Political Banner, New York State Woman Suffrage Party, 1910

American women gained the right to vote after a long, hard struggle. A concerted effort to secure voting rights for women began in the mid-1800s and continued until the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920--and even then, some women had to fight on. In recognition of the passage of the 19th Amendment, here are 19 objects from our collections that highlight the women's suffrage movement.

In the 1970s, women's rights activists rallied in support of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would guarantee women equal rights with men as part of the United States Constitution. The ERA, first put forward in 1923, finally passed both houses of Congress in 1972 -- but it was not ratified in enough state legislatures for approval.

Explore the complex history of the fight for women's suffrage and women's rights in America through artifacts from the collections of The Henry Ford.