Women's rights
When the Constitution was written in 1787, it allowed each state to make a decision as to who could vote in elections. Most states did not at first give the right to vote to women or African Americans.
The Constitution gave men basic rights but did not mention women. In fact, the Constitution gave men complete control over all their personal property, which included their wives and children.
In 1868, a few years after the end of the Civil War, Congress passed the 14th Amendment to the Constitution which gave all U.S. citizens "equal protection of the laws" and was aimed at partially preventing the southern states from trying to block former slaves from voting. But voters were defined as males. Then in 1870, the 15th Amendment was passed that guaranteed the right to vote to all voters, regardless of race or color--but it did not mention women.
From the very beginning of America's history, women advocated for voting rights. Abigail Adams, the wife of President John Adams, was a proponent of women's rights. On July 19th and 20th of 1848, a group of women met in Seneca Falls, New York. They issued a declaration of the rights of women that included a demand for the vote. The leading supporters of the early movement were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott. The women's movement also supported an end to slavery and the prohibition of alcohol.
In 1869, a new women's group called the National Woman Suffrage Association was formed. Its leaders were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Some women's leaders wanted an amendment to the Constitution granting women the vote. Others believed in working at the state level to achieve their goal. By the early 1900s, women's groups had won the right to vote in 12 states. But there was still no national right to vote. As women began to win the right to vote at the state level, Congress passed a resolution that eventually became the 19th Amendment to the Constitution and was ratified in 1920. This amendment gave women the right to vote.