Women’s Suffrage in Delaware

On March 16, 1920, Sussex County’s members of the Delaware General Assembly held a conference in Georgetown to hear opinions for and against women’s suffrage. Suffragists and anti-suffragists organized similar gatherings throughout the state that spring. Governor Townsend called the state legislature into a special session on March 22 to address the ratification of the 19th Amendment and other issues. The Senate ratified the amendment, but in a victory for anti-suffragists, the House adjourned on June 2 without passing it. Women earned the right to vote after Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920.