KEY MOMENTS in voting rights + women’s fight for equality Indian Citizenship Act Indian Citizenship Act McCarran-Walter Rights Act Civil 24th Amendment 19th Amendment19th 868 14th Amendment 868 1776 Declaration of Independence 1776 Declaration Law 1790 Naturalization 1848 1856 1916 1920 1922 1923 1924 1926 1932 1952 1957 Amendment 1961 23rd 1964 Civil Rights Act Rights Act 1965 Voting 1966 1968 1971 26th Amendment Title IX 1972 1975 1981 1984 1989 1992 Act Registration 1993 National Voter 2000 Act Vote 2002 Help America 2008 2009 2010 2013 2016 2018 1866 1 1869 15th Amendment 1870 1872 1876 Act 1882 Chinese Exclusion 1887 Dawes Act 1890 1896 1909 1776 1882 1920 1965 1992 The Declaration of Independence is signed. The Chinese Exclusion Act blocks those of Chinese The 19th Amendment is ratified to the US At the completion of the Selma to Montgomery First black woman elected to Senate: Only men who own land can vote. ancestry from becoming US citizens. Constitution, granting women the right to vote. march, Martin Luther King Jr. calls for an end to Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois Not all Native American or Asian women have many racial injustices, including voter discrimination. 1887 1790 citizenship. Many southern states find ways to The Voting Rights Act passes, removing 1993 The Dawes Act grants citizenship to Native The Naturalization Law passes, stating only “free prevent women of color from voting with Jim discriminatory barriers that kept many people of The National Voter Registration Act makes voter Americans who cede their tribal affiliations. white” immigrants can become naturalized citizens. Crow laws. color from voting. This is largely in response to registration available through the Department of Motor protests and marches occurring after Alabama Vehicles, public assistance, and disabilities agencies, to 1890 The League of Women Voters is founded by 1848 officials’ brutality during black voter registration increase voter registration and participation. Abolitionists, led by Frederick Douglass, and The National American Women Suffrage suffragists to support women in public affairs efforts. 450,000 black citizens in the southern Ruth Bader Ginsberg appointed to the women’s suffrage groups meet in Seneca Falls, NY Association is formed, led by Elizabeth Cady and voting. states registered to vote within a year. Supreme Court, by Bill Clinton at the Women’s Rights Convention. The convention Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucy Stone, excluded black women. focusing on the right to vote for white women. 1922 The Supreme Court rules that those of Japanese 1966 2000 Citizenship is granted to Mexicans living in territories Civil rights activist James Meredith is wounded by A federal court rules that citizens of U.S. territories, 1896 ancestry are not US citizens, and cannot vote. captured by the US, but voting rights are denied. a sniper during a solo “Walk Against Fear” voter such as Puerto Rico and Guam, cannot vote in federal The National Association of Colored Women is registration march from Tennesseee to Mississippi. elections nor have Congressional representation. founded, led by Mary Church Terrell and Josephine 1923 1856 Nearly 4,000 black citizens register to vote the next St. Pierre Ruffin, focusing on black women’s rights. The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is introduced Voting rights are granted to all white men. by Alice Paul in Seneca Falls. day. Other civil rights leaders, including Martin 2002 Luther King, Jr. and Stokely Carmichael continue The Help America Vote Act addresses inconsistencies 1890’s 1868 marching. Meredith rejoins the march at its in federal voting standards and access. Utah, Idaho and Colorado grant women the right 1924 The 14th Amendment grants citizenship to endpoint in Mississippi. to vote. The Indian Citizenship Act grants citizenship to former slaves, but voting regulation is determined Native Americans, but many states enact policies 2008 by individual states. 1968 First woman to run as vice-president on the 1909 that limit their vote. First black woman elected to Congress: Republican party ticket: Sarah Palin, with John McCain The National Association for the Advancement 1869 Shirley Chisholm of New York of Colored People (NAACP) is formed, with 1926 Wyoming becomes the first state to grant women 2009 Mary Church Terrell and Ida B. Wells as founding In Birmingham, Alabama, a group of black women are the right to vote. 1971 Sonia Sotomayor appointed to the Supreme Court, members. beaten by election officials while attempting to vote. The 26th Amendment lowers the voting age from 21 by Barack Obama 1870 to 18. This is a result of Vietnam War protests, noting 1910’s 1932 The 15th Amendment prevents federal or state that soldiers were old enough to fight, but not to vote. 2010 Women march for voting rights in New York and First woman elected to Senate: governments to deny voting rights based on race. Elena Kagan appointed to the Supreme Court, Washington, D.C. The colors of purple, white, and Hattie Caraway of Arkansas States utilize voting taxes, literacy tests, violence, and 1970’s by Barack Obama yellow represent loyalty, purity, and hope. other intimidation tactics to restrict black citizens 1952 Women march for the Equal Rights Amendment, from voting. which would guarantee equal legal rights for all 2013 1916 The McCarran-Walter Act grants those of Asian American citizens regardless of sex. The Supreme Court rules that states with a history First woman elected to Congress: ancestry the right to become citizens. 1872 of discrimination against minority voters gain federal Jeannette Rankin of Montana Activists Susan B. Anthony and Sojourner Truth 1957 1971 permission before changing voting policies. attempt to vote. Anthony is arrested, and Truth is The Civil Rights Act of 1957 allows the Justice The multi-partisan National Women’s Political denied. Department to seek injunctions in voting rights cases. Caucus is founded by Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, 2016 Bella Abzug, Fannie Lou Hamer, etc., to support wom- First woman to run for President: First woman Presidential nominee for a major en in politics. Victoria Woodhull of the Equal Rights Party 1961 political party: Hillary Clinton The 23rd Amendment gives Washington D.C. Just over 63% of women cast ballots in the 1972 1876 residents the right to vote for President, but not Presidential election. Title IX passes, advancing women’s equality, and The Supreme Court rules that Native Americans Congressional representation. First Indian-American woman elected to Congress: championed by Representatives Patsy Mink, Bernice are not US citizens, and cannot vote. Pramila Jayapal of Washington 1960’s Sandler and Edith Green. First Indian-American woman elected to Senate: Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, and Diane Nash are key First woman to run for President as a Democrat: Kamala Harris of California figures in establishing voting rights for all within the Shirley Chisholm civil rights movement. First Latina elected to Senate: Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada State officials in the south refuse to allow black 1975 citizens to register to vote, using voting taxes, literacy Amendments to the Voting Rights Act mandate that 2017 tests and intimidation. some voting materials be provided in languages other than English. The Women’s March occurs in cities across the US, and around the world. With over 7 million people, it is 1964 the world’s largest single-day protest to date. Freedom Summer aims to register black voters in 1981 Mississippi. First woman appointed to the Supreme Court: Sandra Day O’Connor, by Ronald Reagan 2018 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passes, promising equal First Muslim women elected to Congress: employment, public integration, and limited voter 1984 Somali-American Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Pal- literacy tests. First woman to run as vice-president on estinian-American Rashida Tlaib of Michigan The 24th Amendment states that the right to vote the Democratic party ticket: First Native American women elected to Congress: may not be denied in federal elections for failure to Geraldine Ferraro, with Walter Mondale Ho-Chunk Nation tribe’s Sharice Davids of Kansas, pay any tax. and Laguna Pueblo tribe’s Deb Haaland of New Mexico 1989 First woman is put forward for nomination First Latina elected to Congress: Presently… for President by a major political party: Cuban-American Ileana Rops-Lehtinen of Florida Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine There is debate over whether convicted felons who have served their time should be allowed to vote. First Asian American woman elected to Congress: Patsy Mink of Hawaii The Electoral College faces scrutiny, which critics argue over-represents small states and overrules the popular vote. 38 states have ratified the ERA—it has not yet been ratified to the US Constitution. sources: https://a.s.kqed.net/pdf/education/digitalmedia/us-voting-rights-timeline.pdf https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/winning-vote-history-voting-rights https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/womens-march https://www.equalrightsamendment.org https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2020/comm/participation-president-election.html https://www.pbs.org/weta/washingtonweek/blog-post/brief-history-women-american-politics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_women%27s_suffrage_movement https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patsy_Mink https://www.lwv.org https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-history-of-women-in-politics/ https://www.nps.gov/articles/symbols-of-the-women-s-suffrage-movement.htm https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/celebrate-womens-suffrage-dont-whitewash-movements-racism Compiled and designed by Kelly Salchow MacArthur..