American Suffrage Movement

In colonial America women were not granted the right to vote. However, because in most colonies land ownership determined the right to vote, women whose families owned property could sometimes vote. The framers of the Constitution of the United States reserved decisions about voting qualifications for the states. By the early 19th century most states had dropped the property qualification and extended voting rights to all adult men.

During the first half of the 19th century American suffragists worked mainly through the abolitionist and temperance movements. However, antifeminist prejudices within these movements led suffragists to create a separate movement dedicated to women's rights. Early leaders in the movement were feminists Lucretia [lH'krJSq] Coffin Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone.

In 1848 the first women's rights convention met in Seneca Falls, New York. The convention adopted a Declaration of Sentiments, patterned after the American Declaration of Independence. Many U.S. citizens responded to the convention with ridicule and anger. Suffragist leaders were often subjected to physical violence.

After the American Civil War (1861-1865), many male abolitionists argued that suffragist claims should be deferred so as not to impede the campaign to gain voting rights for male ex-slaves. To many suffragists, postponement was unacceptable, and in 1869 feminist leaders created independent organizations to fight for woman suffrage.

In 1890 suffragists formed the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The association's work helped achieve suffrage in several states in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1920 the Congress of the United States approved the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote.