Wyoming Ratifies the 19th Amendment, January 27, 1920
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Wyoming was the first state to give women full suffrage. As a territory, legislators passed the Wyoming Suffrage Act of 1869 which gave women the right to vote and hold office if they were a citizen. In 1870, Louisa Swain was the first woman in the world to cast a ballot under a law that granted equal political rights as men. Wyoming officially became a state in 1890 and women retained their political rights in the new state constitution. When Congress passed the 19th Amendment, Wyoming ratified the amendment on January 27, 1920.
Images
"An Act to Grant to the Women of Wyoming Territory the Right of Suffrage and to Hold Office" passed December 10, 1869
Louisa Swain cast the first vote in Wyoming in 1870
Women Vote in Cheyenne, WY in 1888 (Library of Congress)
Because Wyoming already granted suffrage, the state was used as an inspiration during the national women's suffrage movement. Here suffragists carry a banner mentioning Wyoming in a New York City parade, May 3, 1916.
Sources
"Women's Suffrage and Women's Rights." WyoHistory.org. A Project of the Wyoming State Historical Society. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/topics/womens-suffrage-and-womens-rights.
"Wyoming and the 19th Amendment." National Park Service. August 22, 2019. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/articles/wyoming-women-s-history.htm.
Rea, Tom. "Right Choice, Wrong Reasons: Wyoming Women Win the Right to Vote." November 8, 2014. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/right-choice-wrong-reasons-wyoming-women-win-right-vote.
"Who Cast the First Vote?" Wyoming State Archives. July 28, 2019. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/who-cast-first-vote.
Rea, Tom. "Right Choice, Wrong Reasons: Wyoming Women Win the Right to Vote." November 8, 2014. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/right-choice-wrong-reasons-wyoming-women-win-right-vote.
Billock, Jennifer. "Women Have Been Voting in Wyoming for 150 Years, and Here is How the State is Celebrating." Smithsonian Magazine. June 7, 2019. Accessed July 12, 2021. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/women-voting-wyoming-150-years-here-how-state-celebrating-180971263/.