New Jersey Ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution
Courtesy, New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, NJ.

State of New Jersey Senate Concurrent Resolution, No. 1, 1920
Amelia Berndt Moorfield Collection
 

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In 1920, after decades of political organizing and advocacy by suffragists, ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution granting woman suffrage was achieved. New Jersey was the 29^th state to ratify when the legislature voted affirmatively on February 10, 1920.

The New Jersey Suffrage Ratification Committee, a coalition of major women’s organizations led by Lillian Feickert, president of the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association, had worked hard since the Amendment passed Congress in 1919 to get pro-ratification men elected to the New Jersey legislature.

The Amendment was ratified by the New Jersey Senate by 18 to 2 early in February 1920, but ratification by the Assembly was less certain. Suffragists packed the Assembly chamber, waiting breathlessly during the Assembly roll call vote on February 10^th. When the resolution passed 34 to 24, "cheers of women reverberated through the halls." The document above is an official reprint of the N. J. Senate Concurrent Resolution, No.1 for ratification of the 19^th Amendment. Suffragist Amelia B. Moorfield noted at the bottom of the page the Senate and Assembly votes.

A grand victory convention was held by suffragists in Newark on April 23, 1920. At this meeting, the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association became the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, a non-partisan organization devoted to informed citizenship.