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This Is How Fast America Changes Its Mind
By Alex Tribou and Keith Collins
Updated: June 26, 2015
States in U.S.
1920
18th Amendment
1920
19th Amendment
1967
Loving v. Virginia
2015
Obergefell v.
Hodges
Legal in
4 states
1973
Roe v. Wade
Tracking the Pace of Social Change
Number of states that have removed a ban, by year
(Prohibition shows the number of states that enacted)
Interracial marriage
Prohibition
Women’s suffrage
Abortion
Same-sex marriage
Recreational marijuana
Federal action taken
No federal action
50
states
40
30
20
10
1787
1800
1850
1825
1900
1875
2015
1925
1950
1975
2000
Interracial Marriage
PA
NJ
CT
NH
NY
VT
MA
WI
IA
MN
KS
NM
WA
IL
RI
ME
MI
OH
CA
OR
MT
ND
CO
SD
ID
NV
AK
HI
AZ
NE
UT
IN
WY
MD
1800
1850
1900
1950
1967
10
20
30
states
1787
19 years
In 1967, the Supreme Court ruled that states couldn't
prohibit interracial marriage, invalidating laws in 16
Southern states. Many Northern states had tossed
out bans on interracial marriage in the decades
before and after the Civil War. Thirteen others either
never had a ban or repealed it before statehood.
But the final push came in
1948
when California’s
Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 decision that the
state’s prohibition on interracial marriage was
unconstitutional. It was the first state court since
Reconstruction to invalidate an interracial marriage
ban. After California's ban was lifted,
13 more states
followed, plus two more when Alaska and Hawaii
became states in 1959.
AK
MA
NH
VT
ME
NY
MI
WI
RI
CT
NJ
PA
IL
MN
DE
MD
VA
OH
NC
SC
WV
TN
GA
FL
TX
AL
IN
KY
MS
IA
ND
MO
AR
LA
SD
NE
KS
OK
MT
WY
CO
NM
ID
UT
NV
WA
OR
CA
HI
AZ
States that allowed interracial marriage before
the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia
Not yet a
state when gray
Note: The 13 states that either never banned interracial marriage or repealed the ban before statehood are shown when they became states.
Sources: Ken Tanabe, founder of Loving Day; Peter Wallenstein, professor of history at Virginia Tech
Prohibition
IA
RI
MS
NC
TN
AL
WV
NY
DE
IA
ME
PA
DE
NH
IL
MA
MI
MA
RI
VT
KS
OK
GA
CT
ME
IN
MI
IN
IL
AZ
AL
AR
CO
ID
IA
OR
VA
WA
NE
SD
IN
MI
MT
NH
NM
TX
UT
NV
WY
FL
OH
SC
ND
SD
MA
1850
1846
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
10
20
30
states
14 years
The path to prohibition was a
rocky one, with several states
passing anti-drinking laws, then
repealing them, then passing
new ones. Most states during
the late 1800s rejected
attempts to pass prohibition
laws, preferring to let counties
and municipalities decide
whether to go dry.
By 1906
,
popular votes for prohibition
meant that more than a third of
the U.S. population lived in dry
territory. With more local and
federal politicians supporting
prohibition, groups like the
Anti-Saloon League gained mo
-
mentum and successfully
pushed for statewide
prohibition in
29 states
.
AK
MA
NH
VT
ME
NY
MI
WI
RI
CT
NJ
PA
IL
MN
DE
MD
VA
OH
NC
SC
WV
TN
GA
FL
TX
AL
IN
KY
MS
IA
ND
MO
AR
LA
SD
NE
KS
OK
MT
WY
CO
NM
ID
UT
NV
WA
OR
CA
HI
AZ
Dry states when the 18th Amendment took effect
Not yet a
state when gray
Note: Prohibitory laws enacted in territories that were repealed before statehood are not shown.
Source: Cherrington, Ernest H. (1920),
The Evolution of Prohibition in the United States of America
, Westerville, Ohio: The American Issue Press
Women's Suffrage
WY
CO
UT
ID
WA
CA
AZ
OR
KS
IL
MT
NV
IN
NE
NY
ND
OH
RI
MI
OK
SD
IA
ME
MN
MO
TN
WI
1890
1895
1900
1905
1910
1915
1920
10
20
30
states
10 years
Wyoming was the first state to
permanently grant full voting rights
to women when it entered the
union in 1890. For more than
a decade, women could vote
in only four western states.
By 1910
, the National American
Woman Suffrage Association and
other groups had grown more
organized in lobbying states for
voting rights. With many women’s
groups supporting the war effort,
23 states
extended voting rights
to women leading up to passage
of the 19th Amendment.
AK
MA
NH
VT
ME
NY
MI
WI
RI
CT
NJ
PA
IL
MN
DE
MD
VA
OH
NC
SC
WV
TN
GA
FL
TX
AL
IN
KY
MS
IA
ND
MO
AR
LA
SD
NE
KS
OK
MT
WY
CO
NM
ID
UT
NV
WA
OR
CA
HI
AZ
States that let women vote in presidential elections
before the 19th Amendment took effect
Not yet a
state when gray
Update: This chart does not represent the brief period of 1797-1807 when women in New Jersey were granted voting rights.
Sources: National Constitution Center, U.S. House Archives
Abortion
CA
CO
NC
GA
MD
AR
DE
KS
NM
OR
AK
HI
NY
SC
VA
WA
FL
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
5
10
15
states
AK
MA
NH
VT
ME
NY
MI
WI
RI
CT
NJ
PA
IL
MN
DE
MD
VA
OH
NC
SC
WV
TN
GA
FL
TX
AL
IN
KY
MS
IA
ND
MO
AR
LA
SD
NE
KS
OK
MT
WY
CO
NM
ID
UT
NV
WA
OR
CA
HI
AZ
States that allowed at least some abortions
before the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade
The movement to legalize abortion is something of an outlier
here. It ultimately may have followed the same pattern as
other issues—but we'll never know, because in 1973 the
Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade cleared the way for
legal abortions. At the time, many states had only just begun
considering the question. Of the 17 states that allowed any
abortions prior to Roe, only four—Alaska, Hawaii, Washington
and New York—allowed women to end a pregnancy without
providing a reason.
By acting before a critical mass of states was in support, the
Supreme Court pre-empted what had been a steady popular
movement in the states toward abortion rights.
Note: Laws in Alabama, Mississippi, and Massachusetts that allowed abortions under exceptionally limited circumstances are not shown.
Source: Guttmacher Institute
Same-Sex Marriage
MA
CT
IA
VT
NH
NY
ME
WA
CA
DE
HI
MD
MN
NJ
NM
RI
AK
AZ
CO
ID
IL
IN
KS
MT
NV
NC
OK
OR
PA
SC
UT
VA
WV
WI
WY
FL
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
10
20
30
states
2 years+
In 2004, the Massachusetts
Supreme Court ruled that the state‘s
same-sex marriage ban was uncon
-
stitutional, making it the first state
where gay couples could marry. A
few mostly northern states followed.
Gay marriage proponents were
buoyed
in 2013
, when the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled that the federal
government must recognize
same-sex marriages performed in
states where it is legal.
After that ruling, same-sex marriage
became legal in
28 more states
,
many after state and federal court
decisions lifted bans. The Supreme
Court extended marriage rights
to same-sex couples nationwide
on June 26, 2015.
AK
MA
NH
VT
ME
NY
MI
WI
RI
CT
NJ
PA
IL
MN
DE
MD
VA
OH
NC
SC
WV
TN
GA
FL
TX
AL
IN
KY
MS
IA
ND
MO
AR
LA
SD
NE
KS
OK
MT
WY
CO
NM
ID
UT
NV
WA
OR
CA
HI
AZ
States that allowed same-sex marriage before
the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges
Update: Corrects year when same-sex marriages began in Connecticut.
Sources: National Conference of State Legislatures, Freedom to Marry
Recreational Marijuana
WA
CO
AK
OR
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
5
states
AK
MA
NH
VT
ME
NY
MI
WI
RI
CT
NJ
PA
IL
MN
DE
MD
VA
OH
NC
SC
WV
TN
GA
FL
TX
AL
IN
KY
MS
IA
ND
MO
AR
LA
SD
NE
KS
OK
MT
WY
CO
NM
ID
UT
NV
WA
OR
CA
HI
AZ
States where recreational marijuana is legal
This is likely the next big social issue to
head down the path of its predecessors,
and it's already starting to happen.
States across the country are wrestling
with the idea of legal marijuana, urged on
by a large and well-organized pro-
legalization movement. Already, 24
states allow the use of marijuana for
medicinal purposes. Voters in four states
— Colorado, Washington, Oregon and
Alaska — have chosen to legalize
recreational pot.
At least five more states are expected to
consider whether to legalize recreational
marijuana in 2016. For now, marijuana is
a social issue still very much
in its infancy.
Sources: Norml, Bloomberg Intelligence data
Prohibition
13 years
Women’s suffrage
10 years
Same-sex marriage
2+ years
Abortion
6 years
Interracial marriage
19 years
20
10
30
states
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19 years
Number of years from an issue’s trigger point
to federal action (all abortion years shown)
Speed of Change