Women's Right to Vote: Celebrating the Ratification of the 19th Amendment

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, Seneca Falls Convention, 1848

The Seneca Falls Declaration is one of the most important documents in the women’s suffrage movement, presented in Seneca Falls, New York, on July 19, 1848, by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and other prominent women. The declaration was modeled after the Declaration of Independence, and provides an overview of the 12 resolutions that were adopted at the convention, which helped determine the future actions of women who wanted to gain the rights of full citizens.

In 1869, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA), which worked for universal suffrage through the United States federal government. That same year, Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe formed the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which worked for suffrage at the state level through campaigns geared towards individual state governments. In 1890, the two organizations combined to form the National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA), which was instrumental in securing the ratification of the 19^th Amendment in 1920.

On the state level, the Wisconsin Women Suffrage Association (WWSA) was formed in 1869, led by Reverend Olympia Brown. By 1911, the Political Equality League (PEL) was formed and organized as a branch of the National PEL and led by Ada L. James. Both organizations worked tirelessly organizing committees in each county and gaining support prior to the 1912 November election. In 1911, the Wisconsin legislature passed a suffrage bill that would have allowed women in Wisconsin to vote in all elections, but to become a law it had to be voted on in a referendum, set for during the November 5, 1912, election. Fourteen counties (out of 71, WI now has 72 counties) voted yes in the referendum, many in Northwest Wisconsin, but Dunn County was not one of them. The vote was close in Dunn County: 49.3% votes for it, and 50.7% votes against. In 1913, the PEL and WWSA merged their organizations, kept the WWSA name, and elected a new president, Theodora Winton Youmans. They continued the mission to organize clubs and fight for women’s suffrage. Check out these 1917 Stoutonia student newspaper articles about organizing suffrage clubs at Stout Institute, County Normal and Agricultural Schools.

Stoutonia, Feb. 28, 1917, p. 1

Stoutonia March 14, 1917, p. 3

Stoutonia March 28, 1917, p. 3

Women finally won the vote in Wisconsin, and the nation, in 1920. The 19^th Amendment to the Constitution established the nationwide vote for women. It was proposed by Congress in June 1919 and ratified August 26, 1920. Wisconsin was the fist state to ratify the 19^th Amendment on June 10, 1919, just beating Illinois. Check out these 1920 Dunn County News articles announcing the ratification of the 19^th Amendment and Stout Institute’s involvement in the celebration.

Dunn County News, Aug. 19, 1920, p. 1

Dunn County News, Aug. 26, 1920, p. 1

Dunn County News, Aug. 26, 1920, p. 1, Stout Institute's Celebration Involvement

Dunn County News, Sept. 2, 1920, p. 1 Organizing Dunn County Women for Voting

Even though museums, archives, and libraries are closed to the public during this time, there are a wealth of online resources and online exhibits where you can learn about women’s suffrage and the 100 year Anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment on a national and local level, which some are available below. When we return to physically being open, you could also request collections to be shipped from the Wisconsin Historical Society through the Area Research Center Network to look at them at the UW-Stout Archives. While an undergraduate history major at UW-Eau Claire, I requested items from the Ada James Collection, who led the Political Equality League, for writing a paper about the 1912 suffrage referendum in Wisconsin, and it was very interesting. Happy Women’s History Month!  

By: Julie Hatfield, Archives Assistant, UW-Stout Archives

Sources:

• ·         Dunn County News. Aug. 19, Aug. 26, Sept. 2, 1920. Menomonie Public Library Dunn County News Archive, 1862-2020.   https://menomoniepubliclibrary.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22dunn+county+public+health+nurse%22&dr_year=1935-2000&silo=456&p_county=Dunn+County%2C+Wisconsin  (accessed 3/31/2020)
• ·         Stoutonia. Volume 3. Feb. 28, March 14, 18, 1917. University of Wisconsin-Stout, Archives Department. https://archive.org/details/stoutonia?&sort=date   (accessed 3/31/2020)
• ·         Davis, Kenneth C. Don’t Know Much about History: Everything you need to know about American History but never learned. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2003.
• ·         Janik, Erika. A Short History of Wisconsin. State Historical Society of Wisconsin: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2010.
• ·         Schneir, Miriam, ed. Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings. 3^rd ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1994, p. 76-78.
• ·         Yanak, Ted, and Pam Cornelison. The Great American History Fact-Finder. With a foreword by Norman Y. Mineta. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.
• ·         Ada James Collection. Articles, speeches, and outgoing correspondence. 1816-1952. Wis Mss OP, Boxes 24 and 29; Micro 848 reels 1-4. Wisconsin Historical Society Archives. Madison, Wisconsin.  http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?c=wiarchives;view=reslist;subview=standard;didno=uw-whs-wis000op
• ·         Hatfield, Julie. “Northwest vs. Southeast: Factors Affecting the 1912 Suffrage Referendum Vote in Wisconsin.” University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire McIntyre Library MINDS@UW (July 2008). https://minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/28775

Additional Resources:

• ·         Library of Congress. National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection. https://www.loc.gov/collections/national-american-woman-suffrage-association/about-this-collection/  (accessed 3/27/2020)
• ·         National Archives Website, Women’s History Resources: https://www.archives.gov/news/topics/womens-history 
• ·         ____. Rightfully Hers: American Women the Vote exhibit at the National Archives Museum, Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery, from May 10, 2019-January 3, 2021:  https://museum.archives.gov/rightfully-hers  
• ·         National Park Service. Women’s Suffrage History Timeline. https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/womens-suffrage-history-timeline.htm  (accessed 3/27/2020)
• ·         Women’s Vote Centennial. Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. https://www.womensvote100.org/
• ·         _____.  Wisconsin Resources  https://www.womensvote100.org/wisconsin
• ·         Wisconsin Historical Society. https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS16290
• ·         ______. “We Stand on Their Shoulders”:  A History of Wisconsin Women and Voting. Exhibit located in Radell Gallery, 4^th Floor.  https://historicalmuseum.wisconsinhistory.org/womens-suffrage-exhibit/
• ·         Twitter Hashtags:  #WomensHistoryMonth, #19thAmendment, #WomensVote100,  #RightfullyHers