www.radicallypragmatic.org/p/whats-wrong-with-american-studies-40d?hide_intro_po...
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beginning with the founding of the country, women could not vote in America, but that in 1920, ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment changed that
This overstates the history of U.S. suffrage. Some women could vote in parts of the United States long before 1920, and even after the 19th Amendment many women were still disenfranchised by citizenship barriers and discriminatory state laws.
Full reasoning
The statement is inaccurate in two ways.
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Women could vote in some parts of the United States before 1920. The Library of Congress notes that the 1776 New Jersey state constitution allowed some women to vote if they met age, property, and residency requirements. That directly contradicts the claim that, from the country's founding onward, women simply "could not vote in America."
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The 19th Amendment did not fully resolve women's disfranchisement in 1920. The National Park Service explains that well before the amendment, women could vote in some states and territories, and that after it became law, many women across the U.S. were still excluded from voting because they were not citizens or because of state restrictions. The National Archives likewise says ratification "did not ensure full enfranchisement" and that many women remained unable to vote long into the 20th century.
So a more accurate formulation would be that the 19th Amendment was a major national milestone in women's suffrage, but it neither marked the first time any women could vote in the U.S. nor instantly secure voting rights for all women in 1920.
3 sources
- New Jersey Women Gain, then Lose the Vote | Library of Congress
The 1776 New Jersey state constitution granted suffrage to all inhabitants meeting certain age, property, and residency requirements, thereby allowing some women to vote in local and state elections.
- 19th Amendment and Women's Access to the Vote Across America | U.S. National Park Service
Well before the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, women could vote in state and local elections in some US states and territories... After it became law, many women across the US were still excluded from voting because they were not citizens or because of state restrictions on certain populations voting.
- 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920) | National Archives
The campaign for woman suffrage was long, difficult, and sometimes dramatic; yet ratification did not ensure full enfranchisement... Many women remained unable to vote long into the 20th century because of discriminatory state voting laws.