Seventy-one years after the Seneca Falls Convention, on May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives finally approved the Susan B. Anthony Amendment. The Senate followed on June 4, 1919. Congress had finally approved the 19th Amendment and sent it to the states, igniting a fury of backlash.
Years of hard work and sacrifice had finally paid off with step one of the process. The grueling task of state campaigns had begun. Three-fourths of the states (then 36) had to ratify the Amendment for it to become law. Only 13 states needed to vote against or refuse to consider the Amendment to defeat it. The race had finally begun. Here is the scorecard:
RATIFICATION SCORECARD
Date
June 10, 1919
State
Wisconsin
Michigan
Illinois
Ratified
Ratified with 3 votes
Unanimously ratified.
Ratified, but due to an administrative error they had to redo the vote a week later
Not Ratified
June 16, 1919
Kansas
Michigan
New York
Unanimously ratified
Ratified and passed a measure to ensure women could vote in Ohio in the next election whether or not the 19th Amendment passed
Ratified with no dissenting vote, but with one abstention
June 24, 1919
Pennsylvania
Ratified
June 25, 1919
Massachusetts
Ratified
June 28, 1919
Texas
Became the first Southern state to ratify
July 2, 1919
Iowa
Ratified
July 3, 1919
Missouri
Ratified
July 24, 1919
Georgia
Becomes the first state to vote against ratification.
July 28, 1919
Arkansas
Ratified
The Suffragists are one-third of the way to victory!
August 2, 1919
Montanta
Nebraska
The Governor certified the state’s ratification.
Ratified
September 8, 1919
Minnesota
Ratified
September 10, 1919
New Hampshire
Ratified
September 22, 1919
Alabama
Rejected the Amendment
September 30, 1919
Utah
Ratified
November 1, 1919
California
Ratified
The Suffragists are half way to victory!
November 5, 1919
Maine
Ratified
December 1, 1919
North Dakota
Ratified
December 4, 1919
South Dakota
Ratified
December 15, 1919
Colorado
Ratified
January 6, 1920
Kentucky
Rhode Island
Ratified
Ratified
January 13, 1920
Oregon
Ratified
January 16, 1920
Indiana
Ratified
January 27, 1920
Wyoming
Ratified
January 28, 1920
South Carolina
Overwhelmingly defeated the Amendment.
February 7, 1920
Nevada
Ratified
February 9, 1920
New Jersey
Ratified
February 11, 1920
Idaho
Ratified
February 12, 1920
Arizona
Virginia
Unanimously ratified
Defeated the Amendment and adopted a Resolution declaring the Amendment to be “unwarranted, unnecessary, undemocratic and dangerous interference with the rights reserved to the States.”
February 21, 1920
New Mexico
Ratified
February 24, 1920
Maryland
Rejected the Amendment
February 28, 1920
Oklahoma
Ratified
March 10, 1920
West Virginia
Ratified
March 22, 1920
Washington
Ratified
Only one more state needed for the suffragists.
March 31, 1920
Mississippi
Rejected the Amendment
June 2, 1920
Delaware
Rejected the Amendment
July 1, 1920
Louisiana
Rejected the Amendment
August 18, 1920
TENNESSEE RATIFIED MAKING WOMAN SUFFRAGE THE LAW FOR THE ENTIRE UNITED STATES!
Slowly, over the decades, the antis and other states came around.
September 14, 1920
Connecticut
Belatedly ratified
February 8, 1921
Vermont
Belatedly ratified
March 6, 1923
Delaware
Switched and ratified
March 29, 1941
Maryland
Switched and ratified
February 21, 1952
Virginia
Switched and ratified
September 8, 1953
Alabama
Switched and ratified
May 13, 1969
Florida
Belatedly ratified
July 1, 1969
South Carolina
Switched and ratified
February 20, 1970
Georgia
Switched and ratified
June 11, 1970
Louisana
Switched and ratified
May 6, 1971
North Carolina
Belatedly ratified
March 22, 1984
Mississippi
Switched and ratified
Hawaii and Alaska were not states in 1920 so they could not ratify the Amendment. Hawaii became a state on March 18, 1959 and women regained the right to vote.
Alaska was admitted as a state on January 3, 1959, enfranchising them in the national elections, but their women won their right to vote in their territory in 1913–seven years before American women.
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