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From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues

Minor v. Happersett (1875)

In Minor v. Happersett, Virginia Minor attempted to gain suffrage rights by arguing that the State of Missouri had violated her First, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights when it prohibited her from registering to vote in 1872. The U.S. Supreme Court found that the U.S. Constitution does not grant the right of suffrage to anyone and the states’ decisions to limit voting to men were not unconstitutional.

Minor contended that the First Amendment provided voting rights as a form of free expression, that under the Thirteenth Amendment being denied the vote was a form of involuntary servitude, and that the Fourteenth Amendment made voting for federal officials a privilege of citizenship. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider the first two arguments and focused on the Fourteenth Amendment argument. Although agreeing that women were citizens and that women were persons because they were counted as part of the total population, the Court found that the Fourteenth Amendment did not add to the privileges and immunities of citizens, but only added a guaranty of protection for those already in place. In addition, the Court noted that for 90 years, citizenship had been conferred without the right of suffrage and that historically women were a special category of citizens and their inability to vote did not infringe on their rights as citizens.

See also: Suffrage

References: Sachs and Wilson, Sexism and the Law (1978).

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
"Minor V. Happersett (1875)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, edited by Suzanne O’Dea, Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0642.
APA 7th
Minor v. Happersett (1875). From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, In S. O’Dea (Ed.), Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0642.
CMOS 17th
"Minor V. Happersett (1875)." From Suffrage to the Senate America's Political Women: An Encyclopedia of Leaders, Causes & Issues, Edited by Suzanne O’Dea. Salem Press, 2019. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Suffrage3e_0642.