nineteenth amendment
LowFormal, Historical, Academic, Legal
Definition
Meaning
The amendment to the United States Constitution that granted women the right to vote.
A landmark piece of American legislation that prohibited the denial of voting rights based on sex, representing a major victory for the women's suffrage movement and a significant expansion of democratic participation.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Always capitalized when referring to the specific U.S. Constitutional amendment. The term is highly specific to American history and law; outside this context, it would be interpreted as the ordinal number 'nineteenth' modifying the noun 'amendment'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The term is exclusively American, referring to a specific U.S. Constitutional amendment. In British contexts, the concept of women's suffrage is discussed historically without reference to a 'nineteenth amendment'.
Connotations
In American English: historic, progressive, constitutional, foundational for women's rights. In British English: the term would be recognized as a foreign (American) historical/legal reference.
Frequency
High frequency in American historical, legal, and political discourse; extremely low to zero frequency in general British English.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
The Nineteenth Amendment + verb (guaranteed, prohibited, was ratified)verb + the Nineteenth Amendment (ratify, support, oppose)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “The law of the land (after ratification)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rarely used. Might appear in discussions of corporate history or diversity initiatives referencing historical milestones.
Academic
Frequently used in history, political science, law, and gender studies courses and texts.
Everyday
Used in general discussions about American history, women's rights, or around significant anniversaries (e.g., centennial in 2020).
Technical
Used precisely in legal and constitutional contexts, citing specific text and judicial interpretations.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The parliament would never have nineteenth-amended their constitution in that way.
- They sought to nineteenth-amendment the electoral laws.
American English
- Activists fought to nineteenth-amendment the Constitution.
- The state legislature moved to nineteenth-amendment voting rights.
adverb
British English
- The law was changed nineteenth-amendmently, expanding the franchise.
- They campaigned nineteenth-amendmently for decades.
American English
- The Constitution was altered nineteenth-amendmently in 1920.
- They argued nineteenth-amendmently before the court.
adjective
British English
- The nineteenth-amendment movement had parallels in the UK suffragette struggle.
- It was a nineteenth-amendment style campaign.
American English
- She is a Nineteenth-Amendment scholar.
- We studied the Nineteenth-Amendment era.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The Nineteenth Amendment is very old.
- Women got the vote from this amendment.
- The Nineteenth Amendment gave American women the right to vote.
- It was ratified in the year 1920.
- Ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 was the culmination of a decades-long suffrage movement.
- The amendment's text simply states that the right to vote cannot be denied on account of sex.
- While the Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised women in principle, persistent barriers like poll taxes and literacy tests continued to disenfranchise many women of colour for decades.
- Legal scholars debate the Nineteenth Amendment's implications for gender-based classifications beyond the voting booth.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: 'Nineteen' sounds like 'nice teen'. A 'nice teen' (19th) 'amendment' let women have a voice – it was a nice change!
Conceptual Metaphor
A KEY unlocking the ballot box; A BRIDGE to full citizenship; A CORNERSTONE of modern democracy.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating as 'девятнадцатая поправка' without context, as it is a proper name. Better to specify 'поправка о женском избирательном праве' or use the established term 'Девятнадцатая поправка (к Конституции США)'.
Common Mistakes
- Writing it in lowercase ('nineteenth amendment').
- Confusing it with the 15th Amendment (race) or 26th Amendment (age).
- Using 'the' inconsistently (e.g., 'Nineteenth Amendment was passed' vs. 'The Nineteenth Amendment was passed').
Practice
Quiz
What year was the Nineteenth Amendment ratified?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The text reads: 'The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.'
It was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920.
While it constitutionally prohibited sex-based denial of voting rights, other discriminatory practices like poll taxes and literacy tests still prevented many women, particularly women of colour, from voting until the passage of later laws like the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Yes, when referring specifically to that amendment of the U.S. Constitution, it is a proper noun and should be capitalized.