Maine Ratifies the 19th Amendment, November 5, 1919
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The suffrage movement in Maine began prior to the Civil War when a group of women sent a petition to the state legislature asking for a constitutional amendment to enfranchise women. The Maine Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) formed in August, ME in 1873 and they again approached the state legislature about voting rights. This time the legislature paid attention to their petitions, but still voted them down. In 1917, the Maine state legislature passed a constitutional amendment for women’s suffrage, but it was defeated in an electorate vote later that year 36,713 votes to 19,428. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Maine Governor Miliken called a special session of the legislature to vote. On November 5, 1919 Maine voted 72-68 to ratify the 19th Amendment.
Images
Florence Brooks Whitehouse and fellow suffragists, Portland, Maine, 1914
"Suffrage Headquarters at Bangor, ME. Mrs. Deborah Knox Livingston at Desk, Center." (September 1917)
"Signing of the women suffrage proclamation in 1917 Left to right, Mrs. Henry Cobb, Mrs. Carl E. Milliken, Governor Carl E. Miliken, Deborah Knox Livingston, Florence Brooks Whitehouse, Charles Milliken, Mrs. Guy P. Gannett, Mrs. Arthur T. Balentine and Mrs. William R. Pattangall"
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Sources
"Maine and the 19th Amendment." National Park Service. August 15, 2019. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/articles/maine-and-the-19th-amendment.htm.
"Women's Suffrage: Fighting for Women's Right to be Heard." Votes for Women: Maine Suffrage Centennial. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://www.mainesuffragecentennial.org/about.
"Women's Suffrage in Maine." Wikipedia. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_Maine.
"Women's Suffrage in Maine." Wikipedia. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_Maine.
"Women's Suffrage in Maine." Wikipedia. Accessed July 7, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_Maine.