Courthouse Square

Since the creation of the Muncie league in 1912, the members continued to campaign for the right to vote. Letter writing campaigns, events, and continuing education were a focus of the league.  In the state capital, legislators were fighting for both sides. In February of 1917, women in Indiana gained the right to vote in municipal, school and special elections. By November of that year, after thousands of women registered to vote, this right was taken away. 

Since the creation of the Muncie league in 1912, the members continued to campaign for the right to vote. Letter writing campaigns, events, and continuing education were a focus of the league. In the state capital, legislators were fighting for both sides. In February of 1917, women in Indiana gained the right to vote in municipal, school and special elections. By November of that year, after thousands of women registered to vote, this right was taken away. 

Two junior state senators, Marion Hiram Maston, representative for Huntington and Whitley counties and the newly elected representative for Delaware County, Arthur McKinley, introduced Senate Bill No. 77 on January 16, 1917. It was a bill “for an act granting women the right to vote for presidential electors, certain offices and certain elections.”  

After attempts from several anti-suffrage legislators in both the Senate and House of Representatives, the bill passed both houses on February 22, 1917. Governor James P. Goodrich signed Senate Bill no. 77 the “Women’s Suffrage Act of 1917”on February 28.

In a Star Press article dated July 1st 1917, it was stated that about 850 voters had registered and fully one-half of these had been women. Roughly 400 Muncie women over the age of 21 had registered to vote. 

In October of 1917 Indianapolis businessman William W. Knight filed a lawsuit against the Board of Election Commissioners of the City of Indianapolis. Attorney C.J. Spencer presented Mr. Knight’s case to the Indiana State Supreme court, stating:

 “It is his contention, briefly, that under the Constitution of the state the right of suffrage may not be extended to women

Knight believed that the Indiana General Assembly, under the Indiana State Constitution, did not have the legislative right to extend voting rights to women. 

Unfortunately, the court ruled in favor of Knight, siding that the partial suffrage law violated Article II, Section 2 of the Indiana State Constitution. In late October of 1917, eight months after receiving partial suffrage, women in the state of Indiana lost their limited voting rights.

Refocusing their efforts towards federal suffrage, the Woman’s Franchise League of Muncie, joined forces with the National American Woman Suffrage Association for a federal amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote. In the meeting minutes of November 9, 1917, Mrs. Margaret H. Gill

spoke of the need to bring pressure to bear on the legislators in order to secure the passage of the Susan B. Anthony amendment to the National Constitution. The State League has planned to carry out a systematic educational campaign for suffrage through the newspapers of small towns of the state.

In June of 1919, the federal amendment passed in the United States Senate and on August 18, 1920, the amendment was ratified and women gained the constitutional right to vote. 

We will end our tour today with a full circle suffrage story. 

Julia Nelson was the first woman elected to the Indiana State Legislature the same year the 19th amendment was ratified to represent Delaware County. The Muncie Evening Press described election night as follows

“The headquarters were packed, as well as the hall outside. Finally, the completed returns from Precinct 26 were telephoned from the poll, giving Mrs. Nelson a total of 431 votes. A rousing cheer went up for “Indiana’s first woman legislator.” 

While the crowd cried for a speech, Mrs. Nelson said,

“I am thankful for the honor that has been conferred upon me. But more, I am happy at this great triumph for America.”