Suffrage
.
This word always seems a bit strange.  When understood, it is a good thing, but it sounds too much like "suffer" to be all good.  Perhaps that's because most groups gain it only after a lot of suffering (in their eyes, at least).  We are referring to the right to vote.

The following is from Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:

Etymology: in sense 1, from Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin suffragium, from Latin, vote, political support, from suffragari to support with one's vote; in other senses, from Latin suffragium.  Date: 14th century

1: a short intercessory prayer usually in a series
2: a vote given in deciding a controverted question or electing a person for an office or trust
3: the right of voting : franchise; also : the exercise of such right

Note the synonym "franchise," a term used much more often in reference to voting rights attained by black men following the Civil War.  That was more of a grant and part of a wide range of rights, including citizenship, which were (deservedly) granted to former slaves.  Women's suffrage was a long-fought struggle for voting rights.

It is said that, at the time the US Constitution was ratified, less than 10% of the population could vote (for more on this, including where women voted for the first president, see here).  Over time, this was extended to blacks, then to women, then to those at least 18 years of age.

A Few Relevant Resources of Potential Interest
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