Susan B. Anthony, Republicans, and a Mother's Letter: The 19th Amendment's Road to Ratification

◼ Yesterday, we marked the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Ninety-three years later, it’s easy to forget the long fight for the amendment—a struggle that spanned decades and ended with a mother’s last minute letter to her Republican son in the Tennessee legislature. - Sharon Day

The 19th Amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878 by Republican Senator Aaron A. Sargent. He was a friend of Susan B. Anthony—another proud Republican—who had drafted the amendment with fellow suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

The Amendment languished in Congress for decades until 1919. In the 1918 election, Republicans won control of both chambers, and the next year the amendment passed both the House and the Senate, sending it to the states for ratification....

◼ (To learn more, read the History Channel’s “The Mother Who Saved Suffrage”)