Early suffragists spent years, in some cases entire lifespans, advocating for the right to vote, and although the 19th Amendment was not passed in the United States until 1920 many states had an earlier timeline of at least partial voting rights for women. Most of these voting rights centered around local school boards and some slowly augmented to state and municipal elections.

Many people do not realize that while after 1920 as many women were able to head to the polls, the amendment did not give voting rights to all women. Females of color, immigrants and lower-income women were often deterred from voting by laws and social pressure. For example, Native American women were not considered U.S. citizens until 1924 and were not permitted to vote.

>> To learn more about the voting rights timeline, click here.