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Women's Suffrage Timeline


Timeline Description: The women's suffrage movement began long before it was won. Women wanted the same rights as men, and they fought long and hard before they got them. This timeline shows those events.

DateEvent TitleEvent Description
1838School suffrage is granted to womenSchools in Kentucky allowed women who were widows to vote in school board elections in place of their husbands.
1848A meeting to discuss women's rightsSeveral prominent women in New York met at a local church to discuss women's rights. The meeting went on for two days.
July 1848The Declaration of SentimentsThree hundred people attended the meeting on women's rights that brought about the Declaration of Sentiments. It was a demand that women be given equal rights as men, including the right to vote.
1850The first women's rights conventionThe first convention for women's rights was held in Massachusetts. Around 1000 people attended.
1861More states adopt the school suffrage practiceKansas followed Kentucky's example and adopted the school suffrage practice of letting widows vote in school board elections. Other states soon followed.
1870Wyoming becomes the first state to allow women to voteWith the granting of their territorial status Wyoming became the first state to allow women to vote in local elections.
1871Women's right to vote is arguedA woman named Victoria Woodhull went before the House Judiciary Committee to argue that women had a right to vote. She ran for president herself in 1872.
1872Susan B. Anthony is arrestedSusan B. Anthony voted in November's election, along with 15 other women. She was arrested because women weren't allowed to vote.
1887The women's suffrage movement is taken to the SenateAfter many years of hard work, the women's suffragists finally got their plea before the Senate. Their issue was voted down 34 to 16.
1890The National American Woman Suffrage AssociationTwo groups, the American Woman Suffrage Association and the National Woman Suffrage Association, decided to merge, creating the NAWSA.
1896Utah joins Wyoming in allowing women's rightsUtah became the second state to grant women full suffrage.
1910A parade for women's suffrageA parade was held in New York to bring awareness about women's rights.
1917The first woman in the House of RepresentativesAfter many years of fighting, several states began making amendments to their state constitutions on behalf of women. Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman in the House of Representatives.
1918The President gets behind women's suffragePresident Wilson publically stated that he supported women's equal rights.
1920The 19th Amendment is enactedWomen were finally given the right to vote after the 19th Amendment was passed and signed. They won by a narrow margin of only two votes.