Help HCHM celebrate the 19th Amendment. Design your own ratification star and tell us why it is important to you!
To pick up your star, come into the Museum anytime between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm, Tuesday thru Friday.
The short version of the 19th Amendment — After decades of people fighting for women’s right to vote, the United States Senate and Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
But that did not make it law. Constitutional amendments have to be approved, or ratified, by three quarters of the states. In 1920, there were 48 states so at least 36 states had to approve the 19th Amendment.
Each time a state voted to ratify the amendment, members of the National Woman’s Party sewed a star on their purple, white and gold Ratification Banner. It had room for 36 stars. When the last star was added, it would symbolize the 19th Amendment was the law of the land. The last star was sewn onto the Ratification Banner on August 18, 1920 when Tennessee voted “Yes.”