Voting and Holding Public Office

Abstract

Chapter 6 considers the same issue as Chapter 5, except within the context of the right to hold public office. Many suffragists characterized the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment as having secured their political liberty or freedom. Yet, as both Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 explain, that understanding of the meaning and scope of the Nineteenth Amendment was not shared by many state courts. Much as they had used statutory construction to limit the potential impact of the Nineteenth Amendment on women’s eligibility for jury service, many state courts embraced a constricted view of the scope of the Nineteenth Amendment on other political rights beyond voting, like holding elective or appointive office. This ensured the continuation of women’s partialized citizenship for decades after ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.