
English: 
>> It's been 100 years since
women were promised the right to
vote. That milestone came when
the 19th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution was ratified in
August of 1920. But that promise
of the right to vote? For many,
that promise went unfulfilled for
decades, even after the 19th
Amendment.
>> One thing to know right off
the bat, the familiar shorthand
that the 19th Amendment gave
women the right to vote? Scratch
that. Nobody gave women anything.
>> This was a real struggle. It
was a fight. It was a long,
bitter, agonizing fight.
>> And nothing was given. It took
George Washington six years to

English: 
>> It's been 100 years since
women were promised the right to
vote. That milestone came when
the 19th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution was ratified in
August of 1920. But that promise
of the right to vote? For many,
that promise went unfulfilled for
decades, even after the 19th
Amendment.
>> One thing to know right off
the bat: The familiar shorthand
that the 19th Amendment gave
women the right to vote? Scratch
that. Nobody gave women anything.
>> This was a real struggle. It
was a fight. It was a long,
bitter, agonizing fight.
>> And nothing was given. It took
George Washington six years to

English: 
rectify men's grievances by war.
But it took seventy-two years to
establish women's rights by law.
>> That fight wasn't just about
sex. It was also deeply entwined
with race.
>> The women's suffrage movement
of the 1800s had its roots in the
anti-slavery abolitionist
movement, which was seeking
universal suffrage. But early
suffragist leaders including
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan
B. Anthony would later split
off from their alliance with
abolitionists. They were outraged
that under the 15th Amendment,
Black men would get the vote
while white women were still
denied. And racism caused deep
divisions among women in the
suffrage movement itself.
Prominent African-American
activists like Ida B. Wells and
Mary Church Terrell often found
themselves marginalized by white
suffragists, their concerns about
racial inequities ignored.

English: 
rectify men's greviences by war.
But it took seventy-two years to
establish women's rights by law.
>> That fight wasn't just about
sex. It was also deeply entwined
with race.
>> The women's suffrage movement
of the 1980s had its roots in the
anti-slavery abolitionist
movement, which was seeking
universal suffrage. But early
suffrage as leaders including
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan
B.. Anthony, would later split
off from their alliance with
abolitionists. They were outraged
that under the 15th Amendment,
black men would get the vote
while white women were still
denied and racism caused deep
divisions among women in the
suffrage movement itself.
Prominent African-American
activists like Ida B. Wells and
Mary Church Terrell often found
themselves marginalized by white
suffragists. Their concerns about
racial inequities ignored.

English: 
>> The story of African-American
women has been ignored for so
long because it requires
grappling with the failures of
people who have been considered
heroes of an earlier time.
>> The fight to win passage of
the 19th Amendment in Congress
further exposed a painful truth.
>> Racism runs through the
debates over women's suffrage,
oftentimes through and through.
To win over Southern politicians
>> some white suffragists argued
that giving women the vote would
actually solidify white supremacy
because it would increase the
white vote in numbers that far
outweighed the black vote.
>> This is something that should
assure other white supremacists
that they will be viable in their
role.
>> Carrie Chapman Catt, the
president of the National
American Women's Suffrage
Association, wrote this to a

English: 
>> The story of African-American
women has been ignored for so
long because it requires
grappling with the failures of
people who have been considered
heroes of an earlier time.
>> The fight to win passage of
the 19th Amendment in Congress
further exposed a painful truth.
>> Racism runs through the
debates over women's suffrage,
oftentimes through and through.
To win over Southern politicians,
>> some white suffragists argued
that giving women the vote would
actually solidify white supremacy
because it would increase the
white vote in numbers that far
outweighed the Black vote.
>> This is something that should
assure other white supremacists
that they will be viable in their
rule.
>> Carrie Chapman Catt, the
president of the National
American Woman Suffrage
Association, wrote this to a

English: 
Southern congressman in 1918,
trying to persuade him to vote
yes on the 19th Amendment.
>> The present condition in the
South makes sovereigns of some
Negro men, while all white women
are their subject. These are sad
but solemn truths. If you want
white supremacy, why not have it
constitutionally honourably? The
federal amendment offers the way.
>> Eventually, after many years
of defeat, Congress passed the
19th Amendment and the focus
turned to winning states, 36 of
the 48 states had to ratify the
amendment before it could become
part of the Constitution by
August of 1920. The suffragists
had won. They got their perfect
36 state. When Tennessee voted to
ratify, women had earned the
right to vote across the land,
but not so fast.

English: 
Southern congressman in 1918,
trying to persuade him to vote
yes on the 19th Amendment:
>> The present condition in the
South makes sovereigns of some
Negro men, while all white women
are their subjects. These are sad
but solemn truths. If you want
white supremacy, why not have it
constitutionally, honourably? The
federal amendment offers the way.
>> Eventually, after many years
of defeat, Congress passed the
19th Amendment and the focus
turned to winning states. Thirty-six of
the 48 states had to ratify the
amendment before it could become
part of the Constitution. By
August of 1920, the suffragists
had won. They got their "perfect
36th" state when Tennessee voted to
ratify. Women had earned the
right to vote across the land.
But -- not so fast.

English: 
>> August of 1920 marks for
African-American women a start,
not a finish.
>> In October of 1920, soon after
the 19th Amendment was ratified
and with a presidential election
around the corner, Mary Church
Terrell wrote a letter filled
with foreboding about what was to
come.
>> The colored women of the South
will be shamefully treated and
will not be allowed to vote, I am
sure. We are so helpless without
the right of citizenship in that
section of the country where we
need it most.
>> Voting restrictions in the Jim
Crow South disenfranchised
African-Americans, women and men
alike. Poll taxes, literacy
tests, grandfather clauses,
violence and lynching all
conspired to keep
African-Americans from exercising
their right to vote.
>> Other communities of color
were kept from the polls for
decades to come, among them
Native Americans and Asian
American immigrants.

English: 
>> August of 1920 marks for
African-American women a start,
not a finish.
>> In October of 1920, soon after
the 19th Amendment was ratified
and with a presidential election
around the corner, Mary Church
Terrell wrote a letter filled
with foreboding about what was to
come.
>> The colored women of the South
will be shamefully treated and
will not be allowed to vote. I am
sure. We are so helpless without
the right of citizenship and that
section of the country where we
need it most.
>> Voting restrictions in the Jim
Crow South disenfranchised
African-Americans, women and men
alike. Poll taxes, literacy
tests, grandfather clauses,
violence and lynching all
conspired to keep
African-Americans from exercising
their right to vote.
>> Other communities of color
were kept from the polls for
decades to come, among them
Native Americans and Asian
American immigrants.

English: 
>> They were denied citizenship
for years after 1920, so they
still couldn't vote. And the
struggle to ensure that everyone
can exercise this essential
democratic right? It continues
100 years after the 19th
Amendment.
>> One of the lessons that we
learn when we compare 1920 and
2020 is that voting rights is
never a given.
>> It's never a guarantee. It's
not a done deal in the United
States.

English: 
>> They were denied citizenship
four years after 1920, so they
still couldn't vote. And the
struggle to ensure that everyone
can exercise this essential
democratic right. It continues
100 years after the 19th
Amendment.
>> One of the lessons that we
learn when we compare in 1920 and
2020 is that voting rights is
never a given.
>> It's never a guarantee. It's
not a done deal in the United
States.
