For over a hundred years women in the United States fought for the right to vote Without it they had no voice in their own government They had no say in how the country was run Many American women devoted their entire lives to working for women’s suffrage or the right to vote They wanted voting rights that were equal to men’s Women finally won this right in 1920 But their struggle began long before 3
In 1787 the new U S Constitution let the states decide who would be allowed to vote Most states decided that the only people who could vote had to be white male Protestant property owners tax payers over the age of 21 The Constitutional Convention 1787 4
From 1787 1807 women were allowed to vote in New Jersey In four states freed male slaves could vote In New Jersey the law did not say that only men could vote So some women did for a few years Then the state took that right away When George Washington was elected president in 1789 only about 1 of the population cast votes 5
