Women and the Right to Vote-A History

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I wrote an article on Super Tuesday calling for a sense of urgency to participate in our democratic process and vote. In it, I illustrated my idea of how important voting is by comparing the nonchalance of today’s views of voting versus the fight for the right to vote that most of us never had to experience. I mentioned that women didn’t have the right to vote until 1920. But that’s only part of the story.

Women were indeed granted the right to vote in August of 1920 but not all women were included in thatvote late-breaking but decidedly landmark decision. Only white women enjoyed that right at the time. This, in a time when most women would demure to their husband’s authority anyway, and either not vote or vote the way he said. Native American women didn’t get the legal ability to vote until 4 years later. Native Americans!?!? They were literally here first. And citizens of Chinese descent couldn’t vote until 1926 when California allowed it’s law to be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. And despite the 15th Amendment giving African Americans the right to vote and being ratified in 1870, it took nearly a century before the Voting Rights Act was passed, removing the barriers that were being erected before the ink was dry on February 3, 1870. Only then, in 1965, was it finally a true statement to say that women were able to vote.

The fact that there’s a date we correspond with women’s suffrage that doesn’t include the nearly half a century of fighting afterwards on behalf of all women, of all nationalities, of all creeds, is a serious error. It’s easy to pat ourselves on the back and say we’re nearing the century mark on being so open minded that we finally allowed a basic human right to half of the population, when in reality, it took another 45 years before that statement was even close to being true. So, to all of those women, those citizens, those ancestors, who fought for and benefited from women’s suffrage, I apologize for missing the mark. I’ll do better next time.

About Post Author

Josh Fielder

Josh Fielder is from Central Virginia and when he's not driving his RV cross-country, writing short stories under the pen-name Hack Kerouac, or saving turtles, he writes articles designed to help sufferers of Cranial Rectal Inversion.
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8 years ago

Mike I want a new Avatar!! That is, after all, my right. After all women long ago won equal rights you know, just like Josh’s wonderful article tells us.

Reply to  Rachael
8 years ago

Your wish is my command Rachael 🙂 Marsha and Josh do you see what you’ve started 🙂

Marsha Woerner
Reply to  Professor Mike
8 years ago

T do my best 🙂

Marsha Woerner
8 years ago

Agreed with both Rachel and Paul. Any additional comments by Timmy were also enlightening!
Thanks, all 🙂

(and I noticed that you all, and Jason, all have the same – avatar?. I know that that is something you don’t control, because I know that when I changed my email address, it changed my picture 🙂 . I like my current one 🙂 . And I know that this is totally off-topic and unimportant…)

Reply to  Marsha Woerner
8 years ago

LOL! Good eye Marsha. They are all long time subscribers, and when I registered them they didn’t specify an avatar, so they get the default 🙂

8 years ago

An inspriing story. Historical.

8 years ago

The Chinese were considered second or even third class citizens for over a century. They were mistreated, discriminated against, and abused, every bit as much as the blacks during the same period of time.

8 years ago

I have to agree with Rachael. This is an illuminating read, and I too learned a great deal. Excellent motivation to vote.

8 years ago

This is a wonderful history Josh. I learned a lot and thought I knew a lot but was mistaken. Thanks for sharing with us.

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