Minor v. Happersett was a landmark Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of women's suffrage. The case was brought by Virginia Minor, a Missouri resident who was denied the right to vote in a local election. Minor argued that the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution granted her the right to vote, as it states that all citizens are entitled to equal protection under the law. The Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment did not grant women the right to vote. The Court held that the right to vote was a privilege that was not extended to women at the time. The decision in Minor v. Happersett was a major setback for the women's suffrage movement. It was not until the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 that women were granted the right to vote. The decision in Minor v. Happersett was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court in the case of Leser v. Garnett, which held that the right to vote was a fundamental right that could not be denied to any citizen.

In Minor v. Happersett, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a woman had the right to vote under the Constitution of the United States. The majority opinion held that she did not have such a right and relied on historical precedent in support of its decision. In dissent, Justice Bradley argued that women should be considered citizens with all rights associated with citizenship including voting rights. He noted that while there may have been no explicit recognition of female suffrage at common law or by state constitutions when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, this does not mean it could never exist as an implied right within citizenship itself. Furthermore, he argued that denying women their constitutional rights would lead to serious consequences for society as a whole and thus should not be done lightly without clear evidence from history or legal authority supporting it.