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The 19th Amendment In 1920, the adoption of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. When the Constitution was adopted in 1789, the right to vote, or suffrage, was restricted to certain groups of people. Among this group were men, those who were wealthy or owned property, and Caucasians. The women's suffrage movement began in 1848, with a convention in New York. The Seneca Falls convention was called by two women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia …

…support. Some suffragettes went so far as to stage hunger strikes. Others purposefully got arrested and sent to jail. By 1918, the suffragettes had gained the support of President Woodrow Wilson. The House of Representatives and Senate soon followed. As the thirty-sixth state to pass the amendment, Tennessee became the state that finally attained the three quarter requirement necessary for ratification. Finally, after 72 years of fighting for voting rights, the 19th Amendment was ratified on August 19, 1920.