The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in 1920, prohibiting the United States and its states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify it on August 18, 1920, completing the required constitutional threshold.
Congress had approved the amendment in June 1919 after decades of campaigning by women’s-rights activists. The amendment was formally certified on August 26, a date now commemorated as Women’s Equality Day in the United States.
The amendment was a major national milestone, but it did not immediately guarantee equal access to the ballot for every woman. Discriminatory laws and practices continued to exclude many Black women, Native American women, Asian American women, and others. Further civil-rights legislation and court decisions were needed to challenge voting barriers. The amendment’s wording addressed sex discrimination, while voting rights remained shaped by state laws and federal enforcement.