In the United States of America, women’s suffrage is the lawful right of women population for voting in the nation. The right had been established over the period of various decades, first across several localities and states, at times for a limited period of time, and then all across the nation in the year 1920. The demand for this legal right started gathering strength in the years of 1840s, when it emerged from the wide movement for rights of women (Kevin, 973).

1. THE HISTORY AND IMPACT OF
NINETEENTH AMENDMENT
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE

2. Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
The History of Women’s Suffrage.............................................................................................2
Women’s Suffrage after the 19th
Amendment...........................................................................4
Impact of the Regime.................................................................................................................5
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

3. Introduction
In the United States of America, women’s suffrage is the lawful right of women
population for voting in the nation. The right had been established over the period of various
decades, first across several localities and states, at times for a limited period of time, and
then all across the nation in the year 1920. The demand for this legal right started gathering
strength in the years of 1840s, when it emerged from the wide movement for rights of women
(Kevin, 973).
In the year 1848, the Convention of Seneca Fall, the first convention for rights of
women, passed the resolution, favourable for women’s suffrage, irrespective of the fact that it
was opposed by a number of organizers. They believed that the idea had been too extremely.
However, by the first National Convention for the rights of women in the year 1850, suffrage
started to become an extremely significant aspect for the activities of the movement (Aidt and
Bianca, 392).
This essay will focus on providing a historical background of Women’s Suffrage in
the United States of America. Further ahead, referring to the 19th
amendment of Women’s
Suffrage, this essay will discuss how the regime is after the change introduced, and the
impact of this regime on USA, referring to the key changes introduced due to this particular
regime.
The History of Women’s Suffrage
Women’s Suffrage has been referred to as the right of women for voting in states of
the nation individually. There had been an establishment of suffrage on partial or complete
basis by several territories, states, counties and towns in the later period of 19th
century, and
early period of 20th
century (Kevin, 974). As the right of women for voting was valid in
certain locations, they started to run for public office and to gain positions as members of the

4. school board, judges, county clerks, state legislators, and in the scenario of Jeannette Rankin,
being a member related to congress. The campaign for establishing the right of women for
voting within the states had been simultaneously conducted for amending the Constitution of
United States that would help in the establishment of full rights within each and every state.
The campaign had been successful in ratifying the 19th
amendment in the year 1920 (Aidt and
Bianca, 392).
The demand for this legal right started gathering strength in the years of 1840s that
emerged out of the wider movement for rights of women. The first organizations of national
suffrage had been established in the year 1869 when there had been a formation of two
competing business organization, each of the campaign had been conducted for both, the
national levels and the state levels (Kevin, 977). The National Association of Woman
Suffrage led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, showed specific interest in
amendment of national suffrage.
The American Association of Women Suffrage, under the leadership of Lucy Stone,
held the tendency of working more for the purpose at the level of state. There had been a
merger between the two in the year 1890 as the National Association of American Women
Suffrage. Prospects related to a national amendment appeared dim as it turned across the
century, and slow progress was made at the level of state.
Since the year 1910, however, there had been a revitalization for driving national
amendment, and the movement had been successful in enjoying a number of achievements at
the level of state. The newly developed Party of National Woman, a militant company under
the leadership of Alice Paul, had an exclusive focus on the amendment taking place.
The 19th
amendment to the Constitution of United States has been prohibiting any
citizen of USA from the denial of right for voting based on gender or sex. The ratification had

5. been done on 18th
August, in the year 1920. The Constitution has been allowing the states for
determination of qualifications related to the voters, under the subjectivity of limitations with
the imposition of later amendments. Until the years of 1910, majority of the states ended up
disenfranchising women (Kevin, 974). This amendment culminated the movement of
Women’s Suffrage across the United States of America, which fought at both level, national
and state for the achievement of vote.
Women’s Suffrage after the 19th
Amendment
There had been adoption of the amendment after a major campaign had been held by
the advocates with large disparity to attain their goals and objectives by modifying the laws
of individual state (Miller, 1287). Beginning in the year 1838, women had been authorized by
Kentucky for voting in the elections of school and its action had been copied later by several
other States. Kansas in the year 1887 granted unlimited rights to women for voting in the
elections of municipality. However, not until the year 1869, when the Territory of Wyoming
had been according the rights of women suffrage equality with men, a notable victory had
been registered by the advocates (Aidt and Bianca, 394). Two main sections had been
included in the 19th
amendment of Women Suffrage:
SECTION 1: “The right of the 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.”
SECTION 2: “Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.”
The role played by women along with their social, economic and political
opportunities in the society of America faced a major shift from the era of pre- Revolutionary
War in the early years of 19th
century. In the years that lead up to the Revolution of America,

6. women had been seen as subordinate to men and therefore, had been subjected to the
regulations and law imposed on them by male. There was an expectation for them to be
marrying, raising families and performing the duties of diligent mothers and wives.
Due to the organization of society dominated by male, more often, women did not
seem to be having lawful rights, like the ability of voting or owning property. However, with
the progressing years to Reconstruction and the Civil War, the political, economic and social
roles played by women started dealing with major change (Miller, 1287). Even though the
economic and social changes introduced major rights for women, political changes
introduced by several reform movements dealt with significant shift as pertained to the rights
of women, like education, temperance, suffrage and abolition.
As a result of these economic and societal changes, reform movements had been
gaining major momentum in the mid period of 1800s, and hence, the political change for
introducing female rights of voting had been initiated after a number of on and offs in the
scenario (Aidt and Bianca, 392).
Impact of the Regime
Even though a large population of women have been seeking benefits out of the new
right of voting as soon as it had been amended, it took a number of decades for turning out
with complete adjustment (Kevin, 974). It has been found that government has been growing
continuously as women voter ended up turning out extremely with the passage of time. Since
there had been a granting of suffrage to women across a number of areas with the longer
duration of time in extension from the year 1869 to the year 1920, there are less chances that
the 1st
world war had been the key (Lott, 1180).

7. The adoption of secret ballots prevented a number of illiterate citizens from the right
of voting, as skills of reading was a major requirement of voting. Currently, there was a
simple involvement to take a coloured card that represented the preference of one party
within the booth of voting. The major impact of women suffrage was on taxation and
spending.
For a number of individuals, the consumption and economic benefits from the
perspective of voting barely covered the cost to place votes. As per the estimates, even minor
changes in the benefits and costs are said to be having sizeable effects on the turnout of voter
(Kevin, 973). Since the last two centuries, the barriers of placing votes have been lowered
down in a successive manner, replacing the requirements of property with taxes of poll,
allowing the black men and all women for voting, and since recently, outlawing the literacy
tests and poll taxes.
In context of potentiality, it can take a number of years prior to the complete effect of
voting reform under manifestation, as there will be a replacement of some cohorts for
availing benefits out of the voting right (Lott, 1165). Disciplines like socio- biology
emphasizes on the reasons as per which different genders are successful in the development
of different patterns of behaviour in consistency with the maximized chance for being
successful to pass on the genes.
Women were given the right of voting in 29 different states prior to the nineteenth
amendment related to the Constitution as approved in the year 1920, with seven of the others
giving the approval of amendment and twelve imposing the regime of women’s suffrage
(Miller, 1287). When the political differences of men and women had been examined, the
following statement had been highlighted:

8. “Although many media accounts still suggest that the gender gap is greatest on ‘women’s
issues,’ in fact the gulf today tends to be on issues involving the existence and expansion of
the social-welfare state” (Stark, 1996; pp.72)
As there has been a major expansion in the rights of voting since the past few
centuries, there lies a corresponding shift in the power of politics (Rehavi, 1200). The
accountability of these and other changes can be considered significant in turning out the
voter, so that there is no false attribution of change in the rates of voting participation to
women suffrage when there might have been an occurrence of significant changes across the
same period of time.
Conclusion
There had been adoption of the amendment as a result of a huge campaign held by the
advocates with large disparity for the attainability of their goals and objectives by the
modification of laws related to individual state. When considering the scope of potentiality, it
may take up a long period of time before the entire impact for the reform of voting had been
manifested, as a number of cohorts may be under replacement to seek advantages out of the
right of voting (Siegel, 948). As a result of this law, the society of United States of America
had been revitalized that further supported the political development, establishment and
prosperity of US. The 19th
amendment of Women’s Suffrage has basically eliminated a
number of barriers affecting the rights for placing votes.

9. References
Aidt, Toke S., and Bianca, Dallal. "Female voting power: the contribution of women’s
suffrage to the growth of social spending in Western Europe (1869–1960)." Public
Choice 134.3-4 (2008): 391-417.
Kevin, Chen. "Vote turnout of nineteenth amendment women: The enduring effect of
disenfranchisement." American Journal of Sociology (1995): 972-996.
Lott, John R. "How dramatically did women's suffrage change the size and scope of
government?." Journal of Political Economy 107.6 Part 1 (1999): 1163-1198.
Miller, Grant. "Women’s suffrage, political responsiveness, and child survival in American
history." The Quarterly Journal of Economics 123.3 (2008): 1287.
Rehavi, M. Marit. "Sex and politics: Do female legislators affect state
spending?." Unpublished manuscript, University of Michigan (2007): 1200.
Siegel, Reva B. "She the People: The Nineteenth Amendment, Sex Equality, Federalism, and
the Family." Harvard Law Review (2002): 947-1046.