Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, completing the ratification process of three-fourths of the states. The amendment enfranchised women throughout the nation. Under their own laws, 29 states had already granted women the vote.
General Records of the U.S. Government, National Archives and Records Administration
Tennessee’s Ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, August 18, 1920
Extending the Vote to Women
Begun in the mid-19th century, the women’s suffrage movement was eclipsed by the Civil War. When the Fifteenth Amendment ensured all citizens the right to vote regardless of race, it was not interpreted to include women. Suffrage leaders intensified their lobbying efforts on Congress. The Nineteenth Amendment, granting franchise to women, passed in 1919, with ratification completed in 1920.
Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, completing the ratification process of three-fourths of the states. The amendment enfranchised women throughout the nation. Under their own laws, 29 states had already granted women the vote.
General Records of the U.S. Government, National Archives and Records Administration
