Passed by Congress in June 1919 and ratified by the states by August 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United Stares or by any State on account of sex." In the 1920s, the first decide in which women across the nation could exercise the franchise, women reluctantly used their newfound freedom. Most women did not vote, and those who did generally cast ballots consistent with their husbands' and families' preferences rather than forming independent interest groups as many had expected. After women won voting rights, Carrie Chapman Catt, a distinguished advocate of women's suffrage, suggested disbanding the National Woman Suffrage Association, which had been instrumental in securing passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. In place of that umbrella organization, whose membership included women with a...