One hundred years ago this year American women received the right to vote. Although many states had already granted women suffrage, especially in limited contexts, the 19th Amendment guaranteed that right across the nation.
The history of the United States is a story of freedom and opportunity. Our Founding Fathers were blessed with great ideals but in some cases did not have the courage or were constrained by circumstances from putting them fully into place.
Article V of the Constitution provides the mechanism through which we can continually improve our most foundational laws and expand freedom and opportunity to a wider group of citizens. This process has been used most notably in the “Civil War Amendments” (13, 14, and 15) which outlawed slavery and ensured voting rights regardless of race and ethnicity.
The 19th Amendment went an important step further in allowing women to participate in the American decision-making process as self-governing citizens.
Texas ratified this amendment on June 28, 1919, less than a month after Congress passed the proposal resolution. It was the the first southern state to do so. The suffrage movement had been strong across the South, and the Lone Star State had already made moves to amend the state constitution to grant women the right to vote.
On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, making it officially a part of the U.S. Constitution.
Congress got it right with the 19th Amendment, which ensured all Americans have a voice in their elected representation.
But can we always have such faith in Congress? We see no evidence that they are willing to address the federal overreach and debt that are crippling our nation.
Article V of the Constitution guarantees that we need not be dependent on Congress to do the right thing. We the People can take matters into our own hands with a Convention of States.
