“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.
“Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”
So reads the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which became law in all states ninety-six years ago today. This monument in Knoxville commemorates Tennessee suffragists Lizzie Crozier French of that city, Anne Dallas Dudley of Nashville, and Elizabeth Avery Meriwether of Memphis. Their efforts and those of many others saw Tennessee become the thirty-sixth state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920. Certification from the state legislature reached Washington, DC eight days later, giving Americans universal suffrage.
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