CATT, Carrie Chapman SPEECH, ARTICLE, BOOK FILE Article: "The States" [*Summary of W. Suffrage Carrie Chapman Catt 1920*] THE STATES Prior to 1890, it had been the plan of the National and the American associations to secure organizations in the states as auxiliaries. In a very few states both national associations had founded auxiliaries and it was the conflict of such organizations, working in the same field, that caused the merger of the National and the American into the National American Woman Suffrage Association. The new association continued the former plan of organization. The National Board led the campaign for Federal Suffrage and the State Boards led the efforts to secure State suffrage. The National gave its utmost assistance to all state campaigns and the State organizations gave stalwart help to the Federal campaigns. Before the passage of the Federal Amendment, fifteen states and the Territory of Alaska had granted full suffrage to women. Thirteen states granted the vote by a referendum to men voters. The record was: Wyoming. . . . . 1869 By Act of Legislature Colorado. . . . . 1893 By Referendum Idaho. . . . . 1896 " " Utah. . . . . 1896 Inserted in constitution. See special account of Wyoming and Utah Washington. . . . . 1910 By Referendum California. . . . . 1911 " " Arizona. . . . . 1912 " " Kansas. . . . . 1912 " " Oregon. . . . . 1912 " " Nevada. . . . . 1914 " " Montana. . . . . 1914 " " New York. . . . . 1917 " " Oklahoma. . . . . 1918 " " South Dakota. . . . . 1918 " " Michigan. . . . . 1918 " " Territory of Alaska 1913 " Act of Legislature -2- WYOMING The first government in the world to enfranchise women was Wyoming. The Union Pacific Railroad was being built across Wyoming in 1867. There was no organized government and the territory between Nebraska and the Rockies was known as The Great American Desert. A lawless, shifting population of adventurous men occupied the spaces adjacent to the new railroad. The better element petitioned the Congress for the protection of an organized government. It was allowed. The first election took place in September 1869, the purpose being the choose delegates to the first Legislature. At South Pass City, the largest town in the State, a settlement consisting of rows of shacks stretching along a ledge of the Wind River Mountains, three thousand persons were washing gold. Twenty of the most influential men, including all the candidates of both parties, were invited to dinner at the "shack of Mrs. Esther Morris, who had followed her husband and three sons into the trackless West". She presented the woman's case to her guests and each candidate gave his solemn pledge that, if elected, he would introduce and support a woman suffrage bill. William H. Bright, Democrat, was elected, and was chosen president of the Council, or Senate, when the Legislature met October 1, 1869. Having given his promise, Mr. Bright set himself to the task of converting to woman suffrage the twenty-two men who composed the two Houses of the Legislature. The Legislature was unanimously Democratic. The Senate passed the bill, ayes 6, nays 2, absent 1. The House -3- passed it, ayes 6, nays 4, absent 1. The Governor, who must sign the bill, was an unmarried Republican. Some delegates were persuaded to vote for woman suffrage with the expectation that the Governor would veto the measure. John W. Campbell signed the bill, however. He remembered that nineteen years before he, with other boys, had attended the First Woman Suffrage Convention in Ohio held at his birthplace, Salem. The convention passed twenty-two resolutions. When it was over, all the men who had been in attendance, met together and "endorsed all the ladies had said and done." The memory gave him courage and he signed the bill. When the Legislature met again, in 1871, a bill to repeal woman suffrage was introduced. The bill passed the House, ayes 9, nay nays 3, absent 1, every vote for repeal being Democratic and every vote against being Republican. The Repeal passed the Senate, ayes 5, all Democratic, and nays4,all Republicans. Governor Campbell now promptly vetoed the bill. The House passed the repeal over the Governor's veto by the required two-thirds vote, ayes 9 all Democratics, Nays 2 Republican, two absentees who had paired their votes. In the Senate the repeal did not secure a two-thirds vote, ayes 5 Democratic, nays 4 Republican. Thus, woman suffrage was preserved by a single vote. Never again was any attempt made to repeal woman suffrage in Wyoming. From the year 1869 to 1920, when the vote was won in the nation, every Governor, Chief Justice, as well as many prominent citizens, gave endorsement of the beneficence of woman suffrage. Not one reputable person in the State said over his own signature -4- that "woman suffrage is other than an unpeachable success in Wyoming." Immediately after the passage of the first woman suffrage bill, in 1869, Esther Morris was appointed Justice of the Peace. The appointment was reported to have been made in order to humiliate women, because of the failure expected of a woman in this post. Instead, forty cases were tried before her and not one was appealed. Women, too, were appointed to petit and grand juries and acquitted themselves with honor and ability. One jury, consisting of six men and six women, were locked up for the night, - the women in one room, the men in the other. A man bailiff guarded the men; a woman bailiff, the women.. A drawing of the building where the first legislature met, the photographs of the first woman voter, the woman who proposed the vote for women in Wyoming, the man who introduced the bill, the Governor who signed the bill and vetoed the repeal, the first woman ever summoned to jury service, the first to serve on a petit jury, and the first to serve on a grand jury, the first woman bailiff, have been carefully preserved. Wyoming grants complete credit for woman suffrage in the State to Mrs. Esther Morris. When the Territory of Wyoming applied for statehood, woman suffrage became part of the constitution, but there was a long and bitter struggle in Congress. Delegate James Carey telegraphed the Wyoming Legislature that probably Congress would not grant statehood with woman suffrage in the constitution. The next day he read the answer received. "We will remain out of the Union a hundred years -5- rather than come in without woman suffrage." The House, March 1890, by a vote of 139 ayes to 127 nays voted to accept the constitution. The Senate accepted it in June 1890 by 29 ayes, 18 nays, 37 absent. Thus came the end of opposition to woman suffrage in Wyoming. For fifty years Wyoming pronounced false every prediction of anti-suffragists and gave so much evidence of positive good to the community arising from the votes of women that she became the direct cause of the establishment of woman suffrage in all the surrounding states. Record of Vote on Ratification of Federal Suffrage Amendment by Parties in Thirty-Six States [Table] Record of Vote on Federal Suffrage Amendment by Parties Ten States [Table] Transcribed and reviewed by volunteers participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.