Women's suffrage in Colorado

Last updated

Colorado Headquarters of the Congressional Union. Colorado Headquarters 159013v.jpg
Colorado Headquarters of the Congressional Union.

In 1893, Colorado became the second state in the United States to grant women's suffrage and the first to do so through a voter referendum. [1] Even while Colorado was a territory, lawmakers and other leaders tried to include women's suffrage in laws and later in the state constitution. The constitution did give women the right to vote in school board elections. The first voter referendum campaign was held in 1877. The Woman Suffrage Association of Colorado worked to encourage people to vote yes. Nationally-known suffragists, such as Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone spoke alongside Colorado's own Alida Avery around the state. Despite the efforts to influence voters, the referendum failed. Suffragists continued to grow support for women's right to vote. They exercised their right to vote in school board elections and ran for office. In 1893, another campaign for women's suffrage took place. Both Black and white suffragists worked to influence voters, gave speeches, and turned out on election day in a last-minute push. The effort was successful and women earned equal suffrage. In 1894, Colorado again made history by electing three women to the Colorado house of representatives. [1] After gaining the right to vote, Colorado women continued to fight for suffrage in other states. Some women became members of the Congressional Union (CU) and pushed for a federal suffrage amendment. Colorado women also used their right to vote to pass reforms in the state and to support women candidates.

Contents

Early efforts

"Forward Denver" suffrage button, undated "Forward Denver" suffrage button, undated.jpg
"Forward Denver" suffrage button, undated

Former governor of the territory of Colorado, John Evans, and D. M. Richards worked to include women's suffrage issues in the territorial legislature in 1868. [2] Later, the territorial governor, Edward McCook, addressed the legislature on January 3, 1870, where he supported women's suffrage. [2] The proposal to give women the vote was not only discussed by the lawmakers but also circulated throughout Colorado at churches and in the news. [3]

Women's suffrage was reignited in 1876 when a convention was held at the Unity Church of Denver on January 10. [4] The convention included speakers such as Margaret W. Campbell from Massachusetts and Reverend Eliza Tupper Wilkes from Colorado Springs. [5] The convention formed the Territorial Woman Suffrage Society which had a committee that would address the upcoming state Constitutional Convention. [5] The suffrage committee was able to address the convention, who "listened with respectful attention, but with a non-committal silence." [6] The Woman Suffrage Association of Missouri also addressed the convention and many women's suffrage petitions were sent to the delegates. [6] The Constitutional Convention considered women's suffrage on February 15. [6] The delegates voted 24 to 8 against adding women's enfranchisement to the state constitution, though one section of the document allowed for later suffrage referendums. [7] The convention also directed the first Colorado General Assembly to create a women's suffrage referendum during their first legislative session which was held in 1877. [7] Women also gained the right to vote in school board elections. [8]

Suffragists prepared for the upcoming 1877 referendum. On February 15, 1877, the Woman Suffrage Association held their annual convention and Alida Avery was elected president. [7] On August 15, a mass meeting was held in Denver to organize a committee for a women's suffrage campaign. [9] Susan B. Anthony came to the state in September to give a series of lectures. [10] Another mass meeting took place in Denver on October 1 which included speakers such as Lucy Stone, Mary Grafton Campbell and Avery. [11] The election took place on October 2 and women went to the polls to try to influence voters, however, the suffrage referendum was defeated. [10] [12]

After the defeat of the 1877 referendum, there was only one other women's suffrage bill in the Colorado General Assembly. [13] The bill, proposed in 1881 to grant women municipal suffrage never passed. [13] The General Assembly did receive a petition for women's suffrage in 1891. [13]

In 1881, a meeting was held to create the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association (CESA). [14] When Matilda Hindman of South Dakota arrived in Colorado in 1890 to raise money for efforts in her territory, she helped reignite suffrage organizations in Denver. [13] Hindman held a meeting in her rooms at the Richelieu Hotel where women not only raised money for South Dakota but also created a Denver chapter of CESA. [13] Members of the CESA began to pressure the General Assembly on women's suffrage. [15] The arrival of Louise M. Tyler, moving from Boston to Denver, also spurred the creation of an auxiliary to the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). [16] [17] Over time the membership of the auxiliary grew, with Tyler serving as president until 1892. [18]

Women journalists helped the fight for women's suffrage in Colorado. Both Ellis Meredith and Minnie Reynolds secured support from Colorado newspapers on women's suffrage. [10] Journalist Caroline Nichols Churchill attended the 1881 meeting to create the CESA, but when a man was elected president, she refused to continue to work with CESA. [14] She did help form the Fort Collins Equal Suffrage Association that year. [19] Churchill, who wrote the women's rights newspaper, the Queen Bee , felt that women should be in charge of women's organizations. [20] Despite Churchill's refusal to participate in the organization, her newspaper continued to cover women's suffrage and took on the topic from a more radical perspective. [21] The paper also helped to build support for women's suffrage in Colorado. [21] Her paper urged women to exercise their right to vote in school elections. [22]

The tactic of mobilizing women to vote in school elections was also supported by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in Colorado. [23] Showing that women were interested in voting and were already using their limited voting rights was key to the suffragists' argument that women wanted equal franchise. [23] Women also were key to the successful election of Ione T. Hanna to the Denver School Board in May of 1893. [23]

Suffrage referendum

1893 Ballot for Park County, Colorado. Women's suffrage referendum choice is at the bottom. 1893 Ballot for Park County, Colorado. Women's suffrage choic is at the bottom. 02.jpg
1893 Ballot for Park County, Colorado. Women's suffrage referendum choice is at the bottom.

The General Assembly of Colorado passed a bill for a voter referendum for women's suffrage in 1893. [24] That year, the state suffrage group changed its name to the Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association of Colorado (CNPESA). [25] Martha A. Pease was elected president and Elizabeth Piper Ensley served as treasurer. [25] At first, CNPESA met at members' homes, but later, Baby Doe Tabor donated the use of rooms in the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver. [26]

When the suffrage campaign began for the upcoming vote, the CNPESA only had a little less than $25 in their treasury. [27] In Denver, suffragists asked the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) for help. [27] Ellis Meredith, the vice president of CNPESA, attended the NAWSA annual convention in June and convinced Carrie Chapman Catt to aid in the campaign. [26] Lucy Stone donated to the Colorado campaign, as did suffragists from Iowa and California. [28] Small clubs around the state mobilized to support the campaign. [29] Minnie Reynolds was able to get around 75% of the newspapers in Colorado to support women's suffrage. [29] Catt came to Colorado to speak in September where she was "well received." [10] Wherever there were not suffrage groups, Catt organized the women in town. [30]

Before the election, suffragists produced fliers that showed voters which choice to select to approve women's suffrage. [31] On the day of the vote, November 7, men who supported women's suffrage urged suffragists to appear at the polls. [32] Many did, giving out suffrage leaflets and encouraging men to vote for equal franchise. [33] The referendum passed in favor of women's suffrage, 35,798 for and 29,451 against. [33] Colorado became the first state to enfranchise women through the popular vote, and the second state to give women equal suffrage. [10] The first woman to register to vote in Colorado was Eliza Pickrell Routt. [34]

After state suffrage

National Woman's Party suffrage billboard in Denver, 1916 Woman's Party suffrage billboard in Denver, 1916.jpg
National Woman's Party suffrage billboard in Denver, 1916

Women were involved in supporting reforms in Colorado after they won the vote. [35] Many of these reforms were related to the welfare of children, women's rights, and temperance issues. [35] Sanitation of the state also improved after women's suffrage. [36] Women also ran for office, with three women representatives elected in 1894: Clara Cressingham, Carrie C. Holly, and Frances S. Klock. [37] [1] By 1906, more than half of Colorado counties had women school superintendents. [38]

The Colorado Equal Suffrage Association (CESA) stayed together after women won the vote in Colorado so that suffragists could help activists in other states. [39] Colorado suffragists also testified in front of the United States Congress and served as delegates to political party conventions. [40] In 1896, a national survey of women's officeholding in the United States was published and crowned both Colorado and Kansas as the "banner states" for women's right to hold office. [1]

Caroline Spencer from Colorado Springs was involved in the more militant suffrage group, the Congressional Union (CU, and later known as the National Woman's Party), where she was one of the most active members in the state. [41] Spencer picketed the White House and was arrested and imprisoned for her protest work on behalf of national women's suffrage. [41] Along with Spencer, Ruth Astor Noyes was another active CU member who worked in Colorado. [42] [43] Noyes helped organize support for a national woman's suffrage amendment among Colorado's major political parties. [43] The Democratic Party in Colorado worked to organize against the CU, seeing the organization as a threat because they protested against the party for failing to support women's suffrage. [44] [45] The work of the CU eventually led to state political parties to include support for women's suffrage in their platforms. [46] In 1916, the Suffrage Special came through Colorado, stopping in Denver and Colorado Springs in April. [47] [48] The Suffrage Special was a tour planned by the CU. [49] Members of the CU wanted to recruit women from the West where the vote had succeeded. [50] The suffragists on the national tour were treated to luncheons and mass meetings. [51] The Prison Special also came through and visited Denver in 1919. [52]

In the Colorado General Assembly, Representative Mabel Ruth Baker and co-author, Senator Agnes L. Riddle, submitted House Joint Resolution No. 2 to encourage the U.S. Senate to pass the amendment. [53] After the women's suffrage amendment passed the U.S. Congress, Colorado called a special legislative session to open on December 8, 1919. [54] Representatives May Tower Bigelow and Baker proposed the resolution to ratify the amendment in the General Assembly. [53] Both houses went on to unanimously ratified the Nineteenth Amendment. [55] The final gavel was given to Representative Bigelow so that a woman could close the results. [55] The ratification was signed on December 15, 1919. [55] The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Colorado was formed on June 17, 1920. [55]

African American and Native American women's suffrage

In the 1870s a Colored Woman's Suffrage Association was established in Denver. [56] In 1893, Elizabeth Piper Ensley was one of the founding members of the Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association of Colorado (CNPESA). [57] Ensley helped to encourage African American women in Colorado to join the movement and influenced Black men to vote for women's suffrage. [57]

Despite the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924 which declared all Native Americans to be U.S. citizens, Native American women who lived on reservations were not allowed to vote until 1970. [58] Members of the Colorado Ute tribe continued to face issues voting well into the 90s. [58]

Anti-suffragism in Colorado

The Catholic bishop of Colorado, Joseph Projectus Machebeuf, was vocally against women's suffrage. [59] His opinions on women's suffrage had an effect on areas of the state with large Catholic populations. [59] Liquor interests were also opposed to women's suffrage in Colorado. [37]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1893 Colorado women's suffrage referendum</span> Colorado suffrage referendum

On November 7, 1893, a referendum on women's suffrage was held in Colorado that secured women's voting rights. Subsequently, Colorado became the first American state to enact women's suffrage by popular referendum. The act granted women the right to vote "in the same manner in all respects as male persons are."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's suffrage in states of the United States</span> Womens right to vote in individual states of the United States

Women's suffrage was established in the United States on a full or partial basis by various towns, counties, states and territories during the latter decades of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. As women received the right to vote in some places, they began running for public office and gaining positions as school board members, county clerks, state legislators, judges, and, in the case of Jeannette Rankin, as a member of Congress.

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

Women's rights issues in Ohio were put into the public eye in the early 1850s. Women inspired by the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention created newspapers and then set up their own conventions, including the 1850 Ohio Women's Rights Convention which was the first women's right's convention outside of New York and the first that was planned and run solely by women. These early efforts towards women's suffrage affected people in other states and helped energize the women's suffrage movement in Ohio. Women's rights groups formed throughout the state, with the Ohio Women's Rights Association (OWRA) founded in 1853. Other local women's suffrage groups are formed in the late 1860s. In 1894, women won the right to vote in school board elections in Ohio. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was headquartered for a time in Warren, Ohio. Two efforts to vote on a constitutional amendment, one in 1912 and the other 1914 were unsuccessful, but drew national attention to women's suffrage. In 1916, women in East Cleveland gained the right to vote in municipal elections. A year later, women in Lakewood, Ohio and Columbus were given the right to vote in municipal elections. Also in 1917, the Reynolds Bill, which would allow women to vote in the next presidential election was passed, and then quickly repealed by a voter referendum sponsored by special-interest groups. On June 16, 1919, Ohio became the fifth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

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

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Ohio. Women's suffrage activism in Ohio began in earnest around the 1850s, when several women's rights conventions took place around the state. The Ohio Women's Convention was very influential on the topic of women's suffrage, and the second Ohio Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio, featured Sojourner Truth and her famous speech, Ain't I a Woman? Women worked to create organizations and groups to influence politicians on women's suffrage. Several state constitutional amendments for women's suffrage did not pass. However, women in Ohio did get the right to vote in school board elections and in some municipalities before Ohio became the fifth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

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

Even before women's suffrage efforts took off in Rhode Island, women were fighting for equal male suffrage during the Dorr Rebellion. Women raised money for the Dorrite cause, took political action and kept members of the rebellion in exile informed. An abolitionist, Paulina Wright Davis, chaired and attended women's rights conferences in New England and later, along with Elizabeth Buffum Chace, founded the Rhode Island Women's Suffrage Association (RIWSA) in 1868. This group petitioned the Rhode Island General Assembly for an amendment to the state constitution to provide women's suffrage. For many years, RIWSA was the major group providing women's suffrage action in Rhode Island. In 1887, a women's suffrage amendment to the state constitution came up for a voter referendum. The vote, on April 6, 1887, was decisively against women's suffrage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of women's suffrage in Rhode Island</span> History of womens suffrage in Rhode Island

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Rhode Island. Women's suffrage in Rhode Island started with women's rights activities, such as convention planning and publications of women's rights journals. The first women's suffrage group in Rhode Island was founded in 1868. A women's suffrage amendment was decided by referendum on April 6, 1887, but it failed by a large amount. Finally, in 1917, Rhode Island women gained the right to vote in presidential elections. On January 6, 1920, Rhode Island became the twenty-fourth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

<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">Timeline of women's suffrage in Nevada</span>

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Nevada. In 1869, Curtis J. Hillyer introduced a women's suffrage resolution in the Nevada Legislature which passed, though it would wait for another legislative session to approve a second time. The first women's suffrage convention took place in 1870 in Battle Mountain Station. Several women's suffrage resolutions are voted on, or approved, but none complete the criteria to become amendments to the Constitution of Nevada. In the 1880s, women gain the right to run for school offices and several women run and win. Some Nevada women's suffrage groups work throughout the 1890s and hold more conventions. However, most suffrage work slows down or stops around 1899. The Nevada Equal Franchise Society (NEFS) was created in 1911. That same year, Attorney Felice Cohn writes a women's suffrage resolution that is accepted and passed by the Nevada Legislature. Anne Henrietta Martin becomes president of NEFS in 1912. The next year, Cohn's resolution passes a second time and will go out as a voter referendum the next year. On November 3, 1914 Nevada voters approve women's suffrage. Women in Nevada continue to be involved in suffrage campaigning. On February 7, 1920 Nevada ratifies the Nineteenth Amendment.

<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 Maine</span>

While women's suffrage had an early start in Maine, dating back to the 1850s, it was a long, slow road to equal suffrage. Early suffragists brought speakers Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone to the state in the mid-1850s. Ann F. Jarvis Greely and other women in Ellsworth, Maine, created a women's rights lecture series in 1857. The first women's suffrage petition to the Maine Legislature was also sent that year. Working-class women began marching for women's suffrage in the 1860s. The Snow sisters created the first Maine women's suffrage organization, the Equal Rights Association of Rockland, in 1868. In the 1870s, a state suffrage organization, the Maine Women's Suffrage Association (MWSA), was formed. Many petitions for women's suffrage were sent to the state legislature. MWSA and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) of Maine worked closely together on suffrage issues. By the late 1880s the state legislature was considering several women's suffrage bills. While women's suffrage did not pass, during the 1890s many women's rights laws were secured. During the 1900s, suffragists in Maine continued to campaign and lecture on women's suffrage. Several suffrage organizations including a Maine chapter of the College Equal Suffrage League and the Men's Equal Rights League were formed in the 1910s. Florence Brooks Whitehouse started the Maine chapter of the National Woman's Party (NWP) in 1915. Suffragists and other clubwomen worked together on a large campaign for a 1917 voter referendum on women's suffrage. Despite the efforts of women around the state, women's suffrage failed. Going into the next few years, a women's suffrage referendum on voting in presidential elections was placed on the September 13, 1920 ballot. But before that vote, Maine ratified the Nineteenth Amendment on November 5, 1920. It was the nineteenth state to ratify. A few weeks after ratification, MWSA dissolved and formed the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Maine. White women first voted in Maine on September 13, 1920. Native Americans in Maine had to wait longer to vote. In 1924, they became citizens of the United States. However, Maine would not allow individuals living on Indian reservations to vote. It was not until the passage of a 1954 equal rights referendum that Native Americans gained the right to vote in Maine. In 1955 Lucy Nicolar Poolaw (Penobscot) was the first Native American living on a reservation in Maine 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">Timeline of women's suffrage in Wisconsin</span>

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Wisconsin. Women's suffrage efforts began before the Civil War. The first Wisconsin state constitutional convention in 1846 discussed both women's suffrage and African-American suffrage. In the end, a more conservative constitution was adopted by Wisconsin. In the 1850s, a German language women's rights newspaper was founded in Milwaukee and many suffragists spoke throughout the state. The first state suffrage convention was held in Janesville in 1867. The 1870s, several women's suffrage groups were founded in the state. In 1884, a women's suffrage bill, allowing women to vote for school-related issues is passed. In 1886, voters approve the school-related suffrage bill in a referendum. The first year women vote, 1887, there are challenges to the law that go on until Wisconsin women are allowed to vote again for school issues in 1902 using separate ballots. In the 1900s, women's suffrage conventions continue to take place throughout the state. Women collect petitions and continue to lobby the state legislature. In 1911 Wisconsin legislature passes a bill for women's suffrage that will go out to the voters in 1912. On November 4, 1912 voters disapprove of women's suffrage. Women's suffrage efforts continue, including sponsoring a suffrage school and with the inclusion of a National Woman's Party (NWP) chapter formed in 1915. When the Nineteenth Amendment goes out to the states, Wisconsin ratifies on June 10 and turns in the ratification paperwork first, on June 13, 1919.

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

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Colorado. Women's suffrage efforts started in the late 1860s. During the state constitutional convention for Colorado, women received a small win when they were granted the right to vote in school board elections. In 1877, the first women's suffrage referendum was defeated. In 1893, another referendum was successful. After winning the right to vote, Colorado women continued to fight for a federal women's suffrage amendment. While most women were able to vote, it wasn't until 1970 that Native Americans living on reservations were enfranchised.

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

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Pennsylvania. Activists in the state began working towards women's rights in the early 1850s, when two women's rights conventions discussed women's suffrage. A statewide group, the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association (PWSA), was formed in 1869. Other regional groups were formed throughout the state over the years. Suffragists in Pittsburgh created the "Pittsburgh Plan" in 1911. In 1915, a campaign to influence voters to support women's suffrage on the November 2 referendum took place. Despite these efforts, the referendum failed. On June 24, 1919, Pennsylvania became the seventh state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment. Pennsylvania women voted for the first time on November 2, 1920.

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

Women's suffrage began in North Dakota when it was still part of the Dakota Territory. During this time activists worked for women's suffrage, and in 1879, women gained the right to vote at school meetings. This was formalized in 1883 when the legislature passed a law where women would use separate ballots for their votes on school-related issues. When North Dakota was writing its state constitution, efforts were made to include equal suffrage for women, but women were only able to retain their right to vote for school issues. An abortive effort to provide equal suffrage happened in 1893, when the state legislature passed equal suffrage for women. However, the bill was "lost," never signed and eventually expunged from the record. Suffragists continued to hold conventions, raise awareness, and form organizations. The arrival of Sylvia Pankhurst in February 1912 stimulated the creation of more groups, including the statewide Votes for Women League. In 1914, there was a voter referendum on women's suffrage, but it did not pass. In 1917, limited suffrage bills for municipal and presidential suffrage were signed into law. On December 1, 1919, North Dakota became the twentieth state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.

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

Women's suffrage started in South Dakota when it was part of Dakota Territory. Prior to 1889, it had a shared history of women's suffrage with North Dakota. While South Dakota was part of the territory, women earned the right to vote on school related issues. They retained this right after it became a separate state. The state constitution specified that there would be a women's suffrage amendment referendum in 1890. Despite a large campaign that included Susan B. Anthony and a state suffrage group, the South Dakota Equal Suffrage Association (SDESA), the referendum failed. The state legislature passed additional suffrage referendums over the years, but each was voted down until 1918. South Dakota was an early ratifier of the Nineteenth Amendment, which was approved during a special midnight legislative session on December 4, 1919.

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

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in South Dakota. The early history of women's suffrage in the state is shared with North Dakota. When South Dakota became a state, it held a voter referendum in 1890 on an equal suffrage amendment. This effort failed, but suffragists continued to organize and lobby the legislature to pass voter referendums. None passed until 1918. South Dakota ratified the Nineteenth Amendment on December 4, 1919.

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

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.

<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. 1 2 3 4 Katz, Elizabeth D. (2021-07-30). "Sex, Suffrage, and State Constitutional Law: Women's Legal Right to Hold Public Office". Rochester, NY. SSRN   3896499.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 Brown 1898, p. 5.
  3. Brown 1898, p. 6.
  4. Brown 1898, p. 7.
  5. 1 2 Brown 1898, p. 8.
  6. 1 2 3 Brown 1898, p. 9.
  7. 1 2 3 Brown 1898, p. 10.
  8. "Women's Suffrage Movement". Colorado Encyclopedia. Adapted from Carl Abbott, Stephen J. Leonard, and Thomas J. Noel in Colorado: A History of the Centennial State (2013) University Press of Colorado. 6 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  9. Brown 1898, p. 11.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Road to the Vote". History Colorado. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  11. Brown 1898, p. 12.
  12. Beaton 2012, p. 55.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown 1898, p. 16.
  14. 1 2 Thompson 1999, p. 54-55.
  15. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 1901, p. 162.
  16. Brown 1898, p. 17.
  17. Anthony 1902, p. 509.
  18. Anthony 1902, p. 510.
  19. Moore 2020, p. 2.
  20. Thompson 1999, p. 55.
  21. 1 2 Duncan, Elizabeth (9 April 2020). "Caroline Nichols Churchill". Colorado Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  22. Frost, Jennifer; Chomic, Leslie; Goldstein, Marcia; Hunt, Rebecca; Voehringer, Heidi (2002). "Document 9: Caroline Nichols Churchill, "Women at School Elections," The Colorado Antelope, 2 (March 1881), p. 28". Women and Social Movements via Alexander Street.
  23. 1 2 3 Frost, Jennifer; Chomic, Leslie; Goldstein, Marcia; Hunt, Rebecca; Voehringer, Heidi (2002). "Why Did Colorado Suffragists Fail to Win the Right to Vote in 1877, but Succeed in 1893?: Timeline". Women and Social Movements via Alexander Street.
  24. Brown 1898, p. 18.
  25. 1 2 Brown 1898, p. 19.
  26. 1 2 Rounsville, Sarah. "The Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association of Colorado". Intermountain Histories. Retrieved 2021-02-10.
  27. 1 2 Moore 2020, p. 10.
  28. Anthony 1902, p. 514.
  29. 1 2 Anthony 1902, p. 515.
  30. Brown 1898, p. 21.
  31. Anthony 1902, p. 517.
  32. Anthony 1902, p. 517-518.
  33. 1 2 Anthony 1902, p. 518.
  34. Brown 1898, p. 25.
  35. 1 2 Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 1901, p. 165.
  36. Harper 1922, p. 62.
  37. 1 2 Beaton 2012, p. 104.
  38. Myres 1982, p. 185.
  39. Harper 1922, p. 60.
  40. Harper 1922, p. 63-64.
  41. 1 2 "Caroline Spencer, MD". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  42. Irwin 1921, p. 77.
  43. 1 2 Valeriann, Christine R. "Biographical Sketch of Ruth Astor Noyes". Biographical Database of Militant Woman Suffragists, 1913-1920 via Alexander Street.
  44. Irwin 1921, p. 88.
  45. Bell, Alyssa; Crawford, Alyssa; Thomas, Zach; Han, Samantha. "Chapter 1: The Congressional union 1913-1916". Mapping American Social Movements Project. University of Washington. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  46. Irwin 1921, p. 90.
  47. "Suffrage Special Has Arrived in Denver". The Santa Fe New Mexican. April 15, 1916. p. 1. Retrieved 15 February 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  48. "Suffrage Special Has Arrived in Denver". April 15, 1916. p. 1. Retrieved January 20, 2020 via Newspapers.com.
  49. "To Ask Sister Clubs to Support Suffrage". Evening Star. March 18, 1916. p. 7. Retrieved 15 February 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  50. O'Gan, Patri (March 26, 2014). "Traveling for Suffrage Part 4: Riding the rails". National Museum of American History. Archived from the original on November 3, 2019. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  51. "Suffrage Special Reaches Denver". The Topeka Daily Capital. April 16, 1916. p. 30. Retrieved 15 February 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  52. "Louise Ewing Burg will give a presentation about her suffragist grandmother, Lucy Ewing, on Sunday". Canon City Daily Record. 2020-09-18. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  53. 1 2 Gaughan, Judy E. "Legislative Sessions and Women's Suffrage (1861–93)". Colorado Encyclopedia.
  54. Harper 1922, p. 65.
  55. 1 2 3 4 Harper 1922, p. 66.
  56. Moore 2020, p. 6-7.
  57. 1 2 "Elizabeth Piper Ensley". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2021-02-15.
  58. 1 2 "What does Equal Suffrage mean?". History Colorado. 16 August 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  59. 1 2 Moore 2020, p. 6.

Sources