Women Who Wouldn’t Be Silent: Black Women and the Fight for Voting Rights
Before the last quarter of the 19th century, women had no legal rights. After marriage, their property and wages became their husband’s. The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on February 3, 1870, granted Black men the right to vote. It wasn’t until 1873, when a law was passed giving women the right to make a will, purchase real estate, and hold it exempt from their husband’s debts. In 1897, when Delaware’s constitution was rewritten, voters rejected a provision granting women the right to vote.
