On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the final state needed to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibits denying the right to vote on the basis of sex. The vote in Tennessee’s legislature was extremely close, reflecting intense debate over women’s suffrage. Ratification capped decades of activism by suffragists across the United States. After certification, women across the country gained constitutional protection for their voting rights. The amendment transformed American elections and civic life. Its ratification remains one of the most important milestones in U.S. democratic history.
