Women's suffrage in Iowa

Last updated
Iowa Equal Suffrage Association postcard from 1910 Iowa Equal Suffrage Association postcard from 1910.jpg
Iowa Equal Suffrage Association postcard from 1910

Efforts toward women's suffrage began early in Iowa's history. During the territory's Constitutional Convention, discussions on both African American and women's suffrage took place. Early on, women's rights were discussed in the state by women such as Amelia Bloomer and petitions for suffrage were sent to the Iowa state legislature. While African American men earned the right to vote in 1868, women from all backgrounds had to continue to agitate for enfranchisement. One of the first suffrage groups was formed in Dubuque in 1869. Not long after, a state suffrage convention was held in Mount Pleasant in 1870. Iowa suffragists focused on organizing and lobbying the state legislature. In 1894, women gained the right to vote on municipal bond and tax issues and also in school elections. These rights were immediately utilized by women who turned out in good numbers to vote on these issues. By the 1910s, the state legislature finally passed in successive sessions a women's suffrage amendment to the state constitution. This resulted in a voter referendum to be held on the issue on June 5, 1916. The campaign included anti-suffrage agitation from liquor interests who claimed that women's suffrage would cause higher taxes. The amendment was defeated, though a subsequent investigation turned up a large amount of fraud. However, the election could not be invalidated and women had to wait to vote. On July 2, 1919, Iowa became the tenth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

Contents

Early efforts

Suffragists march in Boone, Iowa on October 29, 1908 Suffragists march in Boone, Iowa on October 29, 1908.jpg
Suffragists march in Boone, Iowa on October 29, 1908

The Iowa state legislature first addressed women's suffrage in 1843 when the issue was briefly addressed during a discussion about allowing women to view legislative proceedings. [1] When the discussion of the state constitution turned to allowing African Americans the right to vote in 1844, there was also a discussion about women's suffrage at the same time. [2] Frances Dana Gage was the first woman to address people in Iowa on women's rights issues when she came to the state in 1854, lecturing on women's rights in Oskaloosa. [3] [4] Not long after Amelia Bloomer moved to Council Bluffs in April 1855, she also began to lecture on various topics, including women's right to vote. [5] During the next state constitutional convention in 1857, there was again a discussion on women's suffrage, which however didn't lead to any changes either for Black or women voters. [2]

Suffragists in Clinton County sent the Iowa House of Representatives a petition to amend the state constitution for women to vote. [6] During the legislative session of 1866, there were continued discussions and finally a resolution for women's suffrage created which did not make it out of the committee. [7] A separate bill to remove the word "white" from the description of a voter did pass. [8] On November 3, 1868, voters in Iowa approved a referendum to allow African American men to vote. [9] After this success, women sent in petitions and memorials from around the state, asking for women's suffrage. [10] The editor of the Fort Dodge North West wrote that "it was not to the credit of the state that Black men earned the right to vote before white women did." [11] The editor of the DeWitt Observer said he hoped that since African American men could vote, that the state could now approve women's right to vote. [12] The Des Moines Register also wrote in December 1868 that women should have the "ballot whenever she expressed the wish for it." [13]

In 1869, the Northern Iowa Woman's Suffrage Association (NIWSA) was formed in Dubuque. [14] The group met at the home of Henrietta Wilson. [15] The committee of NIWSA resolved to send a delegation to the Equal Suffrage Convention being held in New York in May of that year. [14] During the summer of 1869, NIWSA sponsored several lectures and events, including a reading from the Declaration of Independence by Edna Snell. [16] At the end of the year, in December, Elizabeth Cady Stanton came to Dubuque and lectured in a few other cities in Iowa on women's suffrage. [17]

In 1870, Iowa suffragists and even the editor of the Des Moines Register, were hopeful that women's suffrage would be passed in the state. [18] In the General Assembly, the Committee on Constitutional Amendments discussed removing the word "male" from the description of a voter. [19] On March 29, 1870, a hearing on removing the word from the state constitution was held, with Bloomer in attendance. [20] The House passed the motion to amend the constitution. [21] On the next day, the State Senate heard the bill and Mary E. Spencer, the first woman to work for the Iowa legislature, reported on the actions of the House the previous day. [22] The Senate also passed the bill, but it would have to pass a second time at the next legislative session before it could go out for a referendum. [23]

The first women's suffrage convention in the state was held on June 16 and 17 in 1870 at Mount Pleasant. [24] At the convention, organized by Joseph Dugdale, the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association (IWSA) was created with Henry O'Connor as president and Bloomer as vice president. [24] [25] Four months later, a local suffrage group was formed by prominent women in Des Moines. [26] The women involved included Mary Darwin, Mattie Griffith, Nettie Sanford, and Annie Nowlin Savery. [27] During this time, the news attempted to cast the IWSA as a proponent of "free-love" and against marriage in order to discredit the movement. [28] On October 25, 1870, suffragists in Polk County also organized their own group. [29]

After the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, many women around the country attempted to use the language of the amendments to argue that women's suffrage was now legal. [30] In 1871, the Clarinda voting registry board added the names of women who lived there to the voting rolls. [30] When this information came out, several men ensured their wives names were removed. [30] In addition, some women also asked to have their names taken off the list of registered voters. [30] In Taylor County in 1871, Keziah Anderson (later Keziah Anderson Dorrance) became the first woman in Iowa to vote. [31] Her vote was considered valid because William Anderson and Edwin Henshaw were both suffrage supporters, and more importantly, election judges for the county. [31]

Efforts to bring a women's suffrage amendment came out of a 1874 state Republican Convention platform promise. [32] In 1876, the governor and the state House both supported a suffrage amendment to the state constitution. [32] The vote failed by one in the state Senate for unknown reasons. [32]

A women's suffrage bill was passed in the state Senate in 1884, but did not pass in the House. [33] An attempt to pass a municipal and school suffrage bill was brought up in 1886, but didn't come up for a vote. [33] Another attempt to pass municipal and school suffrage came up in 1888, but did not pass in the House. [33]

Mapping loss of women's suffrage amendment in Iowa after June 5, 1916 Mapping loss of women's suffrage amendment in Iowa after June 5, 1916.jpg
Mapping loss of women's suffrage amendment in Iowa after June 5, 1916

Carrie Chapman Catt first became involved with organized women's suffrage in October 1889 where she attended and spoke at the IWSA conference in Oskaloosa. [34] The next month, she started the Political Equality Club of Sioux City. [35] She then toured throughout the state and helped organize or reorganize women's suffrage groups in various cities. [35]

During the 1890 General Assembly, Governor William Larrabee advocated for partial suffrage for women in the state. [36] A municipal and school suffrage bills were proposed, but wasn't voted on in the state legislature. [33] In the next session, in 1892, a bill to allow women to vote for president came up, but didn't make it out of Committee. [37]

In February 1894, two partial women's suffrage bills were introduced in the state legislature. [36] Journalists from The Woman's Standard followed the proceedings of the legislators on these bills. [38] The Standard pushed back against legislators who claimed that women didn't want the vote by printing petitions from women in their own jurisdictions. [39] By March, a combination municipal and school suffrage bill, called the Watkins Bill, passed the state House. [40] On April 13, the General Assembly as a whole passed the municipal and school suffrage law. [40] Women could now vote on municipal bond and tax issues and also for school elections. [41]

Women immediately began to use their new right to vote. On May 23, the New Era of Humeston reported that women might be able to exercise their right to vote in Indianola on a bond issue for water works. [42] Also in 1894, women throughout the county came together to support a new library tax for Waterloo. [43] Women didn't have to register to vote, but they used separate ballots and a separate ballot box. [44] Women in Ames came out to vote for the water works project in 1896 where they also saw their own limitations as men were allowed to vote for city officers. [45] After the success of women voting, IWSA began to work on pushing for a state constitutional amendment for women's suffrage. [46] The Ames experience in 1896 was also instrumental in showing the limitations of partial suffrage. [47]

The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) held their annual convention in Des Moines in January 1897. [48] By this time, there were a total of 235 active suffrage groups in the state. [49] The next year, IWSA created a legislative committee to petition for a state amendment. [46] Evelyn H. Belden was the chair for the committee and worked with Mary Garrett Hay to lobby the state legislature. [46] Catt ensured that a state suffrage office was placed in Des Moines before the opening of the 1898 legislative session. [50] In 1900, petitions for women's suffrage with more than 100,000 signatures were sent to the state legislature. [51] This led to legislation that failed in the state Senate by only one vote. [51] In 1902, more legislation was passed, this time in the Senate, and failing in the House. [51] The subsequent two sessions in 1904 and 1906 also had narrow losses on women's suffrage amendment bills. [52]

Continued efforts

One of the first suffrage parades in the United States took place in Iowa, at Boone in 1908. [53] The parade was organized by Rowena Stevens who was the president of the suffrage organization in Boone. [54] Anna Howard Shaw agreed to speak at the event and brought two English suffragettes with her. [54] Despite the cold and windy day, the parade began, including members of the Boone WCTU. [54] The parade had a marching band and Shaw drove in a car with the suffragettes. [54] Other marchers included Eleanor Gordon, Mary J. Coggeshall, and members of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). [55] Shaw's speech was well attended and the parade was considered a success by suffrage leaders in helping to promote women's suffrage in Iowa. [56]

In 1912, the Progressive, Prohibition, Republican, and Socialist parties in Iowa officially endorsed women's suffrage. [57] The next year, both the state House and Senate passed a women's suffrage resolution, which would have to pass again in the next session in 1915. [58] During the next legislative session, the resolution passed the Senate 38 to 11 and the House by 84 to 19. [58] The referendum for the amendment would be voted on in the next primary election on June 5, 1916. [58]

Carrie Chapman Catt returned to Iowa in 1916 to help train suffragists in campaigning and conducting her own well-attended lectures. [59] On May 4, 1916, she spoke to 1,400 people in Waterloo and the Grand Opera House in Dubuque was standing-room only on May 21. [60]

During the campaign, anti-suffragists in the state promoted the idea that women's suffrage would lead to higher taxes. [61] Groups called Farmer's Tax-Payers' Leagues started to appear in every county. [61] A controversy over spending tax money on hard roads in the state led to a rumor that women wanted these roads "estimated to cost millions of dollars, in order that they might ride into the country comfortably in their automobiles!" [62] With women seeming to be the push behind a large tax project, many voters did not want them to become enfranchised. [63] Ads that promoted the idea that women's suffrage would lead to higher taxes began to appear in newspapers. [63] These ads were paid for by a lawyer, Henry Thuenen, who represented Iowa brewers, who were mostly against women's suffrage. [63] The state Republican party had also decided a few weeks before the election to "kill the suffrage amendment quietly." [64] The amendment failed on June 5 statewide by 10,341 votes. [65]

After the defeat of the woman suffrage amendment, the WCTU conducted an investigation and found that "thousands of unregistered votes were cast on the amendment" which was illegal. [66] They obtained 200 pages of affidavits showing election violations. [67] There were also 29,341 more votes for the suffrage amendment than all other votes cast for state governor. [68] Despite the likelihood of fraud, it was impossible to declare the result of the election invalid because there was no legal recourse to invalidate the election. [66] [69]

During the legislative session of 1917 legislators would not hear petitions for a new election because of the fraud and called suffragists "poor sports." [70] Activists lobbying the legislators eventually dropped the fraud angle and requested the passage of a new women's suffrage amendment. [71] The amendment bill passed and would again have to pass in the next session in 1919. [71]

In January 1919, Governor William Harding urged the legislature to ratify the federal suffrage amendment. [72] On July 2, 1919, Iowa became the tenth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment. [73]

African American women's suffrage

Iowa Association of Colored Women's Clubs meeting in Davenport, May 1903 Iowa Association of Colored Women's Clubs meeting in Davenport, May 1903.jpg
Iowa Association of Colored Women's Clubs meeting in Davenport, May 1903

In 1885 the Polk County Woman Suffrage Association (PCWSA) met with African American suffragists and discussed ways that the two groups could work together. [74] When women in Iowa earned the right to vote in a limited fashion in 1894, Black newspapers in the state reported that "women were especially keen and capable voters." [75]

Activists like Sue M. Wilson Brown and Helen Downey from Des Moines set up clubs and were actively involved in the Iowa Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (IFCWC) which supported women's suffrage. [76] [77] IFCWC declared its support for women's suffrage at their Sioux City convention in 1911. [78] [79] In 1912, Brown created the Des Moines League of Colored Women Voters and continued to work with PCWSA. [80] Brown was an active suffragist, marching in parades, giving speeches, and distributing promotional materials about suffrage. [80] After the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, Brown helped voters cast ballots in the 1920 election. [81] Gertrude Rush, the first African American woman lawyer in Iowa, was also active in suffrage work in Des Moines. [82]

In Buxton, African American women marched in support of women's suffrage. [83] One of the participants was Mattie Woods, a member of the IFCWC. [84] Vivian B. Smith was also involved in suffrage work in Buxton, where she was a member of the Waterloo Suffragette Council and later became a member of the IFCWC suffrage committee. [85]

Anti-suffragists in Iowa

Anti-suffrage advertisement run the Iowa Homestead on May 25, 1916 Anti-suffrage advertisement run the Iowa Homestead on May 25, 1916.jpg
Anti-suffrage advertisement run the Iowa Homestead on May 25, 1916

Anti-suffrage politicians like state senator, David J. Palmer, claimed that because women were meant to rule over the domestic sphere, that allowing them to vote would be detrimental to society. [39] Some women embraced this idea for different reasons. [86] They found power in their lives as "domestic, ethical figures" and influenced politics through women's clubs. [86] Women like these believed that their method of influencing politics was free from the corrupting influence of party politics. [87]

Others opposed women's suffrage due to many women being prohibitionists, fearing that they would outlaw alcohol. [88] [89] When John Irish, a former supporter of women's suffrage turned anti-suffragist, came back to Iowa from California in 1916, he was most likely supported by liquor interests. [60] He spread the word that since women had earned the right to vote in California in 1911, there were more taxes, more political corruption, and "suffrage had put lines in women's faces." [60]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1920 amendment mandating womens suffrage

The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to vote. The amendment was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, at both the state and national levels, and was part of the worldwide movement towards women's suffrage and part of the wider women's rights movement. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878. However, a suffrage amendment did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, which was quickly followed by the Senate, on June 4, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications to secure adoption, and thereby go into effect, on August 18, 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment's adoption was certified on August 26, 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carrie Chapman Catt</span> 19th and 20th-century American social reformer and suffragist

Carrie Chapman Catt was an American women's suffrage leader who campaigned for the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave U.S. women the right to vote in 1920. Catt served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1900 to 1904 and 1915 to 1920. She founded the League of Women Voters in 1920 and the International Woman Suffrage Alliance in 1904, which was later named International Alliance of Women. She "led an army of voteless women in 1919 to pressure Congress to pass the constitutional amendment giving them the right to vote and convinced state legislatures to ratify it in 1920". She "was one of the best-known women in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century and was on all lists of famous American women."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Jane Coggeshall</span> American suffragist

Mary Jane (Whitely) Coggeshall was an American suffragist known as the "mother of woman suffrage in Iowa". She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nettie Rogers Shuler</span>

Antoinette "Nettie" Rogers Shuler (1862–1939) was an American suffragist and author.

Anna Beulah Boyd Ritchie was a founding member of the Fairmont Woman Suffrage Club, third president of the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association, and officer in the West Virginia Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of women's suffrage in Montana</span>

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Montana. The fight for women's suffrage in Montana started early, before Montana became a state. In 1887, women gained the right to vote in school board elections and on tax issues. In the years that followed, women battled for full, equal suffrage, which culminated in a year-long campaign in 1914 when they became one of eleven states with equal voting rights for most women. Montana ratified the Nineteenth Amendment on August 2, 1919 and was the thirteenth state to ratify. Native American women voters did not have equal rights to vote until 1924.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in Montana</span>

The women's suffrage movement in Montana started while it was still a territory. The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was an early organizer that supported suffrage in the state, arriving in 1883. Women were given the right to vote in school board elections and on tax issues in 1887. When the state constitutional convention was held in 1889, Clara McAdow and Perry McAdow invited suffragist Henry Blackwell to speak to the delegates about equal women's suffrage. While that proposition did not pass, women retained their right to vote in school and tax elections as Montana became a state. In 1895, National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) came to Montana to organize local groups. Montana suffragists held a convention and created the Montana Woman's Suffrage Association (MWSA). Suffragists continued to organize, hold conventions and lobby the Montana Legislature for women's suffrage through the end of the nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century, Jeannette Rankin became a driving force around the women's suffrage movement in Montana. By January 1913, a women's suffrage bill had passed the Montana Legislature and went out as a referendum. Suffragists launched an all-out campaign leading up to the vote. They traveled throughout Montana giving speeches and holding rallies. They sent out thousands of letters and printed thousands of pamphlets and journals to hand out. Suffragists set up booths at the Montana State Fair and they held parades. Finally, after a somewhat contested election on November 3, 1914, the suffragists won the vote. Montana became one of eleven states with equal suffrage for most women. When the Nineteenth Amendment was passed, Montana ratified it on August 2, 1919. It wasn't until 1924 with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act that Native American women gained the right to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in Illinois</span> History of womens right to vote in the state

Women's suffrage began in Illinois began in the mid-1850s. The first women's suffrage group was formed in Earlville, Illinois, by the cousin of Susan B. Anthony, Susan Hoxie Richardson. After the Civil War, former abolitionist Mary Livermore organized the Illinois Woman Suffrage Association (IWSA), which would later be renamed the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association (IESA). Frances Willard and other suffragists in the IESA worked to lobby various government entities for women's suffrage. In the 1870s, women were allowed to serve on school boards and were elected to that office. The first women to vote in Illinois were 15 women in Lombard, Illinois, led by Ellen A. Martin, who found a loophole in the law in 1891. Women were eventually allowed to vote for school offices in the 1890s. Women in Chicago and throughout Illinois fought for the right to vote based on the idea of no taxation without representation. They also continued to expand their efforts throughout the state. In 1913, women in Illinois were successful in gaining partial suffrage. They became the first women east of the Mississippi River to have the right to vote in presidential elections. Suffragists then worked to register women to vote. Both African-American and white suffragists registered women in huge numbers. In Chicago alone 200,000 women were registered to vote. After gaining partial suffrage, women in Illinois kept working towards full suffrage. The state became the first to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment, passing the ratification on June 10, 1919. The League of Women Voters (LWV) was announced in Chicago on February 14, 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of women's suffrage in Illinois</span>

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Illinois. Women's suffrage in Illinois began in the mid 1850s. The first women's suffrage group was created in 1855 in Earlville, Illinois by Susan Hoxie Richardson. The Illinois Woman Suffrage Association (IWSA), later renamed the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association (IESA), was created by Mary Livermore in 1869. This group held annual conventions and petitioned various governmental bodies in Illinois for women's suffrage. On June 19, 1891, women gained the right to vote for school offices. However, it wasn't until 1913 that women saw expanded suffrage. That year women in Illinois were granted the right to vote for Presidential electors and various local offices. Suffragists continued to fight for full suffrage in the state. Finally, Illinois became the first state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on June 10, 1919. The League of Women Voters (LWV) was announced in Chicago on February 14, 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in Alabama</span>

Early women's suffrage work in Alabama started in the 1860s. Priscilla Holmes Drake was the driving force behind suffrage work until the 1890s. Several suffrage groups were formed, including a state suffrage group, the Alabama Woman Suffrage Organization (AWSO). The Alabama Constitution had a convention in 1901 and suffragists spoke and lobbied for women's rights provisions. However, the final constitution continued to exclude women. Women's suffrage efforts were mainly dormant until the 1910s when new suffrage groups were formed. Suffragists in Alabama worked to get a state amendment ratified and when this failed, got behind the push for a federal amendment. Alabama did not ratify the Nineteenth Amendment until 1953. For many years, both white women and African American women were disenfranchised by poll taxes. Black women had other barriers to voting including literacy tests and intimidation. Black women would not be able to fully access their right to vote until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in Delaware</span>

Women's suffrage began in Delaware the late 1860s, with efforts from suffragist, Mary Ann Sorden Stuart, and an 1869 women's rights convention held in Wilmington, Delaware. Stuart, along with prominent national suffragists lobbied the Delaware General Assembly to amend the state constitution in favor of women's suffrage. Several suffrage groups were formed early on, but the Delaware Equal Suffrage Association (DESA) formed in 1896, would become one of the major state suffrage clubs. Suffragists held conventions, continued to lobby the government and grow their movement. In 1913, a chapter of the Congressional Union (CU), which would later be known at the National Woman's Party (NWP), was set up by Mabel Vernon in Delaware. NWP advocated more militant tactics to agitate for women's suffrage. These included picketing and setting watchfires. The Silent Sentinels protested in Washington, D.C., and were arrested for "blocking traffic." Sixteen women from Delaware, including Annie Arniel and Florence Bayard Hilles, were among those who were arrested. During World War I, both African-American and white suffragists in Delaware aided the war effort. During the ratification process for the Nineteenth Amendment, Delaware was in the position to become the final state needed to complete ratification. A huge effort went into persuading the General Assembly to support the amendment. Suffragists and anti-suffragists alike campaigned in Dover, Delaware for their cause. However, Delaware did not ratify the Nineteenth Amendment until March 6, 1923, well after it was already part of the United States Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in Nevada</span>

Women's suffrage began in Nevada began in the late 1860s. Lecturer and suffragist Laura de Force Gordon started giving women's suffrage speeches in the state starting in 1867. In 1869, Assemblyman Curtis J. Hillyer introduced a women's suffrage resolution in the Nevada Legislature. He also spoke out on women's rights. Hillyer's resolution passed, but like all proposed amendments to the state constitution, must pass one more time and then go out to a voter referendum. In 1870, Nevada held its first women's suffrage convention in Battle Mountain Station. In the late 1880s, women gained the right to run for school offices and the next year several women are elected to office. A few suffrage associations were formed in the mid 1890s, with a state group operating a few women's suffrage conventions. However, after 1899, most suffrage work slowed down or stopped altogether. In 1911, the Nevada Equal Franchise Society (NEFS) was formed. Attorney Felice Cohn wrote a women's suffrage resolution that was accepted and passed the Nevada Legislature. The resolution passed again in 1913 and will go out to the voters on November 3, 1914. Suffragists in the state organized heavily for the 1914 vote. Anne Henrietta Martin brought in suffragists and trade unionists from other states to help campaign. Martin and Mabel Vernon traveled around the state in a rented Ford Model T, covering thousands of miles. Suffragists in Nevada visited mining towns and even went down into mines to talk to voters. On November 3, the voters of Nevada voted overwhelmingly for women's suffrage. Even though Nevada women won the vote, they did not stop campaigning for women's suffrage. Nevada suffragists aided other states' campaigns and worked towards securing a federal suffrage amendment. On February 7, 1920, Nevada became the 28th state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in Florida</span>

The first women's suffrage effort in Florida was led by Ella C. Chamberlain in the early 1890s. Chamberlain began writing a women's suffrage news column, started a mixed-gender women's suffrage group and organized conventions in Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in Arizona</span>

The movement for women's suffrage in Arizona began in the late 1800s. After women's suffrage was narrowly voted down at the 1891 Arizona Constitutional Convention, prominent suffragettes such as Josephine Brawley Hughes and Laura M. Johns formed the Arizona Suffrage Association and began touring the state campaigning for women's right to vote. Momentum built throughout the decade, and after a strenuous campaign in 1903, a woman's suffrage bill passed both houses of the legislature but was ultimately vetoed by Governor Alexander Oswald Brodie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of women's suffrage in Arizona</span> Review of the topic

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Arizona. The first women's suffrage bill was brought forward in the Arizona Territorial legislature in 1883, but it did not pass. Suffragists work to influence the Territorial Constitutional Convention in 1891 and lose the women's suffrage battle by only three votes. That year, the Arizona Suffrage Association is formed. In 1897, taxpaying women gain the right to vote in school board elections. Suffragists both from Arizona and around the country continue to lobby the territorial legislature and organize women's suffrage groups. In 1903, a women's suffrage bill passes, but is vetoed by the governor. In 1910, suffragists work to influence the Arizona State Constitutional Convention, but are also unsuccessful. When Arizona becomes a state on February 14, 1912, an attempt to legislate a women's suffrage amendment to the Arizona Constitution fails. Frances Munds mounts a successful ballot initiative campaign. On November 5, 1912, women's suffrage passes in Arizona. In 1913, the voter registration books are opened to women. In 1914, women participate in their first primary elections. Arizona ratified the Nineteenth Amendment on February 12, 1920. However, Native American women and Latinas would wait longer for full voting rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of women's suffrage in Maine</span>

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Maine. Suffragists began campaigning in Maine in the mid 1850s. A lecture series was started by Ann F. Jarvis Greely and other women in Ellsworth, Maine in 1857. The first women's suffrage petition to the Maine Legislature was sent that same year. Women continue to fight for equal suffrage throughout the 1860s and 1870s. The Maine Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) is established in 1873 and the next year, the first Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) chapter was started. In 1887, the Maine Legislature votes on a women's suffrage amendment to the state constitution, but it does not receive the necessary two-thirds vote. Additional attempts to pass women's suffrage legislation receives similar treatment throughout the rest of the century. In the twentieth century, suffragists continue to organize and meet. Several suffrage groups form, including the Maine chapter of the College Equal Suffrage League in 1914 and the Men's Equal Suffrage League of Maine in 1914. In 1917, a voter referendum on women's suffrage is scheduled for September 10, but fails at the polls. On November 5, 1919 Maine ratifies the Nineteenth Amendment. On September 13, 1920, most women in Maine are able to vote. Native Americans in Maine are barred from voting for many years. In 1924, Native Americans became American citizens. In 1954, a voter referendum for Native American voting rights passes. The next year, Lucy Nicolar Poolaw (Penobscot), is the Native American living on an Indian reservation to cast a vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in Wisconsin</span>

Attempts to secure women's suffrage in Wisconsin began before the Civil War. In 1846, the first state constitutional convention delegates for Wisconsin discussed women's suffrage and the final document eventually included a number of progressive measures. This constitution was rejected and a more conservative document was eventually adopted. Wisconsin newspapers supported women's suffrage and Mathilde Franziska Anneke published the German language women's rights newspaper, Die Deutsche Frauen-Zeitung, in Milwaukee in 1852. Before the war, many women's rights petitions were circulated and there was tentative work in forming suffrage organizations. After the Civil War, the first women's suffrage conference held in Wisconsin took place in October 1867 in Janesville. That year, a women's suffrage amendment passed in the state legislature and waited to pass the second year. However, in 1868 the bill did not pass again. The Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association (WWSA) was reformed in 1869 and by the next year, there were several chapters arranged throughout Wisconsin. In 1884, suffragists won a brief victory when the state legislature passed a law to allow women to vote in elections on school-related issues. On the first voting day for women in 1887, the state Attorney General made it more difficult for women to vote and confusion about the law led to court challenges. Eventually, it was decided that without separate ballots, women could not be allowed to vote. Women would not vote again in Wisconsin until 1902 after separate school-related ballots were created. In the 1900s, state suffragists organized and continued to petition the Wisconsin legislature on women's suffrage. By 1911, two women's suffrage groups operated in the state: WWSA and the Political Equality League (PEL). A voter referendum went to the public in 1912. Both WWSA and PEL campaigned hard for women's equal suffrage rights. Despite the work put in by the suffragists, the measure failed to pass. PEL and WWSA merged again in 1913 and women continued their education work and lobbying. By 1915, the National Woman's Party also had chapters in Wisconsin and several prominent suffragists joined their ranks. The National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was also very present in Wisconsin suffrage efforts. Carrie Chapman Catt worked hard to keep Wisconsin suffragists on the path of supporting a federal woman's suffrage amendment. When the Nineteenth Amendment went out to the states for ratification, Wisconsin an hour behind Illinois on June 10, 1919. However, Wisconsin was the first to turn in the ratification paperwork to the State Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marjorie Shuler</span> American publicist and author

Marjorie Shuler was an American publicist and author for the woman suffragists from New York. She wrote for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) major publication, The Woman Citizen and was the author of several books about suffrage and voting, including The Woman Voter's Manual (1918) and one of the very few novels about suffrage, For Rent -- One Pedestal (1917). She was the daughter of Antoinette Nettie Rogers Shuler, a well known suffragist and one of the founders of NAWSA. Additionally, Shuler wrote a memoir of her flying trip around the world, the first ever by a woman, titled A Passenger to Adventure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of women's suffrage in Iowa</span>

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Iowa. Women's suffrage work started early in Iowa's history. Organizing began in the late 1960s with the first state suffrage convention taking place in 1870. In the 1890s, women gained the right to vote on municipal bonds, tax efforts and school-related issues. By 1916, a state suffrage amendment went to out to a voter referendum, which failed. Iowa was the tenth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment in 1919.

References

  1. ↑ Gallaher 1918, p. 172-173.
  2. 1 2 Gallaher 1918, p. 173-174.
  3. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 20.
  4. ↑ Cloud, Sue; Corey, Kristen; Morse, Eric (2 March 2020). "The Long Road to Women's Suffrage in Iowa". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  5. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 19-20.
  6. ↑ Gallaher 1918, p. 177.
  7. ↑ Gallaher 1918, p. 178-179.
  8. ↑ Gallaher 1918, p. 179.
  9. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 84.
  10. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 85.
  11. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 87-88.
  12. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 88.
  13. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 87.
  14. 1 2 "Enterprising Females". Quad-City Times. 1869-04-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-10-10– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 113.
  16. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 118.
  17. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 120.
  18. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 127-128.
  19. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 129-130.
  20. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 130.
  21. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 131.
  22. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 125, 131-132.
  23. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 132.
  24. 1 2 Egge 2009, p. 9.
  25. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 133.
  26. ↑ Egge 2009, p. 10.
  27. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 5.
  28. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 5-6.
  29. ↑ Gallaher 1918, p. 185.
  30. 1 2 3 4 Noun 1969, p. 174.
  31. 1 2 Noun 1969, p. 175.
  32. 1 2 3 Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 213.
  33. 1 2 3 4 Anthony 1902, p. 633.
  34. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 232.
  35. 1 2 Noun 1969, p. 233.
  36. 1 2 Boyd 2018, p. 17.
  37. ↑ Anthony 1902, p. 633-634.
  38. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 18.
  39. 1 2 Boyd 2018, p. 20.
  40. 1 2 Boyd 2018, p. 21.
  41. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 21-22.
  42. ↑ "It is possible that the first voting by wo-". The New Era. 1894-05-23. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-09-25– via Newspapers.com.
  43. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 25.
  44. ↑ Anthony 1902, p. 636.
  45. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 28.
  46. 1 2 3 Anthony 1902, p. 634.
  47. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 28-29.
  48. ↑ Anthony 1902, p. 631.
  49. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 29.
  50. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 243.
  51. 1 2 3 Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 215.
  52. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 215-216.
  53. ↑ Kedrowski, Karen (7 August 2020). "Bloomer, Catt + More: Iowans in the Suffrage Movement". DSM USA. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
  54. 1 2 3 4 Egge 2009, p. 40.
  55. ↑ Harper 1922, p. 182.
  56. ↑ Egge 2009, p. 40-41.
  57. ↑ Horack 1914, p. 34.
  58. 1 2 3 Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 216.
  59. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 254.
  60. 1 2 3 Noun 1969, p. 256.
  61. 1 2 Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 218.
  62. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 218-219.
  63. 1 2 3 Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 219.
  64. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 220.
  65. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 220-221.
  66. 1 2 Noun 1969, p. 257.
  67. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 221.
  68. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 222.
  69. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 222-223.
  70. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 223-224.
  71. 1 2 Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 224.
  72. ↑ Catt & Shuler 1923, p. 225.
  73. ↑ Noun 1969, p. 260.
  74. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 9.
  75. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 26.
  76. ↑ "Sue M. Wilson Brown". Iowa Department of Human Rights. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  77. ↑ "Behind the creation of "Toward a Universal Suffrage: African American Women in Iowa and the Vote for All"". Iowa State University. September 2021. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  78. ↑ "Women's Suffrage in Iowa". Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. Iowa State University. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  79. ↑ Egge 2009, p. 37.
  80. 1 2 Hoskins, Danielle. "Biographical Sketch of Sue M. Wilson Brown, 1877-1941". Biographical Database of Black Woman Suffragists– via Alexander Street.
  81. ↑ "Suffragist Sue Wilson Brown". Iowa PBS. 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  82. ↑ "Gertrude Rush -". Archives of Women's Political Communication - Iowa State University. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  83. ↑ "African American Women". Iowa's Suffrage Scrapbook - 1890-1915 - Iowa Women's Archives - The University of Iowa Libraries. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  84. ↑ Benkowich, Allyn; Corey, Kristen (2020-05-26). "Clipped From The Courier". The Courier. pp. A8. Retrieved 2021-12-10– via Newspapers.com.
  85. ↑ Benkowich, Allyn; Corey, Kristen (22 March 2020). "Iowa women's history profile: Vivian B. Smith of the State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs". The Gazette. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  86. 1 2 Boyd 2018, p. 7.
  87. ↑ Boyd 2018, p. 7-8.
  88. ↑ Schwarzkopf, Mikki (10 September 2020). "ALL VOTES MATTER". The Jefferson Herald. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  89. ↑ "Mailed at Davenport". Evening Times-Republican. 1916-05-26. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-12-27– via Newspapers.com.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.