Wisconsin Ratifies the 19th Amendment, June 10, 1919
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Wisconsin women saw some early success in gaining limited access to voting within the state. Starting in 1869 women could run for school board positions and in 1884 legislation passed allowing women to vote on issues related to schools and education. Unfortunately, this access to the vote was largely eliminated by the courts by 1887 and it would not be restored until 1901. Despite the work of the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association (WWSA) the state legislature again took away women’s ability to vote in education matters and eliminated their elected positions on school boards in 1913. Despite these setbacks, when the 19th Amendment passed Congress Wisconsin was one of the first states to ratify it, competing with Illinois for the #1 spot.
Images
"WOMAN SUFFRAGE D.G. JAMES AND LETTER FROM WISCONSIN" (Library of Congress). Wisconsin politician traveled to Washington D.C. and hand-delivered the paperwork so that Wisconsin could complete for the honor of being first to ratify the 19th Amendment.
Theodora Youmans, president of the Wisconsin Women's Suffrage Association
Suffragists in Waukesha, June 7, 1916 (Theodora Youmans is center back row)
Sources
"Wisconsin and the 19th Amendment." National Park Service. August 9, 2019. Accessed June 28, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/articles/wisconsin-women-s-history.htm.
"The Woman's Suffrage Movement: How Years of Failure led to Success." Wisconsin Historical Society. Accessed June 28, 2021. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS419
"Women's suffrage in Wisconsin." Wikipedia. Accessed June 28, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_Wisconsin.
Jones, Meg. "The unlikely story of how Wisconsin became the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. May 9, 2019. Accessed June 28, 2021. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2019/05/09/fight-suffrage-lasted-decades-wisconsin/3553867002/.
"Women's suffrage in Wisconsin." Wikipedia. Accessed June 28, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_suffrage_in_Wisconsin.