Why Wyoming? Younger states and territories like Wyoming were more willing to consider fresh ideas about who could vote. Still, people were a little surprised. Wyoming passed the first woman suffrage law in the United States, with almost no discussion or controversy. There were several reasons why the bill was passed so quickly. Historian C. Another man said he thought it would be a good advertisement for the territory.
Still another said that he voted to please someone else, and so on. Women were scarce out west, and perhaps men were acting desperately to entice them.
The Northwest Ordinance of said territories could apply for statehood once the population reached 60, Edward M. The bill, however, was approved, became a law, and the youngest territory placed in the van of progress. How strange that a movement destined to purify the muddy pool of politics. Bright later said that her husband, a Southerner who fought on the Union side in the Civil War, believed that if all men could vote, then there was no reason why his own wife and mother could not vote as well.
William Bright took advantage of this opinion. In , Governor John W. Now, then, if we can carry this bill through the Assembly and the Governor vetoes it, we shall have made a point, you know; we shall have shown our liberality and lost nothing. He then went to the Republicans and told them that the Democrats were going to support his measure, and that if they did not want to lose capital they had better vote for it too.
And they likewise agreed to vote for it. So, when the bill came to a vote, it went right through! Campbell, who was then Governor—and he promptly signed it! Better appear to lead rather than hinder when a movement is inevitable. Of woman suffrage in Wyoming, American civil rights activist Susan B. Judge and Jury. The woman suffrage bill not only gave women the right to vote, but also to sit on juries and to run for political office. In February , three women were commissioned as justices of the peace in Wyoming, although only one, Esther Morris, was known to have actually served as a judge.
Democrats, who embraced white supremacy during the 19th century, were not happy with the number of women who supported Republicans, said Richard Ewig, former associate director of the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. Democrat William Bright believed that if Black men were allowed to vote, women — specifically white women — should be allowed to as well.
That's why he introduced the women's suffrage bill in Wyoming, believing women would in return vote Democrat and therefore "ensure white control of the territory," according to Helton. Instead, most women voted Republican because it was the party more supportive of women's rights and suffrage. One result of the suffrage bill, Ewig said, is that women were also allowed to serve on juries. Post was part of the first group of women who served on a jury in Cheyenne in , where she was the first woman to chair a jury.
W e found him guilty of murder in the first degree as found in indictment. Analyze the role played by women in advancing suffrage rights and evaluate the short and long term impact of these events on the national suffrage movement.
Evaluate the role geography, culture, and history played and continue to play when it comes to advancing rights for groups in the United States. If possible, allow students to view the online interactive map Map: Woman Suffrage on Women in American History , an online exhibit of Britannica. It demonstrates quite dramatically the progress of full voting rights for women. Do students have any theories about why women would achieve the vote in the West first?
Students can complete the poll independently or the teacher can lead the class through it. Which reasons were most frequently cited by students as the most likely theories? The following video produced by PBS Colorado examines the women's suffrage movement in Colorado using primary sources and images from the time. Share with your students the following texts illustrating connections between suffrage movements in the West and those in the Northeast:.
Susan B. Anthony campaigned vigorously in the West, giving many lectures. The following excerpt from Albina L. The introduction to the excerpt explains:. The state association affiliated with the American Woman Suffrage Association AWSA , one of two national organizations dedicated to achieving votes for women.
The AWSA, which began in November , sought to pass state laws granting women the right to vote, making it the logical affiliation for the Colorado Woman Suffrage Association. Margaret W. Campbell, of Massachusetts, a tried friend and worker in the Suffrage cause, who arrived in Colorado about the middle of November, Anxious to avail ourselves of her valuable assistance we Suffragists, then scattered and unknown to each other, gave her a warm welcome and proceeded to agitate a little, and feel the public pulse.
Campbell lectured in nearly all the principle towns of Colorado, finding many interested, and devoting herself untiringly to presenting the claims of Woman to legal rights, to the popular comprehension, when a call was made for a Convention of the friends to be held at Denver, January 10th, , which was responded to by a few from a distance, and others more numerous from the city.
Four sessions were held, an organization effected of the Colorado Woman Suffrage Association…". It introduces the landscape, myth, and history of the West. What attracted people to the American West? What experiences of the West do your students have from watching Western movies or visiting the Grand Canyon, for example?
What values have become associated with the exploration and settlement of the vast landscapes of the West? Does the myth of the West, as discussed in "Introduction to the West," help explain why women achieved full voting rights there first? To help students explore this question, briefly share some or all of the following images from the EDSITEment resource American Memory that exemplify the myth of the West.
As you show the images, ask students to jot down one to three words they associate with each. Discuss each image briefly and allow students to add a word or two:. Ask students, now working in small groups, to share their lists and then attempt to come up with a statement describing the myth of the West that uses some of the list words, and especially those that were repeated. Reconvene in a whole-class setting and share descriptions.
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