The Map Proves It, ca. 1919

Supporters of women’s rights used maps such as the one shown here to demonstrate where women were allowed to vote, when they won that right, and which elections they could vote in. The source of this map is unknown. Originally printed around 1914, it was altered over a period of five years to reflect the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in various states through mid 1919.

Each state is marked in patterns representing the status of women’s suffrage.

White represents full suffrage.
Stripes represent partial suffrage.
Dots represent presidential, partial county, and state suffrage.
Black represents no suffrage.

In several states, such as Arkansas, North Dakota, and Indiana, pieces of paper were marked by hand and added to the map to represent changes in suffrage.

This map has many customized markings added, including numbers in the corners of states, small pink squares, and “1P” and “2P” notations. We do not know what all the additions mean.

Small blue pieces of paper record the dates that women could first vote in a state or territory. They also record the order in which the states ratified the Nineteenth Amendment. Illinois first ratified the amendment on June 10, 1919, but because of a miswording in the bill’s introduction, the amendment was reaffirmed on June 17, 1919. The US secretary of state recognized Illinois as the first state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment based on the first date.

As the map illustrates, women who lived in the western part of the United States could vote long before their eastern counterparts. Wyoming, Utah, Washington, Montana, and Alaska were all still territories when women obtained full suffrage.

The chart below incorporates information from the map and from historical records.

Ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment by State

State/ Territory	Date of Ratification	Date women could vote	Official order of ratification	Order of ratification listed on the map
Illinois	June 10, 1919	June 17, 1919	1	6
Wisconsin	June 10, 1919	June 19, 1919	2	1
Michigan	June 10, 1919	June 10, 1919	3	2
Kansas	June 16, 1919	June 16, 1919	4	3
Ohio	June 16, 1919	June 16, 1919	5	4
New York	June 16, 1919	June 16, 1919	6	5
Pennsylvania	June 24, 1919	June 24, 1919	7	7
Massachusetts	June 25, 1919	June 25, 1919	8	8
Texas	June 28, 1919	June 28, 1919	9	9
Iowa	July 2, 1919	July 2, 1919	10	10
Missouri	July 3, 1919	July 3, 1919	11	11
Arkansas	July 28, 1919	July 28, 1919	12	12
Montana	August 2, 1919	July 30, 1919	13	13
Nebraska	August 2, 1919	August 2, 1919	14	14
Minnesota	September 8, 1919	Not labeled	15	Not labeled
New Hampshire	September 10, 1919	September 10, 1919	16	Not labeled
Utah	September 30, 1919	1896	17	Not labeled
California	November 1, 1919	1911	18	Not labeled
Maine	November 5, 1919	Not labeled	19	Not labeled
North Dakota	December 1, 1919	Not labeled	20	Not labeled
South Dakota	December 4, 1919	Not labeled	21	Not labeled
Colorado	December 15, 1919	1893	22	Not labeled
Kentucky	January 6, 1920	Not labeled	23	Not labeled
Rhode Island	January 6, 1920	Not labeled	24	Not labeled
Oregon	January 13, 1920	1912	25	Not labeled
Indiana	January 16, 1920`	Not labeled	26	Not labeled
Wyoming	January 27, 1920	1869	27	Not labeled
Nevada	February 7, 1920	1914	28	Not labeled
New Jersey	February 9, 1920	Not labeled	29	Not labeled
Idaho	February 11, 1920	1896	30	Not labeled
Arizona	February 12, 1920	1912	31	Not labeled
New Mexico	February 21, 1920	Not labeled	32	Not labeled
Oklahoma	February 28, 1920	Not labeled	33	Not labeled
West Virginia	March 10, 1920 (Confirmed on September 21, 1920)	Not labeled	34	Not labeled
Washington	March 22, 1920	Not labeled	35	Not labeled
Tennessee	August 18, 1920	Not labeled	36	Not labeled
Connecticut	September 14, 1920 (Reaffirmed on September 21, 1920)	Not labeled	37	Not labeled
Vermont	February 8, 1921	Not labeled	38	Not labeled
Delaware	March 6, 1923	Not labeled	39	Not labeled
Maryland	March 29, 1941	Not labeled	40	Not labeled
Virginia	February 21, 1952	Not labeled	41	Not labeled
Alabama	September 8, 1953	Not labeled	42	Not labeled
Florida	May 13, 1969	Not labeled	43	Not labeled
South Carolina	July 1, 1969	Not labeled	44	Not labeled
Georgia	February 20, 1970	Not labeled	45	Not labeled
Louisiana	June 11, 1970	Not labeled	46	Not labeled
North Carolina	May 6, 1971	Not labeled	47	Not labeled
Mississippi	March 22, 1984	Not labeled	48	Not labeled
Alaska	1913 (only applied to white women)	Not labeled	49	Not labeled
Hawaii	US Territory - received suffrage on August 18, 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified	Not labeled	50	Not labeled

Questions for Discussion

Read the document introduction, view the image, and apply your knowledge of American history in order to answer the questions that follow.

The western part of the country granted women full suffrage rights as early as 1869. What factors may have influenced the legislatures of the western territories and states to provide for women’s suffrage far earlier than the eastern section of the country?
After Tennessee ratified the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, there were twelve states left (other than Alaska and Hawaii, which were territories) to ratify the document. How would you characterize those remaining twelve states?
The states of Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and North Carolina ratified the Nineteenth Amendment between 1969 and 1971. What historical events or trends may have impacted the ultimate ratification process in these states?
Maps are documents that provide the observer with information. In this case, “The Map Proves It” tells the story of women’s suffrage. Create an alternate title for this map that captures the message of the document and explain why you believe it is an appropriate title.

A printer-friendly version is available here.

The Map Proves It, ca. 1919

Questions for Discussion

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