Democracy runs on the belief that a people should have a say in how they are governed. About that, most U.S. citizens agree. What they haven’t agreed upon historically is who should have that say.

From the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 saying that “all men are created equal,” it took nearly 150 years for women to get that equal say at the ballot box. (It took even longer for women of color.) That’s why we celebrate Women’s Equality Day on August 26—the anniversary of the moment in 1920 when the 19^th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote was signed into law.

It’s also a day to honor the generations of effort by countless women to win that right. The struggle for women’s suffrage took root in the abolitionist movement of the early 18^th century. Many women who fought to end slavery also recognized the painful contradiction: while they sought freedom for others, they themselves were denied basic political rights. They mobilized and, in 1848, hosted the Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls, NY, which marked the beginning of the U.S. women’s movement. The Declaration of Sentiments they crafted as part of that convention demanded equal rights for women, including the (as it was thought of then) radical right to vote.

The battle to guarantee that right was fought state by state, legislature by legislature, for more than 70 years. Not until August 18, 1920, did the 19^th Amendment meet the threshold required to become part of the constitution when Tennessee became the 36^th state to ratify it. A week after Tennessee’s historic vote, on August 26, U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the amendment, making it the law of the land.

Half a century later, in 1973, President Richard Nixon signed a resolution forever designating August 26^th as Women’s Equality Day. This year—and every year—take a moment to thank the women who fought so long to earn you this right. Then, relish the power, freedom, and responsibility it bestows.

To vote is to have a voice: Use it.