In this address the general bearings of the Constitution were examined, and from the blending of its various parts the conclusion was arrived at that no State should deny the right to vote to any citizen. I now take the final step, and show that the States themselves, by their legislative enactments, have removed the only obstacle which until then had prevented women from voting, and have forever debarred themselves from receding to their former position. It is as follows: SUFFRAGE, or the right to vote, is declared by the XV. Article of Amendments to the Constitution to be a RIGHT, not a privilege, of citizens of the United States. A right of a citizen is inherent in the individual, of which he cannot be deprived by any law of any State. A privilege may be conferred upon the citizen of the State, and by it may be taken away. This distinction is made to show that _to vote is not a privilege_ conferred by a State upon its citizens, but a CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT of every citizen of the United States, of which they cannot be deprived. The language of the Constitution is most singularly emphatic upon this point. It is as follows: ARTICLE XV. 1. _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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude._ It is thus forever proclaimed, in unmistakable terms, that _to vote is a right_ of citizens of the United States. Were it an immunity, or even were it a privilege, to vote, those who possess it could not be deprived of it by any State, for the State is bound to protect every citizen within its jurisdiction in the exercise thereof. It being declared by the XV. Amendment that citizens of the United States have the right to vote, the next step to determine is, Who are citizens? This is also definitely, though for the first time, determined by Article XIV. of Amendments to the Constitution as follows: ARTICLE XIV. 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. _No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States._ Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, _nor deny to any person_ within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.