Women and the Right to Vote

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation"

--Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920 gave all American women the right to vote.  After decades of national efforts lead by prominent figures such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, women gained a voice in national affairs.  Yet in some areas, women already exercised this right and were even allowed to hold public office.  In 1869, the First Wyoming Territorial Legislature included a provision granting women suffrage and in the following year, Esther Hobart Morris of South Pass City became the first female appointed as a Justice of the Peace in the U.S.  Upon its admission to the Union in 1890, Wyoming included the amendment once more in its State Constitution.  The momentous rights afforded to women in Wyoming led to great renown and earned it the nickname of the "Equality State". Prior to the Constitutional Amendment, the neighboring states of Colorado, Utah, and Idaho followed Wyoming’s lead and gave women the right to vote by the end of the 19th century.

Women’s suffrage is a fascinating topic for this year’s NHD theme, "Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History".  The Wyoming State Library offers a wide range of resources on women’s suffrage and the efforts made by those in support of, and against, the cause.  To help you explore this topic at the national and state levels as well as the differing reactions it stirred, a few suggested reading materials are listed below.

History of Woman Suffrage
Call Number JK 1896 .S8 V. 1-6
**In Library Use Only
Written and edited by leading figures of the women’s suffrage movement, the six volume set traces the movement’s history and provides recollections from some of the earliest and most prominent advocates of the cause.

“Our Mothers Before Us: Women and Democracy, 1789-1920”
Federal Documents Collection, Call Number AE 1.102:W 84/2
Designed for educators, this toolkit looks at women's involvement in a variety of reform movements and provides document transcriptions of primary sources, such as the Declaration of Sentiments at Resolutions presented at the 1848 Woman's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls and letters written to Congress, not only from women like Susan B. Anthony, but also everyday women.

CD-Roms
Woman Suffrage Documents from Historical Collections and Government Records WyDocs PC 6.2:5
Esther Hobart Morris Records WyDocs PC 6.2:6
If you’re looking for sources significant to women’s suffrage in the U.S. and Wyoming, take a look at 2 CDs of digitized historic documents from the Wyoming State Archives.  Here you will be able to view the 1869 law giving women the right to vote in the Wyoming Territory, documents appointing the first female Justice of the Peace, Esther Hobart Morris, and sources regarding passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.

The Wyoming Newspaper Project is a great online resource for finding articles about women’s suffrage from the national and local levels.

As mentioned in the first blog, take a look at ProQuest’s Congressional Serial Set available through the WYLD databases.  You will find a wealth of resources on women's suffrage including Committee Hearings, House and Senate Reports, Documents, and Legislative Histories.

**and don’t forget to check with your local library for additional resources!