Whenever a group wants to change something in their nation, controversy is inevitable. No matter the nature of the change, whether it’s good or bad for the country, there will always be opposition. The Women’s Suffrage movement was no exception. For more than seventy years, women fought for the right to vote. Since the founding of the United States, they had been excluded from voting, likely because women were seen as fragile and in need of protection. Many men didn’t believe women could grasp politics, war, or government issues, thinking they were too delicate. The reality was that women were actually thought of as less intelligent than men. This view was widely accepted by women themselves, probably drilled in over years of being treated as less than intelligent. That is, until around 1849 to 1873 years after America gained independence from Great Britain…when some began to realize they were just as smart as men and deserved the right to vote. They were right, of course, but their victory came only after a long, tough struggle. For years, women fighting for suffrage were seen as bold, unrefined, and even improper. 
Proper women were told to stay away from them. Men heckled them, and society often considered them somewhat trashy.
I can’t say for sure what finally tipped the scales in favor of women’s right to vote, but it might have been a case of the “squeaky wheel getting the oil.” Possibly, the women simply protested the unfairness of being labeled as less intelligent, forcing the men to hear their cries of “I have a mind!!” Like anything worth fighting for, you keep going until you win or until there’s no hope left. For women in the United States, that fight was ultimately won. Change can be hard to accept, especially when we believe it’s morally wrong, and no matter the time or place, someone will always oppose a new idea. Some battles are worth winning, others maybe not, but once an idea becomes law, it usually stays unless changed later. Thankfully, women’s right to vote was never repealed, and it remains a right forever. Of course, they would have a hard time reversing that particular law.
On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, was officially 
added to the United States Constitution by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. From that moment on, women had the indisputable right to vote. For those of us born after 1920, it’s hard to grasp just how monumental that change was. It transformed politics, government, and campaigning in lasting ways. No longer were women thought less intelligent. Women not only gained the right to vote but also the opportunity to run for office…a concept that’s sparked discussion ever since. Many thought the decisions made in office were too much for women.
