Who were the Suffragettes  ?

By 1903, some women became so frustrated that men wouldn’t give them the vote  that  they decided to form a new organisation. This was called the Womens   Social and Political Union but they were known as the SUFFRAGETTES and they were prepared to use violent and aggressive methods to get what they wanted. However, the Suffragettes hoped that  whatever  tactics they used, no one would be physically hurt except perhaps themselves. The leader of the Suffragettes was a woman called EMMELINE PANKHURST.

What did the Suffragettes do?
For over ten years the Suffragettes tried to get Parliament to change the law and allow women to get the vote. At the start of their campaign they held large meetings, shouted at politicians and wrote petitions to Parliament, but this did not make much difference. So the methods changed and became more militant (more aggressive). They smashed windows, burned post boxes and bombed and burned buildings. Some women were arrested and went to prison. When they were in prison Suffragettes went on HUNGER STRIKE and refused to eat. Eventually the women were FORCE-FED. A tube was forced down their throat and liquid was poured down. It was very  painful.

The First Conventions On July 19, 1848, in a Methodist Church in Seneca Falls, New York, the first Women's Rights Convention was held. Two very well known women in the suffrage movement, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, organized the convention. This was the first time that a convention had convened to discuss specifically women's rights. A Declaration of Sentiments, written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, was powerful and provoked protest, discussion, and conflict. Many thought that the idea of women voting was preposterous due to the fact that men did not feel that women were capable of such intelligent and complex thought. To Elizabeth Cady Stanton and many other women, winning the right to vote would give women the tool necessary to obtain all other rights

 The 19th Amendment

The fate of the amendment was in the hands of the TennesseeState Legislature in August of 1920. This state had the definitive vote in deciding whether the United States would allow equal voting rights for women. The majority would be won by 36 states. By August 1920, 35 states had ratified the amendment. This ratification by 36 states was referred to as the "Perfect Thirty-Six." Their symbol of unity was the yellow rose while the anti-suffragists chose he red rose as their emblem. Tennessee legislators indicated how they would vote by wearing either a yellow rose or a red rose on their lapels. by the end of the vote, freedom had been delivered to all American women. On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment became national law. The United States Congress agreed to add 42 words to the Constitution. They read: