December 10: Wyoming Passes Women’s Suffrage
On December 10, 1869, the territory of Wyoming passed the first Women’s Suffrage Law. The bill was introduced by a man named William Bright. Many people treated the bill as a joke, but it quickly passed without much controversy.
Suffrage had long been a part of Early American history. Abigail Adams wrote her husband, John Adams, in 1776 asking him to “remember the ladies” in the new laws they were writing. During Colonial times, some women who paid taxes were allowed to vote, except in Virginia and New York. The Revolutionary Period was a time of “progressive thinking.” Woman suffrage could only be attained by a Constitutional Amendment or by States individually, which in 1787 were given the right by the Federal Constitution to decide within their own boundaries the conditions of the franchise.
Many women fought hard for this right. Susan B. Anthony was a pioneer in the Women’s Suffrage movement. Other women included Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucy Stone. In 1869, Anthony and Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association. The American Woman Suffrage Association was founded by Lucy Stone, her husband Henry Blackwell in November 1869. These two groups petitioned for women to be able to vote legally. Wyoming, known as “The Equality State,”was the first to take any action, on December 10, 1869.
Although Wyoming women were the first to vote in the election in 1870, it would be a long hard road until women won the fight for the right to vote. The Seneca Convention was held in 1848 with to speeches focused on Women’s Rights. Anthony and others were jailed for trying to vote illegally. As of 1907, only 4 states allowed women to vote – Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. It wasn’t until after World War I that woman Suffrage was finally voted into law as the 19th Amendment to the Constitution on August 26, 1920. The battle for Woman Suffrage took over 100 years with many fighting along the way. Abigail Adams would be proud.
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–Meagan Nystrom
Photo Caption: William Bright.
Meet the Author: Meagan Nystrom
I am currently a full-time student at Schoolcraft College. I plan to transfer to Eastern Michigan University in the Fall to complete a degree in Elementary Education. In my spare time, I enjoy photography, art, and enjoying local bands.
Out of all places Wyoming. I would have thought that New York, Massachusetts, or some state from the east would be one of the first to pass this law. I guess it seems like Wyoming rings bells of the “wild west” and they wouldn’t have this issue as a priority as the east coast would.