When Did Women First Gain Constitutional Rights?
In honor of Women’s History Month, we are launching a four-part series, Her-Story: A Blog Series on Women and the Law in the USA, to explore the pivotal legal battles that have shaped women’s rights in this country. In our first installment, we examine the long and arduous fight for constitutional recognition, beginning with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. While this milestone granted women the right to vote, it was just the first step in an ongoing journey toward true legal equality.
Our Nation was founded on the concept that “all men are created equal” and that our Constitution should follow that statement. In practice however, this has proven to be false. In the construction of the Constitution, half of the population was excluded, that being all women. As the founding fathers gathered in Philadelphia, Abigail Adams, wife to John Adams, wrote her husband and stated “I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws, which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.” Sadly, this request by Abigail Adams was never heeded by her husband or his counterparts. Instead, women have had to fight for the rights that they exercise today, and the fight is sadly not over.
Historically, laws have been created from the perspective of affluent, older, white, males.5 In 1875, the Supreme Court found in Minor v. Happersett, 88 U.S. 162, that the 14th Amendment did not guarantee women the right to vote, and found that women’s political rights were under individual states’ jurisdictions. Women did not receive the right to vote until 45 years later, in 1920, when the 19th amendment was passed and ratified.6 However, it should be noted that even with the passage of the 19th Amendment, women of color were not guaranteed the right to vote without discrimination until another 45 years had passed and the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed.7
The passage of the 19th Amendment marked a crucial victory in the fight for women's rights, but it was only the beginning. The continued struggle for true equality—both at the ballot box and beyond—serves as a reminder that progress is not inevitable, but the result of persistent advocacy and determination.
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Kristin M. Gummoe is a senior associate at Hoagland Longo. As a first-generation attorney, she was named the first Planning Board Chairwoman in her town’s 108-year history in 2024. She focuses her practice on litigation of general and automobile liability cases and has experience in the litigation of environmental and toxic tort matters. She is also a member of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee.