The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

This is the House Joint Resolution 1, proposing the 19th amendment to the states. The text reads:

Sixty-sixth Congress of the United States of America;
at the First Session,
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the nineteenth day of May,
one thousand nine hundred and nineteen,

JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution extending the right of suffrage
to women.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein),
That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several states.

"ARTICLE ________.

"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.

"Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Signed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.

National Archives

Written in plain English, read the story of the creation, writing, and ratification of The 19th Amendment.

In elementary school, maybe sixth grade, we were given an assignment to write an essay about anyone in US history. I chose Susan B. Anthony. For some reason, even that young, I knew it was important to understand that my eventual right to vote came at a very high price.

You may see a lot of blogs and emails now that we are less than two months away from voting for our next president. I've received a lot of the same email that's making the rounds these days. This lens is a personal reminder of why I vote, why I honor those whose courage was far greater than mine. The history of the United States is filled with the lives and blood of very brave souls.

Could I ever feel so passionate about anything that I would demonstrate, march, go to jail, be beaten and abused for my beliefs? I like to think I am courageous, but I doubt my ability to match that level of commitment.

It is humbling to read the histories of our ordinary citizens who braved the trauma heaped upon them, willingly suffering for a greater good. We hear so often about honoring our military, honoring what they are fighting for and honoring their memories.... and this is good and right. However, we should also remember the ordinary civilians who had no armor, no weapons, no shield or tank or camouflage. They walked among the other very ordinary citizens who jeered, spit upon, beat, dragged, chained, and in many other ways humiliated them.

I vote because the privilege to do so was won at a very high price. Nothing will keep me from it.

I vote.