The Path to Women's Suffrage: The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

House Joint Resolution 1 (H. J. Res. 1), proposing an amendment to the Constitution extending the right of suffrage to women, was introduced in the House of Representatives on May 19, 1919, and passed on May 21, 1919--100 years ago today. The resolution was soon approved by the Senate, on June 4, 1919, and over the course of the next 14-1/2 months was ratified by three-fourths of the states (with Tennessee becoming the 36th and last state necessary for ratification on August 18, 1920). On August 26, 1920, U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified H. J. Res. 1 as the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, the text of which reads: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."