Women Legally Voted in Revolutionary Era

Writer/Poet Hannah Griffitts 1727-1817, reprint, and image: a3Genealogy

Revolutionary Era Female Ancestors Voted

Suffrage, the right to vote in political elections, is a term people use, but not sure what it means or how it applies to our ancestors. Suffragists” during the woman suffrage movement were"anyone—male or female—who supported extending the right to vote (suffrage) to women." Read: National Archive Pieces of History- What is Suffrage?

We often go straight to the 1865 petition to explain it. But, women voted before 1865.

Petition for an amendment of the Constitution:
Prohibits the states from disfranchising any of citizens on the basis of sex, 1865.
(National Archives Identifier 306684)

Many are unaware that during the Revolutionary Era America women legally voted. One hundred and sixty-three (163) women, four of them free Black women, voted in New Jersey between 1800-1807 following the Revolutionary War. So when I tell you the relationship of suffrage as it applies to women has always been an on again- off-again topic; it really has. 

The Myth: Women couldn’t vote before the 19th Amendment

For a more in-depth exploration of this topic, visit the Museum of the American Revolution's virtual exhibit: When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story.

Married and Loss of Freedom: Not This Again!

American Revolutionary Museum 

Abigal Adams, wife of John Adams stated: Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all men would be tyrants if they could.” You must know Abigal, wife of John Adams. She opposed slavery and supported women's education. Read more about the correspondence between this power couple here: National Women's History Museum.

And, she was right. When they tried to remove women's rights due to marital status women rethought marriage as seen earlier in the poetry of Hannah Griffitts. 

 In early United States, the right to vote was a privilege largely reserved for property-owning white men. However, during the Revolutionary era from 1776 to 1807, the NJ state's constitution granted voting rights to "all inhabitants" who met certain property requirements. This phrasing inadvertently enfranchised women and free people of color. This progressive stance made New Jersey the first state to explicitly include women in the electorate. Read more: The American Revolution Museum.

Electoral Fraud: We've Seen This Before!
The concern of electoral fraud is almost always used to disenfranchise women and people of color for political gain.

 In 1807, facing political pressure and claims of electoral fraud, New Jersey's legislature revised the voting laws, restricting suffrage to tax-paying, white male citizens. This change effectively disenfranchised women and free people of color, rescinding the rights they had briefly held.

The loss of voting rights in New Jersey reflected a broader national trend of limiting suffrage. In the early 19th century, as states drafted new constitutions, many explicitly restricted voting to white men, erasing the gains made by women and minorities during the Revolutionary period. It wasn't until the mid-19th century that the movement for women's suffrage began to regain momentum. 

Our Ancestors Left a Roadmap
The Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 marked a pivotal moment, where activists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott formally demanded equal political rights for women, including the right to vote. Read more: American Bar Association

The struggle for women's suffrage continued for decades, facing numerous challenges and opposition. It wasn't until the early 20th century that the movement saw significant progress. The tireless efforts of suffragists culminated in the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, which prohibited states from denying the right to vote on the basis of sex. This monumental achievement restored voting rights to women nationwide, more than a century after they had been rescinded in places like New Jersey. Learn more here: National Archives: Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment. 

If we don't learn from history, there will be another opportunity to get it right. No one is surprised, we now get to crawl through the Save Act, bill, H.R. 22, the “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” (SAVE Act). 

As many as 69 million American women lack access to valid birth certificates. Estimated number of female citizens ages 15 and older in each state whose names do not match their birth certificate due to last name change or hyphenation upon marriage I just wonder what outcome is expected for them.

CAP, Image and Article, 69 million American women

Wonder how it will affect married women citizens and name changes due to marital status. We will learn since this trend of suppressing the woman's vote started in 2024. It's no surprise women who have legally changed their names are part of the intended victim package on this bill. It's always intentional.

Kathleen Brandt
a3genealogy@gmail.com