Women’s Right to Vote, a Timeline of obtaining
Equality
March 31, 1776
Abigail Adams writes to John Adams,
founding father, upon talks of the
constitution begging him to consider:
“remember the ladies and be more
generous and favorable to them than
your ancestors. Do not put such
unlimited power into the hands of the
husbands. Remember, all men would
be tyrants if they could. If particular
care and attention is not paid to the
ladies, we are determined to foment a
rebellion, and will not hold ourselves
bound by any laws in which we have
no voice or representation.”
1830
During the past 200 years, Native Americans have gone from being forced from their homes to
becoming accepted as citizens and granted the right to vote starting in 1830, when President
Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, granting himself permission to grant lands west
of the Mississippi to Native Americans in exchange for their Indian lands inside of state borders.
This became the trail of tears
1848
The 14
th
Amendment in 1868 gave black Americans citizenship, but not Native people.
1850
•Chinese immigration to the US begins in response to poor economic
conditions in China and the advent of the gold rush in the US.
Immigrants often owed the cost of their passage to the US, and
worked for any available wage in order to repay it and send funds
home to their families.
This lead to between 1860-1885, (Inexpensive) Chinese and minority
labor built the Transcontinental Railroad.
Leland Stanford, president of Central Pacific, former California
governor and founder of Stanford University, told Congress in 1865,
that the majority of the railroad labor force were Chinese. Without
them,” he said, “it would be impossible to complete the western
portion of this great national enterprise, within the time required by
the Acts of Congress”
January 29, 1866
Petition for Universal Suffrage is the
drive after the signing of Declaration of
Sentiments. This was the first asking for
an amendment in the constitution to
prohibit states from disfranchising any
citizens on the grounds of sex.
1868
The Burligame Treaty of 1868 formalized
friendly Sino-American relations, opening up
lucrative trade routes and ensuring a steady
flow of inexpensive labor. Though US
industry was delighted by this, the US
workforce did not welcome the less
expensive competition
May 15, 1869
Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady
Stanton found the National Woman
Suffrage Association, which
coordinated the national suffrage
movement. In 1890, the group
teamed with the American Woman
Suffrage Association to form the
National American Woman Suffrage
Association.
1870
Many government officials felt that Native
Americans should be assimilated into
America's mainstream culture before they
became enfranchised. Although the Fifteenth
Amendment, was passed in 1870 and granted
all U.S. citizens the right to vote regardless of
race, Native Americans still could not enjoy
the rights granted by this amendment.
Economic depression leads to growing
resentment of Chinese immigrants
OCTOBER 24, 1871
Chinese Massacre of 1871 – on 24
October, 500 men storm Los Angeles’
Chinatown and hanged 17 to 21
(depending on eyewitness accounts)
Chinese immigrants. Ten men were
prosecuted, eight convicted of
manslaughter, but the convictions were
overturned on appeal.
1875 and 1882
The Page act of 1875 prohibited the
entry of Chinese women, so as to
discourage growth of the Chinese
population within the US. Anti-
miscegenation laws also on the books.
The Chinese Exclusion Act was signed
into Federal Law by Chester A Arthur
May 6, 1882, prohibiting all Chinese
immigration, excepting diplomats,
teachers, students, merchants, and
travelers.
1887
Dawes Act passed provided the dissolution of Native
American tribes as legal entities and established U.S.
funded Indian schools for Native American children.
1879
U.S. Army Officer Richard Henry Pratt founded the first off-reservation boarding school in
Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Quote of the time was, “Kill the Indian in him and save the man.”
1890
Snyder Act of 1924 admitted Native Americans born in the U.S. to full U.S. citizenship. Though
the Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1870, granted all U.S. citizens the right to vote regardless of
race, it wasn't until the Snyder Act that Native Americans could enjoy the rights granted by this
amendment.
MEMBERS OF THE ARAPAHO TRIBE PERFORM A GHOST DANCE CIRCA 1900. (NATIONAL
ARCHIVES)ENACTED IN 1890, THE INDIAN NATURALIZATION ACT ALLOWS NATIVE AMERICANS TO
APPLY FOR CITIZENSHIP
1896
Louisiana passes “grandfather
clauses” to keep former slaves and
their descendants from voting
As a result, the percentage of
registered black voters drops from
44% to 4% four years later
Mississippi, South Carolina,
Alabama, and Virginia follow
Louisiana’s lead by enacting their
own grandfather clause
1911 and 1912
Shculze was the first Chinese-American woman
to vote – in 1912 in California (Californians voted
in 1911 for women’s suffrage
Dr. Lee led the New York City Suffragists’ Parade
in 1912 on horseback
1913
African-American women attended political conventions
at their local churches where they planned strategies to
gain the right to vote
African-American women were often excluded from
organizations and activities where they had to march
separately from white women
African-American reformers like Harriet Tubman and
Sojourner Truth worked with the National American
Woman Suffrage Association, but mainstream
organizations did not address their challenges due to their
race
August 18, 1920
Women were denied some of the basic rights enjoyed by
male citizens
Ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is
completed, declaring “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.” It is nicknamed “The Susan B.
Anthony Amendment” in honor of her work on behalf of
women’s suffrage. (unfortunately, states still had the right to
decide which women would be allowed to vote)
A right known as the woman’s suffrage, ending almost a
century of protest
More than 8 million women across the U.S. voted in elections
for the first time
June 2, 1924
PRESIDENT CALVIN COOLIDGE SIGNS THE INDIAN
CITIZENSHIP ACT, which authorized the Secretary of the
Interior to issue certificates of citizenship to Indians.,
06/02/1924.
Through this act, Congress granted citizenship to any
Native Americans born within the United States.
At the time many were still denied voting rights by
individual state or local laws.
The Snyder Act of 1924 admitted Native Americans born in
the U.S. to full U.S. citizenship.
However, many Native Americans were not considered
citizens until 1928.
1940
Only 3% of eligible African-Americans in the South are registered to vote
Jim Crow laws, like literacy tests and poll taxes, were meant to keep African-Americans from
voting
1940s-1960s
The Chicano movement was a civil rights movement that started by looking for restoration of
land grants. The movement expanded to encompass Mexican farm worker’s rights, enhanced
education, voting rights and political rights.
1943
The Magnuson Act repealed the Chinese Exclusion Act, signed
into law 17 December. It allowed for Chinese immigration to
resume, and allowed for some Chinese immigrants already in the
US to become naturalized citizens. The act was passed largely
due to China’s status an official allied nation of the US during
WW II. The act continued the ban against the ownership of
property and businesses by ethnic Chinese.
1952
The race restrictions of the 1790 Naturalization Law are repealed by the McCarran-Walter Act,
giving first generation Japanese Americans, including women, citizenship and voting rights. The
McCarran-Walter Act ended laws preventing Asian Americans from becoming Naturalized
American Citizens, all last remnants of the Chinese Exclusion act, and allowed Chinese
Americans full suffrage.
1962
NEW MEXICO IS THE LAST STATE TO CHANGE ITS LAWS AND GIVE ALL NATIVE AMERICANS THE
RIGHT TO VOTE, ACCORDING TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.
1965
More than 500 peaceful participants in a Selma
to Montgomery march for voting rights
Alabama state troopers attacked them with
nightsticks, tear gas, and whips after they
refused to turn back
Some protesters were severely beaten and
bloodied
1965
In a speech of joint session of Congress,
President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined the
devious ways in which election officials
denied African-American citizens the vote
The voting rights bill was passed in the
U.S. Senate by a 77-19 vote
The U.S. House of Representatives
passed the bill by a vote of 333-85 on July
9
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 officially
enforced the 15
th
amendment of the
constitution
June 30, 1966
Betty Friedan, author of 1963’s The Feminine
Mystique, helps found the National
Organization for Women (NOW), using, as the
organization now states, “grassroots activism
to promote feminist ideals, lead societal
change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve
and protect the equal rights of all women and
girls in all aspects of social, political, and
economic life.”
1969
Voter turnout rises throughout the Southern
states
In Mississippi alone, voter turnout among blacks
increased from 6% in 1964 to 59 % in 1969.
By the end of 1965, 250,000 new African-
American voters are registered to vote
June 23, 1972
Title IX of the Education Amendments is
signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
It states “No person in the United States
shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from
participation in, be denied the benefits of,
or be subjected to discrimination under
any education program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance.“
– Why is this important? Because then
even with the civil rights act, many
minorities were not given the equal
education opportunities that white
women were, and therefore not educated
on how to vote, where to vote, or even
read.
1972
Barbara Jordan was the first African-American
elected to the Texas Senate after the
Reconstruction
First African-American elected to the U.S. House
of Representatives
First African-American to deliver the keynote at
the Democratic National Convention
Received the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
among numerous other honors
1974
The Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the
first and largest non-partisan Latino voter participation
organization in the US, started operations, with founder
William C. Velasquez, and other Mexican-American
political activists, discovering early that, despite the
achievements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, there
remained barriers – particularly, language – for Latino
voters preventing them from exercising their right.
1975
The Voting Rights Act has been amended to include features as the protection of voting rights for
non-English speaking American citizens
Congress added new provisions to protect members of language minority groups
The amendment required jurisdictions with significant numbers of voters who have limited or no
proficiency in English to provide voting materials in other languages
the Voting Rights Act was amended to give more to groups that are language minorities, including
Native Americans.
The amendment specifically cites Arizona, Alaska and two South Dakota counties for
discriminating against Native Americans.
1980
RESIDENTS OF SHANNON, TODD AND WASHABAUGH COUNTIES IN SOUTH DAKOTA, WHICH ALL
HAVE “OVERWHELMINGLY” NATIVE AMERICAN POPULATIONS – ARE ALLOWED TO HOLD
COUNTY OFFICE, ACCORDING TO THE BROOKS V. GANT LAWSUIT.
Native Americans can officially run for Office.
1982
President Ronald Reagan signs a 25-year extension
of the Voting Rights Act
Contained stronger provisions against
discrimination
“As I’ve said before, the right to vote is the crown
jewel of American liberties, and we ill not see its
luster diminished”
1984
FALL RIVER COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA, RUNS THE ELECTIONS ON THE NEIGHBORING PINE RIDGE
RESERVATION. (MIKE LAKUSIAK/NEWS 21)
JOE AMERICAN HORSE TURNS IN HIS VOTER REGISTRATION APPLICATION TO THE FALL RIVER
COUNTY AUDITOR BEFORE THE DEADLINE, BUT THE AUDITOR REFUSES TO ACCEPT IT. HE AND
OTHERS FILE A LAWSUIT. THE DAY BEFORE THE ELECTION, THE COURT ORDERS THE COUNTY TO
ALLOW AMERICAN HORSE AND OTHERS NAMED IN THE SUIT TO VOTE.
1990
Due, in part, to the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act, the number of African-American
elected officials in Georgia grows to 495 from just three prior
1992
A contentious congressional battle followed, with proponents of the legislation arguing that the
lack of language assistance hinders recent naturalized citizens from exercising their right to vote
and opponents asserting that the provision was too costly, suggesting removing the amendment
entirely, limiting the extension to five years or requiring the federal government to pay for
bilingual voting materials. Still, with mostly Democratic support, the legislation passed and was
signed by President George H. W. Bush on August 26, 1992.
2006
Congress extends Section 5 of the Voting
Rights Act for an additional 25 years
The Justice Department blocks South
Carolina’s voter ID law, saying it
discriminates against minority voters
The D.C. federal district court later
preclears the law, but only because the
state agreed that an ID was not required
for voting
2010
Communities of color have seen voting restrictions increase, particularly in the form of strict
photo ID requirements, like in Texas, Wisconsin and North Carolina, to early voting cutbacks, as
seen in Florida, to other registration restrictions. Also, in 2013, in the case of Shelby v. Holder,
the Supreme Court weakened voting rights protections by removing the requirement that some
jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination get pre-approval for voting changes, with
states like Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, South Dakota, Iowa, and Indiana
wasting little time enacting possibly discriminatory laws.
2013
THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES RULED 5-4 THAT A KEY PROVISION OF THE VOTING
RIGHTS ACT WAS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. (MATT WADE/FLICKR)
ALASKA, ARIZONA AND TWO COUNTIES IN SOUTH DAKOTA WITH A HISTORY OF
DISCRIMINATION AGAINST NATIVE AMERICANS NO LONGER NEED TO SUBMIT
VOTING POLICY CHANGES TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOR APPROVAL.
2016
Courts ruled that North Carolina, Kansas, North Dakota, and Texas must remove discriminatory
restrictions that silence voters of color
Restrictions still remain in place in 13 other states
2020
There are 1.1 million Hispanic
veterans of the U.S. armed forces
Immigration debate
Latino population has grown sixfold
since 1970, reaching an estimated
57.4 million in 2016, or nearly 18
percent of the population, according
to the U.S. Bureau.
