Opera House

Women's suffrage is described as the legal right of women to vote in national and local elections. Kansas was established as a state on January 29, 1861, but women did not attain full rights to vote in Kansas until November 5, 1912. As one of the first states in the United States to lead the charge to bring voting rights to women following the Civil War, activists, such as Susan B. Anthony, realized that a change had to be made, which is why the Women's Suffrage movement was created with the goal of legalizing the right to vote for all. Kansas, and places such as the WaKeeney Opera House would become venues for women to politically campaign for the right to vote.

Unique figures including Susan B Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Olympia Brown headed the American Suffragist movement. This group of women saw a need for abolitionists and suffragists to join together to ensure that African-American men and women, as well as their white female supporters, were given the right to vote. As a result, in 1867, this trio of activist saw Kansas' forthcoming referendum on the issue of advancing suffrage rights at the state level as an excellent opportunity to advance their agenda. If they were to achieve such a goal, then they were going to have to persuade state voters to vote in their favor in a popular vote. In order for that to happen, they were to take to the streets and evangelize to the general public to go out and vote. Kansas newlines caught wind of such a powerful movement, and their papers were crammed with headlines and ads for suffrage meetings all over Kansas from June to November 1867. Word spread fast, and eventually, Kansas had developed quite the population of supporters. But it was not enough, as the referendum failed for both African-American and for all women failed to pass. African-American men would gain suffrage rights 3 years later with the ratification of the 15th Amendment, and women would receive partial voting rights at the municipal level after a successful campaign in 1887.

Women suffragists again attempted another campaign in 1894 with another proposal to expand voting rights to women throughout the states. During the political campaign, suffragists from outside the state, and within, including notable Populist Party supporter Annie Diggs, campaigned in favor of the women's suffrage amendment. In June 1894, suffragists held a rally at the Opera House in Wakeeney, Kansas. They needed a place to gather in that little town, and that is exactly what they did. After the group secured the location, they published a flyer titled, "Mass Meeting! In the Interest of the Women's suffrage amendment will be held in the Opera house" and posted advertisements in the local newspaper, the Western Kansas World. The Opera House had been built in Wakeeney, Kansas over a decade before in 1884. This large, attractive building was the center of WaKeeney's activities, sponsoring many acceptable forms of entertainment. With a seating capacity of 400, the impressive opera hall featured ornate murals on the ceiling and the walls and a large brass chandelier with Rochester electric lamps. It also housed several offices and business firms. 

Following the meeting of suffragists, the Western Kansas World, a main newspaper in Wakeeney, Kansas reported with a brief and favorable statement on the meeting. During the rally, Theresa Jenkins, a suffragist from Wyoming spoke on the history of the women's suffrage movement in that state. As a territory, women in Wyoming had voting rights, but when the state convention met in 1889 in Cheyenne, Wyoming to apply for statehood. A clause was put forward in the state constitution that women would lose voting rights that they had held for over twenty years. Suffrage activists successfully lobbied, with Jenkins as a leader, to strike the clause and retain voting rights for women when Wyoming was granted statehood. Regarding Carrie Chapman-Catt's speech, she provided statistics as to why women should have the right to vote and the Western Kansas World described her as "an eloquent and impressive speaker."

This massive, glamorous structure served as a focal point for important meetings to persuade people to vote for women's suffrage. The Opera House unfortunately burned down in 1895 and now is home to the Baxter Church. Still, the opera house deserves to be recognized because although its physical structure no longer exists, the town for which it stood still exists today. Ultimately, the debate and speeches that took place in that Opera House failed to succeed at the polls in 1894 as the suffrage amendment was defeated. But the effort of these activists continued to build upon past activism, and ultimately culminated in the passing of the 19th Amendment in 1912, which made Kansas the eighth state in America to grant women the right to vote.

1. Thornberg, Michael. History of Wakeeney, Wakeeney. Accessed May 11th 2021. https://www.wakeeney.org/history-of-wakeeney.
2. Biography of Susan B. Anthony. Accessed May 11th 2021. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/susan-b-anthony.
3. Mary Jo Birt. "To 'Hold a More Brilliant Torch:' Suffragist and Orator Theresa Jenkins." Wyohistory.org. August, 29, 2019. Accessed August 18, 2022. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/hold-more-brilliant-torch-suffragist-and-orator-theresa-jenkins.
4. A&E . Women's Suffrage, February 23rd 2021. Accessed May 11th 2021. https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage.
5. N.A., N.A.. Western Kansas World, Chronicling America. June 23rd, 1894. Accessed August 18th, 2022. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015485/1894-06-23/ed-1/seq-3/#date1=1894&index=11&rows=20&words=Jenkins+Theresa&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=Kansas&date2=1894&proxtext=Theresa+jenkins&y=0&x=0&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1.
6. Accessed May 11th 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage.