Women's Rights Timeline

By wbeckermann

  • Seneca Falls Convention

    Seneca Falls Convention
    The first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. After 2 days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men sign a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlines grievances and sets the agenda for the women's rights movement. A set of 12 resolutions is adopted calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.

  • First Woman's Sufferage Law

    First Woman's Sufferage Law
    The first woman suffrage law in the U.S. is passed in the territory of Wyoming.

  • the 15th Amendment

    The 15th Amendment receives final ratification, saying, “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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” By its text, women are not specifically excluded from the vote.

  • Women Vote in Wyoming state Elections

    The first state (Wyoming) grants women the right to vote in all elections.

  • Women control their property & earnings

    By now, every state has passed legislation modeled after New York’s Married Women’s Property Act (1848), granting married women some control over their property and earnings.

  • WTLU Established

    The National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) is established to advocate for improved wages and working conditions for women.

  • Federal Womens Sufferage Amendment

    The federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced in Congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the states for ratification.

  • 19th Amendment - Women Vote

    The Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified. It declares: “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.”