Unlock hundreds more features
Save your Quiz to the Dashboard
View and Export Results
Use AI to Create Quizzes and Analyse Results

OR
Sign inSign in with Facebook
Sign inSign in with Google
Quizzes > History

Can You Vote in 1870? Take the Vote in 1870 Quiz

Quick, free 1870 voting rights quiz to test your knowledge. Instant results.

Editorial: Review CompletedCreated By: Jessica Mc ClairUpdated Aug 23, 2025
Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
paper art collage of women suffrage portraits with protest banners ballot box on sky blue background

This quiz helps you test what you know about who could vote in 1870 and how women's suffrage took shape. Work through quick questions, see clear answers along the way, and keep learning with the progressive era test, a civil war quiz, or a US history quiz.

In which year was the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified, granting women the right to vote nationwide?
1922
1920
1918
1919
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, guaranteeing women the right to vote nationwide. This amendment marked the culmination of decades of suffrage activism. Its ratification followed approval by three-fourths of the states.
Who was arrested in 1872 for voting illegally, later becoming a prominent suffrage leader?
Sojourner Truth
Susan B. Anthony
Harriet Tubman
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Susan B. Anthony was arrested after registering and voting in the 1872 presidential election. Her subsequent trial and fine drew national attention to the suffrage cause. This act of civil disobedience underscored the legal challenges women faced in securing the vote.
The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 is widely regarded as the first women's rights convention. In which state was it held?
Pennsylvania
New York
Massachusetts
New Jersey
The Seneca Falls Convention took place in Seneca Falls, New York, in July 1848. It was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott to discuss womens rights. The event produced the Declaration of Sentiments, a landmark document demanding equality.
The Declaration of Sentiments, a key document from the Seneca Falls Convention, was modeled after which historical text?
Magna Carta
Bill of Rights
Declaration of Independence
U.S. Constitution
The Declaration of Sentiments used the Declaration of Independence as its template, mirroring its assertion that all men and women are created equal. This rhetorical choice emphasized womens demands for equal rights. The document listed grievances and called for voting rights among other reforms.
Which organization, co-founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony in 1890, became a leading force in the suffrage movement?
National Woman's Party
League of Women Voters
National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)
American Equal Rights Association
NAWSA was formed in 1890 by merging two major suffrage groups under the leadership of Stanton and Anthony. It coordinated state-by-state campaigns and federal lobbying efforts. NAWSA played the central role in securing the 19th Amendment.
The color often associated with the American women's suffrage movement was:
Blue
Green
Gold
Purple
Gold (often a yellow sunflower) became a symbol of the suffrage movement, representing hope and justice. Activists used sashes and pins in gold to show solidarity. While other movements adopted purple and white colors, gold was uniquely American.
Which Western U.S. territory became the first to grant women the right to vote in 1869?
Dakota Territory
Utah Territory
Wyoming Territory
Colorado Territory
Wyoming Territory granted full voting rights to women in 1869, five decades before the 19th Amendment. It was motivated by both progressive and political reasons, hoping to attract more settlers. Wyoming retained womens suffrage upon statehood in 1890.
Which amendment, ratified before the 19th, granted African American men the right to vote, highlighting the delay in women's suffrage?
17th Amendment
16th Amendment
14th Amendment
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibits denial of the vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Its passage underscored how women were excluded even after a constitutional guarantee for African American men. Womens suffrage activists then intensified their campaign for gender-based voting rights.
In 1893, which state became the first to grant women the right to vote through a popular referendum?
Wyoming
Colorado
Idaho
Utah
Colorado approved womens suffrage by popular vote in 1893, making it the first state to do so by referendum. This success inspired campaigns in other Western states. Colorados victory demonstrated the power of direct democracy in advancing suffrage.
Who founded the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1913, which later became the National Woman's Party?
Anna Howard Shaw
Lucy Burns
Alice Paul
Carrie Chapman Catt
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns founded the Congressional Union in 1913 to push for a federal amendment. Their more militant tactics set them apart from NAWSA. In 1916 the group reorganized as the National Womans Party.
The Silent Sentinels were a group of suffragists known for picketing which location between 1917 and 1919?
Lincoln Memorial
Washington Monument
The White House
Capitol Building
The Silent Sentinels picketed President Wilson at the White House from 1917 to 1919, demanding a federal amendment. They stood silently with banners, a tactic that gained public sympathy after arrests. Their persistence highlighted the urgency of womens enfranchisement.
What was the name of the militant British suffragist whose tactics influenced some American suffrage activists?
Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence
Millicent Fawcett
Emmeline Pankhurst
Christabel Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst led the Womens Social and Political Union in the UK, using civil disobedience and hunger strikes. Her militant tactics inspired Alice Paul and others in America. The cross-Atlantic influence shaped more confrontational suffrage strategies.
The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was led by which president during the 1915 adoption of the 'Winning Plan'?
Carrie Chapman Catt
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Susan B. Anthony
Alice Paul
Carrie Chapman Catt served as NAWSA president from 1900 to 1904 and again from 1915 to 1920. She devised the 'Winning Plan' in 1916 to coordinate state campaigns with a federal amendment push. Her leadership was pivotal in unifying the movement.
The 'New Departure' movement argued that the Fourteenth Amendment already guaranteed women the right to vote. In which decade did this strategy first gain prominence?
1870s
1850s
1890s
1900s
The 'New Departure' legal strategy emerged in the early 1870s, claiming the Fourteenth Amendments citizenship clause enfranchised women. Activists like Virginia Minor attempted to register and vote based on that interpretation. When courts rejected the idea, they shifted focus to a separate amendment.
Which organization, formed in 1916, split from NAWSA to focus on a federal amendment for women's suffrage?
Women's Christian Temperance Union
National Woman's Party
National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage
League of Women Voters
In 1916 Alice Paul and Lucy Burns reconstituted the Congressional Union as the National Womans Party (NWP). The NWP concentrated on a federal amendment rather than state-by-state campaigns. Their militant tactics further distinguished them from NAWSA.
What was the primary purpose of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in relation to women's suffrage?
To oppose suffrage
To link temperance with voting rights
To fund political campaigns
To lobby for child labor laws
The WCTU believed that womens votes were essential to achieve temperance and reduce alcohol-related social problems. They argued that enfranchised women would support prohibition laws. The organization thus became an important ally of suffrage activists.
Which Supreme Court case in 1875 ruled that while women are citizens, citizenship did not confer the right to vote?
Minor v. Happersett
Plessy v. Ferguson
Reynolds v. Sims
Bradwell v. Illinois
In Minor v. Happersett (1875), the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment did not grant women the right to vote. The Court acknowledged womens citizenship but maintained that voting qualifications were determined by states. This decision pushed activists to seek a separate amendment.
In what year did the National Woman's Party picket the White House with continuous demonstrations known as the Silent Sentinels?
1919
1920
1915
1917
The Silent Sentinels began picketing the White House on January 10, 1917, carrying banners demanding suffrage. Their persistent, silent protests continued through 1919 despite arrests. The campaign highlighted federal inaction and pressured President Wilson to support a suffrage amendment.
Who authored the "Address to the Committee on Woman Suffrage" presented to Congress in 1868, arguing for women's voting rights?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Lucy Stone
Susan B. Anthony
Frederick Douglass
Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered the Address to the Committee on Woman Suffrage in 1868. In her speech, she argued that the Fourteenth Amendment should enfranchise women as citizens. Stantons address laid foundational arguments for the suffrage amendment.
The "Winning Plan", formulated by Carrie Chapman Catt, aimed to secure suffrage through coordinated state and federal efforts. In which year was this strategy officially adopted by NAWSA?
1920
1918
1916
1914
Carrie Chapman Catt presented the Winning Plan at NAWSAs 1916 convention. The strategy combined state referenda campaigns with a national amendment drive. This unified approach accelerated progress toward the 19th Amendment.
Which Supreme Court decision in 1922 upheld the constitutionality of the 19th Amendment and ended legal challenges to women's suffrage?
Leser v. Garnett
Adkins v. Children's Hospital
Near v. Minnesota
Brown v. Board of Education
In Leser v. Garnett (1922), the Supreme Court unanimously held that the 19th Amendment was valid and enforceable. The decision dismissed challenges that states had not properly ratified the amendment. It confirmed womens constitutional right to vote.
What was the name of the newspaper published by the National Woman's Party to promote suffrage activism?
The Women's Journal
Votes for Women
The Suffragist
The Lily
The National Womans Party published The Suffragist from 1913 to 1921. It featured news, editorials, and reports on pickets and arrests. The publication was a key tool for mobilizing support and sustaining activism.
Which anti-suffrage organization was established in 1911 to oppose the extension of voting rights to women?
Women's Anti-Suffrage League
National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage
American Suffrage Association
Anti-Suffrage Party
The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS) formed in 1911 in Washington, D.C. Its members lobbied against federal and state suffrage amendments. The group argued that womens roles in home and family made political participation unnecessary.
During World War I, which President of the United States publicly endorsed the women's suffrage amendment in 1918?
William Howard Taft
Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Warren G. Harding
President Woodrow Wilson announced his support for a federal suffrage amendment on September 30, 1918. He framed womens contributions during World War I as justification for enfranchisement. His endorsement was crucial in securing congressional approval of the 19th Amendment.
Which states ratification was the crucial 36th that officially added the 19th Amendment to the Constitution in 1920?
New York
Tennessee
Ohio
Kentucky
Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920, providing the final approval needed. The narrow margin in the Tennessee legislature underscored how contentious suffrage remained. This ratification officially enshrined women's voting rights nationwide.
0
{"name":"In which year was the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified, granting women the right to vote nationwide?", "url":"https://www.quiz-maker.com/QPREVIEW","txt":"In which year was the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified, granting women the right to vote nationwide?, Who was arrested in 1872 for voting illegally, later becoming a prominent suffrage leader?, The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 is widely regarded as the first women's rights convention. In which state was it held?","img":"https://www.quiz-maker.com/3012/images/ogquiz.png"}

Study Outcomes

  1. Understand Pivotal Suffrage Milestones -

    Explore key events in voting rights history, from the 1870 "can you vote in 1870" era through the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

  2. Identify Influential Suffrage Figures -

    Learn to recognize the women and allies who shaped the women's suffrage movement and their lasting impact on democracy.

  3. Analyze Legislative Achievements -

    Examine landmark laws and constitutional amendments that expanded voting rights, illuminating the legal journey toward gender equality.

  4. Recall Lesser-Known Trivia -

    Challenge yourself with surprising facts and anecdotes about the fight for the ballot, reinforcing your grasp of women's suffrage trivia.

  5. Assess Your Suffrage Smarts -

    Complete our scored women voting rights quiz to gauge your knowledge, track your progress, and share your results with friends.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Seneca Falls Convention, 1848 -

    Often cited as the birthplace of the organized women's rights movement, the Seneca Falls Convention adopted the "Declaration of Sentiments" demanding voting rights. Memorize "Seneca Sentiments" to recall this watershed event. Research archives at the Library of Congress confirm its pivotal role in launching suffrage activism.

  2. 15th vs. 19th Amendments -

    The 15th Amendment (1870) prohibited voter discrimination based on race or previous servitude but excluded women, while the 19th Amendment (1920) finally granted women the vote. Use the mnemonic "15 for men, 19 for all" to keep their scopes clear. National Archives resources detail debates that shaped these landmark amendments.

  3. Wyoming's Groundbreaking Role -

    In 1869, the Wyoming Territory became the first U.S. territory to grant women full voting rights, foreshadowing national change. Think "Women Win in Wyo" to lock in this early victory. Government records from the Wyoming State Archives provide primary documents on this bold legislative move.

  4. Key Suffrage Leaders -

    Icons like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton laid the groundwork, while later figures such as Alice Paul employed pickets and hunger strikes to press for a federal amendment. Remember "SAS → APC" (Stanton, Anthony, Paul, Carrie Chapman Catt) to recall core leaders. Biographical collections at major universities offer rich profiles of these activists.

  5. Barriers and the Voting Rights Act -

    Despite the 19th Amendment, practices like poll taxes and literacy tests kept many women - especially women of color - away from the polls until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A handy phrase is "19 then 65" to track legal milestones in voting access. The U.S. Department of Justice archives explain how this Act enforced constitutional protections nationwide.

Make a Quiz (FREE) Copy & Edit This Quiz Create a Quiz with AI

Modern History Quizzes

Powered by: Quiz Maker