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From 2019-2020, the U.S. celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and women’s constitutional right to vote.

Suffragists began their organized fight for women’s equality in 1848 when they demanded the right to vote during the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, New York. For the next 72 years, women leaders lobbied, marched, picketed, and protested for the right to the ballot. The U.S. House of Representatives finally approved the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote, on May 21, 1919. The U.S. Senate followed two weeks later, and the 19th Amendment went to the states, where it had to be ratified by 3/4ths of the-then-48 states to be added to the Constitution. By a vote of 50-47, Tennessee became the last state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby issued a proclamation declaring the 19th Amendment ratified and part of the US Constitution on August 26, 1920, forever protecting American women’s right to vote.

Today, millions of women vote in elections because of the courageous suffragists who never gave up the fight for equality. Explore the resources below to learn more about the story of the 19th Amendment and women’s fight for the ballot.

The suff buffs: Your Not So Average Herstory Series

The women’s suffrage movement is filled with extraordinary, dramatic, inspiring, complex, and too-little-known stories. The WSCC brought these stories to life through The Suff Buffs blog series.

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Kids’ Corner

Educate young learners about this critical movement for change, inspire America’s youngest generation toward leadership and civic engagement, and bring the story of women’s fight for the vote to the children in your life with these fun and innovative resources, brought to you by the WSCC and our partners!

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Suffrage Snapshots

The WSCC is bringing you suffrage history with our signature whiteboard animation videos. The series tells the story of women’s fight for the vote in quick and engaging one-minute history lessons.

Webinars

Learn about the history through WSCC virtual programs, including conversations with suffrage exhibit curators, Historian and Author Elaine Weiss, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden, and more!

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Educate & Activate

Engage with suffrage history through these great resources below, including puzzles, quizzes, and podcasts from the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. Learn to play suffrage songs using sheet music from the Library of Congress. Also, help the Library with their “By The People” transcription campaign!

Additional Resources

State Resources

Learn how your state is honoring the centennial of 100 years of American women’s suffrage and how to get involved in celebrations in your community.

WSCC Suffrage Historian Database

The Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission keeps an up-to-date database of our country’s foremost experts in women’s suffrage history. Listed here are the great writers and tellers of women’s history, and we celebrate their contributions to our collective story. We invite you to review the database and contact a historian in your area for your panel, program, event, or commemoration.

Historical Sites

Live the story of the movement for women’s constitutional equality and experience the lives and legacies of the suffragists who secured the 19th amendment for all Americans by visiting the historic sites across the US that preserve the history of women’s fight for the vote.

Schlesinger Library Women’s Suffrage Collection

Featuring archival collections as well as periodicals, photographs, posters, and memorabilia from Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, Jeanette Rankin, and the Blackwell Family, just to name a few, Harvard University’s Schlesinger Library has one of the most expansive collections of original suffrage materials in the world.

Crusade for the Vote: Women’s Suffrage Resource Center

A collection of the best teacher resources, primary sources, and recommended readings on the American women’s suffrage movement available on the web, the Crusade for the Vote Resource Center is the work of the National Women’s History Museum.

2020 WVCI Suffrage Learning Center

Across the country, America’s leading thinkers have created suffrage articles, videos, biographies, lesson plans, fact sheets, and timelines. 2020 Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative (2020 WVCI) has gathered those resources together in its Learning Center to help you discover the stories of the tireless advocates who secured the passage of the 19th Amendment.