Oregon Ratifies the 19th Amendment, January 14, 1920

Organizing for suffrage rights began in the early 1870s with small, local women’s groups, attempts to vote in the 1872 presidential election, and publication of Abigail Scott Duniway’s New Northwest newspaper which advocated for women’s rights. In 1873 the Oregon Woman Suffrage Association formed and suffrage leaders engaged in both the state and national suffrage movements. Like many states women did win the right to vote in school elections in 1878, but did not gain full suffrage for many more years. The Oregon state legislature debated women’s suffrage as early as 1872 but the vote was first put to a ballot in 1884. Voters rejected giving women the right to vote on five ballots: 1884, 1900, 1906, 1908, and 1910. Suffragists coordinated again to get the issue on the ballot a sixth time in 1912 and by a vote of 52% approval women gained full suffrage. After 1912, Oregon suffragists continued to work on a national scale to support the passage of a women’s suffrage amendment. Oregon voted to ratify the 19^th Amendment on January 14, 1920.

"January 14, 1920: Oregon Ratifies the Nineteenth Amendment." Oregon Women's History Consortium. Accessed July 12, 2021. http://www.oregonwomenshistory.org/january-14-1920-oregon-ratifies-nineteenth-amendment/.

Jensen, Kimberly. "Woman Suffrage in Oregon." Oregon Encyclopedia. January 20, 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/woman_suffrage_in_oregon/#.YOwfpOhKiUk.

"Oregon and the 19th Amendment." National Park Service. September 10, 2019. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/articles/oregon-and-the-19th-amendment.htm.

"The Evolution of Women's Rights in Oregon." On Her Own Wings: Oregon Women and the Struggle for Suffrage. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/suffrage/Pages/timeline-oregon.aspx.

"Woman Suffrage Centennial Web Exhibit." Oregon Blue Book. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://sos.oregon.gov/blue-book/Pages/explore/exhibits/woman-intro.aspx.