Dakota Datebook: North Dakota's Ratification of the 19th Amendment Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Prairie Public

The right for women to vote was disputed for decades. Women and men alike populated both sides of the debate. Proponents united in rallying behind the push for change, which eventually resulted in the passage of the 19th Amendment.

This political discussion of women’s rights to vote had been around even in the 1800s, and was part of the discussion during the formation of the nation’s territories and states. In North Dakota, women’s suffrage had been discussed as the new state’s constitution was crafted, a few months before statehood was granted, in July 4, 1889. However, women’s suffrage did not win approval.

On June 4, 1919, the United States Senate approved the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The Resolution read, “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.”

Read more at: https://news.prairiepublic.org/post/north-dakotas-ratification-19th-amendment-part-1