U.S. Women's Rights Timeline: 1789-Present Day

Updated February 15, 2023 | Infoplease Staff
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Women's rights and women's suffrage have been contentious issues for centuries, with any movement toward equality and inclusivity being an uphill battle for many. Here, we will break down the Women's Rights Movement and women's suffrage into three main timelines, spanning from 1789 to the present day.

What Did the Women's Rights Movement Fight For?

The Women’s Rights Movement has historically fought for a variety of rights and continues to do so. Some areas of activism include:

  • The right for women to vote.
  • Equal pay for equal work.
  • An end to employment discrimination.
  • Property rights for women.
  • Outlawing marital rape.
  • Social equality.
  • Equality under the law.
  • Equal access to education.
  • Reproductive rights.

And more.

What Did Women’s Suffrage Mean?

“Suffrage” means the right to vote. Suffragists and the suffrage movement fought for the right of women to vote. This was an incredibly important movement during the years when women did not enjoy the same rights and equality as men in terms of deciding who could run the country and how.

What Were 3 Major Events in the Women's Rights Movement? 

Three major events in the history of women’s rights in the United States are the Seneca Falls Convention on Women’s Rights, the passing of the 19th Amendment, and the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The Seneca Falls Convention took place on July 19 and 20, 1848, in Seneca Falls, New York. This was the first official convention on women’s rights, and was attended by 300 women and men. This convention would be the model for many subsequent conventions, and the resulting Declaration of Sentiments would set the agenda for the Women’s Rights Movement in the years to come.

The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave women the right to vote. It was passed on August 6, 1920, though the text was originally penned by Senator Aaron Augustus Sargent in 1878. When it passed, not a word had been changed from Sargent’s original text.

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act barred, for the first time, discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex and established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate discrimination complaints and impose penalties.

The Complicated Relationship Between Gender and Racial Equality

Although the movements for gender and racial equality have shared roots in the 19th-century abolitionist movement, they have not always moved forward together.

The first significant split occurred following the Civil War. The movement split over whether to work first for women’s suffrage or for the suffrage of Black men. In the South, some parties would promote white women’s suffrage as a bulwark against newly emancipated Black people gaining power.

The 15th Amendment, passed in 1860, which extended the franchise to Black men, would prove a point of contention for some. The pervasive racism of the time further exacerbated the split.

The movements for gender and racial equality would come together and diverge numerous times over subsequent decades, and divisions still exist to this day.

History of the American Women's Rights Movement: 1789 to Present Day

Discover the key events of the Women’s Rights Movement in the United States. This timeline covers the years of 1789 to 2022, which includes the famed women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y., the formation of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, and the passage of the 19th amendment to the Constitution, giving women the right to vote.

And while the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 is considered to be the beginning of the American Women’s Rights Movement, the roots of that movement go back a bit further.

1789

Congress grants states the right to set voting requirements. New Jersey allows property-owning women, regardless of color, to vote.

1807

New Jersey rescinds women’s right to vote.

1837

May 9

The first National Female Anti-Slavery Society Convention is held in New York City. It is attended by 81 delegates.

1838

Kentucky passes a statewide law allowing female heads of household in rural areas to vote in elections regarding taxes and local school boards.

1839

Mississippi passes a Married Women’s Property Act, allowing women to keep their earnings and protecting them from their husband’s creditors. Similar acts would follow in subsequent years in other southern states, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kansas, Oregon, and Nevada.

1840

June 12-23

The first World Anti-Slavery Convention is held in Exeter Hall in London, England. Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton attend with their husbands, but are not allowed to participate in the convention because they are women. They become friends and vow to organize a convention to further the cause of women’s rights.

1844

Female textile workers in Massachusetts found the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association. The LFLRA is one of the first women’s labor associations in the U.S.

1848

July 19-20

The first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. This was considered by many to be the start of the Women’s Rights Movement, and would be stated as such in Stanton’s later document, "History of Woman Suffrage".

The convention was organized by local Quakers, along with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was not a Quaker. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass attended, and was the convention’s only African American attendee. About 300 people of both sexes attended the conference.

After two days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men signed a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlined grievances and sets the agenda for the Women's Rights Movement. A set of 12 resolutions was adopted calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.

August 2

The Rochester Women’s Convention. The convention was organized by a coalition of Quakers and Unitarians.

The convention elected Abigail Bush to be its presiding officer. This would be the first convention attended by both men and women, to be presided over by a woman. Some 500 people attended in total.

The convention approved the Declaration of Sentiments drawn up at the Seneca Falls Convention. Abolitionists Frederick Douglass and William Cooper Nell spoke in favor of women’s rights. The convention also discussed the rights of working women and the topic of equal pay.

1850

April 19-20

The Ohio Women’s Convention at Salem.

This is the first convention to be organized at the statewide level. It is attended by some 500 people. The Salem convention declares its intention to fight for “equal rights and the extension of the privileges of government without distinction of sex, or color.”

Abolitionist Betsy Mix Cowles is elected president of the convention. Abolitionist Jane Elizabeth Jones give the convention’s main address. Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Lucy Stone are also in attendance.

Men attended the convention but are not allowed to vote or speak. After the convention male attendees put together their own organization in support of the action items set forth by the women’s convention.

The document that comes out of the Ohio Convention gathers 8,000 signatures.

October 23-24

The National Women’s Rights Convention in Worcester, Massachusetts.

This is the first national convention on women’s rights. More than 1,000 people attended, the majority of whom are men. Delegates came from 11 states, including the new state of California.

Paulina Wright Davis presides over the convention, and abolitionist Sarah H. Earle opens the proceedings. The convention calls for legal, social, and political equality. One resolution calls for the word “male” to be stricken from every state constitution. Property rights, access to education, and employment opportunities are also discussed.

Speakers include Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott, Frederick Douglass, and others. Susan B. Anthony, who is not in attendance, would say that a speech given by Lucy Stone converted her to the cause of women’s rights.

Stone later pays to have the convention proceedings bound and distributed as tracts. One of these tracts inspires women in Sheffield, England, to present a petition for women’s suffrage to the House of Lords.

After this, national conventions are be held yearly (except for 1857) through 1860.

1851

May 25

Sojourner Truth delivers her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech at a conference in Akron, Ohio.

1861-1862

The coming of the Civil War brings several setbacks to the fight for women’s rights. Many people redirect their activism from women’s rights to emancipation, and in 1862, the New York legislature repeals several of the gains that women had made there.

1863

May 14

Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony,and Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis join with Lucy Stone and others to form the Women’s National Loyal League. The League held its first convention on May 14.

The women would also gather 400,000 signatures to support the 13th amendment, which abolishs slavery. The amendment passes on April 8, 1864.

1866

May 10

The Eleventh National Women’s Rights Convention is held in New York City. This is the first convention to be held after the Civil War.

The convention is organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Also in attendance are Lucrecia Mott, Ernestine L. Rose, Wendell Phillips, Reverend Octavius Brooks Frothingham, and others. African-American activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper speaks about racial discrimination.

May 31

The first meeting of the American Equal Rights Association (AERA) is held in Boston, Massachusetts. The group’s goal was equal rights for all citizens, including suffrage.

Internal struggles would cause the group to split between those supporting women’s suffrage, those supporting suffrage for Black men only, and those supporting female suffrage after achieving Black male suffrage. The group would eventually dissolve in conflict.

Two rival groups would emerge: the American Women’s Suffrage Association and the National Women’s Suffrage Association. The groups wouldn’t find enough common ground to join together until 1890.

October

Elizabeth Cady Stanton declares her candidacy for Congress. She is the first woman to do so.

1868

July 9

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution is passed. This constitutional amendment’s equal protection clause would become the basis of subsequent laws about discrimination on the basis of race, gender, and sexual orientation.

1869

May

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association. The primary goal of the organization is to achieve voting rights for women by means of a Congressional amendment to the Constitution.

November

Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and others form the American Woman Suffrage Association. This group focusses exclusively on gaining voting rights for women through amendments to individual state constitutions.

December 19

The territory of Wyoming passes the first women's suffrage law. The following year, women begin serving on juries in the territory.

1870

Women in Utah gain the vote.

1872

November 5

Susan B. Anthony is arrested for violating the Enforcement Act of 1870 by casting a vote in the 1872 presidential election. Anthony is not allowed to speak during the trial, but after the trial is over, gives what has been called the most famous speech in support of female suffrage.

Anthony is sentenced to pay a fine of $100 (about $2,440 in 2023), of which she would not pay a penny.

Also in this year, journalist Victoria Claflin Woodhull forms her own political party and runs for president.

1876

Susan B. Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage begin working on "The History of Woman Suffrage". The work began as a tract, but would become a six-volume work spanning more than 5,700 pages written over 41 years.

1878

Senator Aaron Augustus Sargent, a supporter of women’s rights and a speaker at suffrage conventions, introduces a female suffrage amendment to Congress. More than 40 years later (August 6, 1920), Sargent’s amendment, unaltered, would become the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

1890

The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) under the leadership of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. As the movement's mainstream organization, NAWSA wages state-by-state campaigns to obtain voting rights for women. By 1910 the NAWSA would have two million members.

Also this year, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr found Hull House, a woman-operated settlement house project in Chicago, serving recent immigrants to the United States. This project, which would establish more than one hundred settlement houses across the country within a year, would bring women of all colors into the field of social work, and increase women’s voice in the political sphere.

1893

Colorado is the first state to adopt a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. Idaho follows suit in 1896, Washington State in 1910, California in 1911, Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona in 1912, Alaska and Illinois in 1913, Montana and Nevada in 1914, New York in 1917; Michigan, South Dakota, and Oklahoma in 1918.

1895

Elizabeth Cady Stanton publishes "The Woman’s Bible", which challenged traditional Biblical teachings that subjugate women.

1896

Although the suffragist and abolitionist movements were once entwined, 30 years of conflict over female suffrage and Black suffrage, combined with the prevalent anti-Black racism would exacerbate the growing division in the Women’s Rights Movement.

In 1896, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Harriet Tubman, Mary Church Terrell, Margaret Murry Washington, and others gather in Washington, D.C. to form the National Association of Colored Women (NACW).

1903

In New York, Mary Dreier, Rheta Childe Dorr, and others establish the National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL). The group is composed of working women from the middle and working classes, and promotes women’s suffrage and labor organization of working women.

This group would later help to found the International Ladies’ Garment Workers Union (ILGWU).

1907

Inspired by the British suffrage movement, Harriet Stanton Blatch founds the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women (later the Women’s Political Union). The membership is largely working women. The group holds suffrage parades and rallies, in which as many as 25,000 people would take part.

1912

Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive Party becomes the first national political party to make women’s suffrage part of its platform.

1913

Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the Congressional Union to work toward the passage of a federal amendment to give women the vote. The group is later renamed the National Women's Party. Members picket the White House and practice other forms of civil disobedience.

1916

Margaret Sanger opens the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. Although the clinic is shut down 10 days later and Sanger is arrested, she eventually wins support through the courts and opens another clinic in New York City in 1923.

Also in this year, the National Woman’s Party (NWP) is founded. The party’s first goal was to fight for women’s suffrage. Following the passage of the 19th amendment, the NWP would advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment and other goals.

1917

January 10

Starting on January 10 of this year, 2,000 suffragists from the NWP picket in front of the White House. “The Silent Sentinels” would also protest in Lafayette Square, and would not stop until the 19th amendment was passed, despite nearly 500 of their number being arrested, and 168 serving jail time.

April 2

Jeannette Rankin is sworn in at the House of Representatives. She is the first elected female congress member.

1918

After the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson publicly acknowledges the vital role women played in the war effort. This would go far toward changing public opinion in favor of women’s suffrage.

1919

The Federal Woman Suffrage Amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced in Congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. It is then sent to the states for ratification.

1920

The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.

August 26

The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.

1921

Margaret Sanger founds the American Birth Control League, which evolves into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942.

1923

Alice Paul drafts the Equal Rights Amendment. Congress would pass the amendment in 1972, but the amendment would die ten years later, having not been ratified by the required minimum of 38 states.

1935

Mary McLeod Bethune organizes the National Council of Negro Women, a coalition of Black women's groups that lobbies against job discrimination, racism, and sexism.

1936

The federal law prohibiting the dissemination of contraceptive information through the mail is modified and birth control information is no longer classified as obscene. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, birth control advocates are engaged in numerous legal suits.

1955

The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the first lesbian organization in the United States, is founded. Although DOB originated as a social group, it later developed into a political organization whose goal was to win basic acceptance for lesbians in the United States.

1960

The Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pills.

1961

President John Kennedy establishes the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appoints Eleanor Roosevelt as chair.

The report issued by the Commission in 1963 would document substantial discrimination against women in the workplace and make specific recommendations for improvement, including fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable child care.

1963

Betty Friedan publishes her highly influential book "The Feminine Mystique", which describes the dissatisfaction felt by middle-class American housewives with the narrow role imposed on them by society. The book becomes a bestseller and galvanizes the modern Women’s Rights Movement.

June 10

Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job.

1964

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex. At the same time it establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints and impose penalties.

1965

In Griswold v. Connecticut, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the one remaining state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples.

1966

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded by a group of feminists including Betty Friedan. The largest women's rights group in the U.S., NOW, seeks to end sexual discrimination, especially in the workplace, by means of legislative lobbying, litigation, and public demonstrations.

1967

Executive Order 11375 expands President Lyndon Johnson's affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on gender. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must take active measures to ensure that women as well as minorities enjoy the same educational and employment opportunities as white males.

1968

The EEOC rules that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal. This ruling is upheld in 1973 by the Supreme Court, opening the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs hitherto open only to men.

1969

California becomes the first state to adopt a "no fault" divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985 every state has adopted a similar law. Laws are also passed regarding the equal division of common property.

1970

In Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co., a U.S. Court of Appeals rules that jobs held by men and women need to be "substantially equal" but not "identical" to fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act. An employer cannot, for example, change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than men.

1971

"Ms. Magazine" is first published as a sample insert in "New York" magazine; 300,000 copies are sold out in 8 days. The first regular issue is published in July 1972. The magazine becomes the major forum for feminist voices, and cofounder and editor Gloria Steinem is launched as an icon of the modern feminist movement.

1972

March 22

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Originally drafted by Alice Paul in 1923, the amendment reads: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." The amendment died in 1982 when it failed to achieve ratification by a minimum of 38 states.

In Eisenstadt v. Baird the Supreme Court rules that the right to privacy includes an unmarried person's right to use contraceptives.

June 23

Title IX of the Education Amendment bans sex discrimination in schools. It states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."

As a result of Title IX, the enrollment of women in athletics programs and professional schools increases dramatically.

1973

As a result of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court establishes a woman's right to safe and legal abortion, overriding the anti-abortion laws of many states.

1974

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in consumer credit practices on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance. For the first time, women are allowed to apply for and open a credit card in their own names.

In Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that employers cannot justify paying women lower wages because that is what they traditionally received under the "going market rate." A wage differential occurring "simply because men would not work at the low rates paid women" is deemed unacceptable.

1976

The first marital rape law is enacted in Nebraska, making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife.

1978

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, a woman cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work.

1981

Sandra Day O’Connor becomes the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court. Subsequent appointments would include Ruth Bader Ginsberg (1993), Sonja Sotomayor (2009), Elena Kagan (2010), Amy Coney Barrett (2020), and Ketanji Brown Jackson (2022).

1983

June 18

Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.

1984

Congress member Geraldine Ferraro runs as Walter Mondale’s vice presidential candidate. She is the first woman to run for this office for a major political party.

1985

Ellen Malcolm founds EMILY’s list (Early Money Is Like Yeast), a political action committee supporting pro-choice Democratic women running for national political office. The organization makes a significant impact on the increasing number of women elected to Congress.

1986

Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, the Supreme Court finds that sexual harassment is a form of illegal job discrimination.

1992

In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court reaffirms the validity of a woman's right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. The case successfully challenges Pennsylvania's 1989 Abortion Control Act, which sought to reinstate restrictions previously ruled unconstitutional.

1993

March 12

Janet Reno is sworn in as the first female Attorney General of the United States.

1994

The Violence Against Women Act tightens federal penalties for sex offenders, funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence, and provides for special training of police officers.

1996

In United States v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that the all-male Virginia Military School has to admit women in order to continue to receive public funding. It holds that creating a separate, all-female school will not suffice.

1997

January 23

Madeleine Albright is sworn in as the first female U.S. Secretary of State.

1999

The Supreme Court rules in Kolstad v. American Dental Association that a woman can sue for punitive damages for sex discrimination if the anti-discrimination law was violated with malice or indifference to the law, even if that conduct was not especially severe.

2003

In Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, the Supreme Court rules that states can be sued in federal court for violations of the Family Leave Medical Act.

2005

In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, also inherently prohibits disciplining someone for complaining about sex-based discrimination. It further holds that this is the case even when the person complaining is not among those being discriminated against.

2006

The Supreme Court upholds the ban on the "partial-birth" abortion procedure. The ruling, 5-4, which upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, a federal law passed in 2003, is the first to ban a specific type of abortion procedure.

Writing in the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy says, "The act expresses respect for the dignity of human life." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who dissents, calls the decision "alarming" and said it is "so at odds with our jurisprudence" that it "should not have staying power."

2007

January 4

Nancy Pelosi is sworn in as the first female Speaker of the House.

2009

President Obama signs the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck.

Previously, victims (most often women) were only allowed 180 days from the date of the first unfair paycheck. This Act is named after a former employee of Goodyear who alleged that she was paid 15-40% less than her male counterparts, which was later found to be accurate.

2013

In January of 2013, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announces that the ban on women serving in combat roles would be lifted. The move reverses the 1994 rule that prohibited women from serving in combat.

The 1994 Violence Against Women Act is also reauthorized this year, with enhanced judicial and law enforcement tools for combatting violence against women and providing support for victims. It also extends coverage to young victims, immigrants, Indian women, and victims of trafficking.

2016

January 2

Women are now allowed to serve in any job in the armed services, provided they meet gender-neutral performance standards.

June 7

Hillary Clinton, after winning a majority of Democratic state primaries, becomes the first female presidential candidate for a major political party. She was defeated by Donald Trump on November 8.

June 27

In a 5-3 decision on June 27, 2016, the Supreme Court overturns a Texas law imposed on abortion clinics. The law had required doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers and had resulted in the closure of nearly half of the state’s abortion clinics.

2017

January 21

In response to numerous factors including continued attempts by lawmakers to restrict access to abortions, persistent employment disparities, and contentious comments made by President Trump in a leaked video, among others — feminist activists from around the country organize a Women's March to advocate for women's rights.

Despite some ideological conflicts between event organizers over inclusion and diversity, the nationwide protest begin with enormous success. Upwards of 3 million people turn out, marking one of the largest and most peaceful protests in U.S. history.

2021

January 20

Kamala Harris is sworn in as the first female vice president of the United States, as well as the first vice president of Black and Indian heritage.

By the end of 2021, many state legislatures succeed in vastly restricting access to abortions in most if not all cases of pregnancy, overcoming challenges in federal court. This represents one of the largest swells in opposition to legal abortion since the Roe v. Wade decision was issued.

2022

June 24

The Supreme Court overturns the Roe v. Wade decision, returning abortion regulation to the states.

What Are the Important Dates for Women’s Rights?

Civil rights, including women’s rights, is an ongoing struggle, whose roots go back to before the founding of the United States, and continue to this day. From the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 to the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, to the first women to achieve national offices in the 20th and 21st centuries, the struggle is not over.

How well do you know your women’s history? Test yourself with our Women’s History Quiz!

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