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Tag: Women’s suffrage

Washington’s Road to Women’s Suffrage: 1871

Washington’s Road to Women’s Suffrage: 1871

Women went on a bit of a rollar coaster ride to get the right to vote in Washington, and it took a lot of fight to reach a final victorious outcome in 1910. (A fact that Washington is celebrating next year, the centennial of women’s suffrage!)  One famous setback? In 1871,  noted suffragette Susan B. Anthony came to Olympia to lobby for women’s suffrage and she addressed the Territorial Legislature on the merits of letting women have the vote. The next day…

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Washington’s Road to Women’s Suffrage: 1867

Washington’s Road to Women’s Suffrage: 1867

2010 marks the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage in Washington. So what did it take for women to get the  right to vote in Washington?  It was one step at a time. One of those key steps was in 1867, when the Washington Territorial Legislature passed a law giving the right to vote to “. . . all white American citizens above the age of twenty-one…”  The law went on to be more specific, citing:  “. . . all other white male inhabitants of…

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Washington’s road to women’s suffrage: 1854

Washington’s road to women’s suffrage: 1854

Next year will mark the 100-year anniversary of women’s suffrage in Washington … something definitely worth celebrating. Leading up to the centennial, which is November 2010, we are sharing some tidbits about the fight for women’s right to vote in Washington, and how it was finally won. In 1854, Arthur Denny proposed an amendment to the first territorial election law that would give women the vote. It was defeated in the Territorial House of Representatives by one vote, eight for and nine…

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Oregonians also planning suffrage centennial

Oregonians also planning suffrage centennial

Word filters north of the Oregon-Washington border that Oregonians, too, are busy organizing a big celebration for their state’s centennial of women gaining the right to vote.  (Hey, no smarty-mouth comments from chauvinists out there!). As faithful readers of From Our Corner know, Washington already is into the centennial, since our Legislature approved  suffrage in 19-aught-nine and the male voters approved it in November of 1910.  Washington’s celebration is led by the Women’s History Consortium, the Washington State Historical Society…

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Women’s suffrage: Of pies & power politics

Women’s suffrage: Of pies & power politics

If you flash back 100 years or so, you’ll note that Washington women handily won the right to vote. First, it won lopsided votes in the all-male bastion of the Legislature, passing in February of 1909, and then the men voters of Washington passed it 2-to-1 at the next general election, in November of 1910. But to hear historian Shanna Stevenson tell it, becoming America’s fifth state to adopt women’s suffrage was far from a picnic.  At a “brown bag” forum…

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A little girl power?

A little girl power?

It’s all about girl power at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma for the next few months. Learn about the struggle women went through to attain the right to vote in Washington in the early 1900s at a special exhibit — and gear up for the 100th-year anniversary of women’s suffrage in Washington. Co-curated by the Washington State Historical Society and the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture, the Washington Women’s Suffrage Centennial Exhibit will be on display till September 27. Things to see include authentic materials…

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Marking 100 years of women’s suffrage in Washington

Marking 100 years of women’s suffrage in Washington

Next year marks a special milestone in our state’s history: the 100th anniversary of when women gained the right to vote in Washington. During a ceremony today at the Old Capitol Building in Olympia, a special plaque was unveiled and dedicated in honor of this pivotal moment in Washington history. Among the speakers at the noontime program were State Supreme Court Justice Debra Stephens, 22nd District State Senator Karen Fraser, Shanna Stevenson of the Women’s History Consortium, and Secretary of State…

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The Way to a Mans Vote – Through his Stomach?

The Way to a Mans Vote – Through his Stomach?

Sara Medlicott, an intern from the Evergreen State College,  shares her impressions of one of the clippings she indexed from the Emma Smith DeVoe collection. The Washington State Library received the collection of Emma Smith DeVoe, a prominent Washington suffrage leader. Her letters and scrapbooks have been digitized and are now being indexed for the Washington Women’s History Consortium. Throughout the course of indexing, we have all discovered much about the hidden history of the suffrage movement.  Here is an…

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