The new century saw a profound change in the lives of women, as they joined the workforce in increasing numbers, led the movement for progressive social reform, and finally generated enough mass power to win the vote. Carrie Chapman Catt and the National American Woman Suffrage Association were a mainstream lobbying force of millions at every level of government. Alice Paul and the National Woman's Party were a small, radical group that not only lobbied but conducted marches, political boycotts, picketing of the White House, and civil disobedience. As a result, they were attacked, arrested, imprisoned, and force-fed. But the country's conscience was stirred, and support for woman suffrage grew.

The 19th Amendment affirming women's right to vote steamrolled out of Congress in 1919, getting more than half the ratifications it needed in the first year. Then it ran into stiff opposition from states'-rights advocates, the liquor lobby, business interests against higher wages for women, and a number of women themselves, who believed claims that the amendment would threaten the family and require more of them than they felt their sex was capable of.

As the amendment approached the necessary ratification by three-quarters of the states, the threat of rescission surfaced. Finally the battle narrowed down to a six-week seesaw struggle in Tennessee. The fate of the 19th Amendment was decided by a single vote, that of 24-year-old legislator Harry Burn, who switched from "no" to "yes" in response to a letter from his mother saying, "Hurrah, and vote for suffrage!" The Secretary of State in Washington, DC issued the 19th Amendment's proclamation immediately, before breakfast on August 26, 1920, in order to head off any final obstructionism. [3]

Thus mainstream and militant suffragists together finally won the first, and still the only, specific written guarantee of women's equal rights in the Constitution – the 19th Amendment, which declared:

"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."

It had been 72 years from Seneca Falls to victory, and ironically, the most controversial resolution had been written into law first. But many laws and practices in the workplace and in society still perpetuated men's status as privileged and women's status as second-class citizens.

It’s been 98 years since we won the right to vote. Let’s not get to 100 before the Equal Rights Amendment is ratified.

Do you live in a state that hasn’t ratified the ERA yet? Contact your federal, state, and local elected officials today! Use the script below as a starting point. (Remember to be polite to the aids answering the phone.)

A quick visit to USA.gov can help you locate your elected officials, on the local, state, and federal levels.

To call your representatives in Congress:

U.S. Capitol Switchboard: #(202) 224-3121

Script:
Hi! My name is [your name] & I am a constituent of [official’s name] from [county]. I wanted to know the official’s position on the Equal Rights Amendment.

If the official is in support the ERA:
Great! Would she/he be willing to bring this issue to the floor to get [your state] to ratify?

If the official does not currently support the ERA:
That’s unfortunate. The Equal Rights Amendment would truly legitimize women as equal to men in the eyes of the law, would help women to earn more and make it easier for abusers to be held accountable. Women are a large voting block in [your state] & I would ask the senator to reconsider their position."