Women’s Equality Day is observed each year on August 26, a date chosen to commemorate a pivotal moment in history: the certification of the 19th Amendment, which secured women’s right to vote in the United States.
The fight for suffrage spanned decades. The amendment was first proposed in Congress in 1878 and faced repeated rejection before finally gaining approval from both the House and Senate in June 1919. Ratification then required support from three-quarters of the states, prompting suffragists to intensify their efforts nationwide. Their persistence paid off on August 24, 1920, when Tennessee became the decisive 36th state to ratify the amendment—by a single vote. That vote was cast by legislator Harry Burn, influenced by a letter from his mother encouraging him to support women’s suffrage. Two days later, on August 26, 1920, the amendment was formally certified, marking a historic victory for women’s rights.
