1920-S BUFFALO 5C MS66

The struggle to gain the right to vote for women began even before the start of the Civil War in the 1820, but had to be temporarily abandoned to focus on the giant issue at hand. Once the dust had settled the movement could again be revisited. In 1869 Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). They were followed by abolitionists Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell who created the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). The two groups both wanted the right to vote, but one focused more on men of color. The latter of the two pushed their agenda quickly- to gain the right to vote for men to color- and felt that if they included the women’s bill, it would not pass. Without the amendment that allowed women to vote, the first bill passed in 1870. Soon enough however, the former group NWSA gained significant support by 1878 to lobby congress for the amendment. Unfortunately it was denied after years of deliberation in 1886. At the turn of the century, the two groups had merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Additionally the original founders grew older or passed so Carrie Chapman Catt stepped up to lead the Suffragette movement to success. Catt thought the best way to achieve this was to ratify amendments in individual state constitution. From 1910 to 1918 the Alaskan Territory, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, and at least thirteen other states had extended the legality of voting to women. At this point it seemed inevitable that the entire nation would allow a federal law that gave women the right to vote. In a final push, James R. Mann- a house representative from Illinois and the chairman of the Suffrage Committee- presented the bill once again on May 21, 1919. Senate finally passed the bill two weeks late on June 4th but the federal ratification of the 19th Amendment did not finalize until August 26, 2020; truly an amazing victory for women around the nation.