicating, “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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Women are not allowed to vote.

1872 — Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman to run for U.S. President. She receives just a few votes.

1890 — The first state grants women the right to vote in state elections in Wyoming.

1920 — The 19th Amendment is ratified and grants women the right to vote. It reads, “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 Amendment’s official certification date is August 26.

1922 — Activist Rebecca Felton is the first woman appointed to the U.S. Senate. At 87-years-old, she serves for only two days.

1932 — Hattie Wyatt Caraway, of Arkansas, becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.

1933 —Labor Secretary Frances Perkins is the first woman to serve on a Presidential Cabinet under Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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Read the transcript of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Women’s Right to Vote (1920):

Sixty-sixth Congress of the United States of America; At the First Session,

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the nineteenth day of May, one thousand nine hundred and nineteen.

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution extending the right of suffrage to women.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislature of three-fourths of the States.

ARTICLE:

“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.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

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