The 19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment was one of the most important pieces of legislation as far as women in the United States were concerned as it granted them the right to vote. Previously, they were only “represented” by their husbands and fathers, it was a time of transformation in women's history. The women’s rights movement of the mid-nineteenth century focused attention on Constitutional rights for all U.S citizens which included: the right to own property, access to college, suffrage, and the right to have children. Women’s right to vote was the most controversial issue which divided people who felt strongly that women either belonged in their home or were entitled to the same rights as men. After women secured the right to vote in 1920, the women’s rights