karen kedrowski: i have come to appreciate what a strategic political actor carrie chapman catt was. n and the realities that she faced in the 19-teens and the 1920s. dianne bystrom: carrie chapman catt i think more than any woman suffragist actually brought that suffrage amendment home, she financed it, she organized it, she was singly focused on it. i think that we, women in this country need to thank her for the right to vote. ♪♪ the 19th amendment to the u.s. constitution granted american women the right to vote, a right known as women's suffrage. the amendment was signed into law on august 26th, 1920. it declared, 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. congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. elaine weiss: you have to lay the groundwork, you have to change hearts and minds first, and this is what the suffragists did in those decades before they actually achieved victory, they changed hearts and minds. they had to change not only the idea of who