Woodrow Wilson And 19 Amendment

After the passage of the Amendment by both the houses of the Congress, the Amendment had to be ratified by a minimum of 36 states in order to become a valid law of the US Constitution.

Before the 19th Amendment was brought into the Congress, women were fighting for years to get their voting rights. However, they had been unsuccessful. Even president Woodrow Wilson was initially against women suffrage. This prompted the pro-suffrage protestors to hold vigils outside the White House and arrange protest rallies carrying banners against the president. The pro-suffrage protestors started comparing Woodrow Wilson to Kaiser Wilhem II of Germany. The women suffragists were even arrested for their protests.

However, slowly Woodrow Wilson started realizing that suffrage ought to be given to women. Finally on January 9, 1918, Wilson announced that he was supporting an amendment to the Constitution that would give women the right to vote. The following the 19th Amendment was presented in the House of Representatives, where it was passed. However, the Senate did not want to look at the Amendment until October, at which time the amendment was voted out because of three votes.

However, the National Woman's Party took it upon itself to tell the people to vote against anti-suffrage Senators who were due for reelection 1918 midterm elections. Thereafter, nearly all members of the Congress suddenly became pro-suffrage. And on May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives first passed the Amendment, followed by the Senate on June 4.

The thirty-sixth state to ratify the amendment was Tennessee, who ratified it by one vote on August 18, 1920. This made the 19th Amendment a part of the US Constitution and it was formally adopted on August 26, 1920.

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