Which U.S. constitutional amendment took effect after Tennessee’s ratification on August 18, 1920?

The Nineteenth Amendment took effect after Tennessee ratified it on August 18, 1920.

The amendment prohibits the United States and its states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. Tennessee provided the decisive thirty-sixth ratification needed under the Constitution’s requirement that three-fourths of the states approve an amendment.

The amendment was the result of a women’s suffrage movement that had organized for decades. Congress approved the proposed amendment in 1919: the House passed it on May 21, followed by the Senate on June 4. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified its adoption on August 26, 1920.

The amendment is sometimes described as instantly giving every woman in the country an unrestricted vote, but voting access still faced racial discrimination, citizenship barriers, and other state restrictions. The amendment established a constitutional prohibition based on sex; later civil-rights laws and court decisions addressed additional barriers.