My post is full of all kinds of drama and excitement today! I have some good news, and then I have some bad news, but I’m going to end my post with some really great news. The good news: on November 11, 1881, the Washington Territorial House of Representatives passed House Bill 103, a women’s suffrage bill by a vote of 13 to 11. The bad news is that the measure was voted down by the Territorial Council, five to…
The year was 1878. In hope of qualifying Washington for statehood, a Constitutional Convention was held in Walla Walla to draft a state constitution (which Congress failed to ratify). A separate measure granting women to vote was put on the ballot, but it was rejected by a three-to-one margin of all-male voters.
The year was 1875. Territorial legislators introduced a women’s suffrage bill, but the measure lost in the House by a vote of 15 to 11. Better news next week, I promise!
In 1871, Daniel Bigelow brought before the Territorial Legislature a bill granting women’s suffrage. However, the Legislature rejected the bill by enacting a law which declared that women could not vote until the U.S. Congress made it the law of the land. (Dave Hastings alluded to this in his comment on my previous post.) Here is what they said: “Hereafter no female shall have the right of ballot at any poll or election precinct in this Territory until the Congress of the United…
In October of 1871, prominent national suffrage advocate Susan B. Anthony traveled to Washington Territory and became the first woman to address the Washington Territorial Legislature. Anthony and Oregon suffragist Abigail Scott Duniway toured Washington Territory to promote women’s suffrage, spurring the creation of Suffrage Associations throughout the area. Fast-forward to 2010, and plans are in the works to celebrate the 139th anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s history-making visit this October in Olympia. Stay tuned for more details!