On September 30, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson spoke to the U.S. Senate and stated that he was in favor of a suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing women the right to vote. Prior to this date, the House of Representatives had approved a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote, but the Senate had yet to vote on the issue.

President Woodrow Wilson served his first term as the U.S. President between 1913 and 1917. As his second term began, women suffragists known as the “Silent Sentinels” began to picket in front of the White House. The women would hold signs, berating and challenging Woodrow Wilson to support their cause. This came on the heels of the U.S. entering World War I in 1914. The suffragettes strongly believed that if the U.S. was equipped to defend the notion of democracy outside of its own borders, then it should be equally as equipped to defend democracy and equal rights on its own land.

When the picketing first began in 1917, President Wilson appeared to be somewhat perplexed by the efforts of the Silent Sentinels. However, after several of the women were jailed and proceeded to go on a hunger strike, the President’s attitude began to change. Slowly, he started to come around and see the value of giving women the right to vote. Allowing women to exercise their right to vote meant more votes in favor of World War I. After all, the women were likely to be supportive of their fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons, who were fighting overseas.

All of this led to the speech that President Wilson gave before the U.S. Congress on September 30, 1918. While specifically addressing the Senate, the President supported the proposed 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing women the right to vote. However, despite the approval of the President of the United States, the Senate struck down the Amendment. In fact, it wasn’t until almost two years later, in August 1920, that the 19th Amendment was ratified. It was only then that the right of citizens to vote was not to be denied or abridged on account of a person's sex.