A dramatic battle in the Tennessee House of Representatives ends with
the state ratifying the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution
on August 18, 1920. After decades of struggle and protest by suffragettes
across the country, the decisive vote was cast by a young representative
who reputedly changed his vote after receiving a note from his mother.

Following its ratification by the necessary three-quarters of U.S.
states, the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing to African Americans citizenship and all its privileges, is officially adopted into the U.S. Constitution on this day in 1868.

Secretary of State William Seward certified adoption of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Photo courtesy of the Library
of Congress.