How did women in Washington gain the right to vote—and what did they do with it? Did all women gain the right to vote in Washington at the same time?
- Regions: Central Sound, Northeast, South Sound
- Theme: The Progressive Era and the Twenties
- Topics: Civics, Social and Cultural History, Political and Governmental History
Introduction
In 1910, ten years before the 19th Amendment was passed, Washington women won the right to vote. But that victory didn’t happen overnight. In this inquiry, students investigate the long fight for suffrage in Washington State, from the first bill introduced in the Washington Territory in 1854 to the eventual success in 1910. Along the way, students explore the leadership of women like Emma Smith DeVoe and May Arkwright Hutton, the role of race and class in the suffrage movement, and the work women did after they gained the vote—including running for office. This inquiry helps students connect civic rights to civic action and see how everyday people can shape history.
Images
HistoryLink Articles
- Woman Suffrage Crusade, 1848-1920
- Arthur Denny proposes white-woman suffrage amendment in the Territorial Legislature’s first session on February 28, 1854.
- Washington women win and lose the vote between 1883 and 1888.
- Washington State Constitutional Convention delegates frame constitution stipulating that voters must be male, but append 5. separate woman suffrage and Prohibition amendments on August 17, 1889.
- Women win school suffrage on March 27, 1890.
- Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (1909): Woman Suffrage.
- Woman Suffrage Campaign — Snohomish County (1909-1910)
- Hutton, May Arkwright (1860-1915)
- DeVoe, Emma Smith (1848-1927)
- Representatives Frances Axtell and Nena Jolidon Croake, the first women to serve in the Washington State Legislature, are sworn in on January 13, 1913.
- Woman suffrage (19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States) becomes law on August 26, 1920.
- Votes for Women: A 1910 article by Missouri Hanna, called Mother of Journalism in Washington State.
Curriculum
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Students learn the history of suffrage, primarily through a Seattle Times Newspapers in Education series: “Champions by Choice: The Long Climb to the Top.” Students can choose from a list of projects and research an individual involved in women’s suffrage.
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The activities of this centennial curriculum examine themes from the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (A-Y-P) by guiding students to investigate and analyze different forms of primary sources. Carefully developed activities encourage elementary and middle school students to explore how the A-Y-P reflected life in the Pacific Northwest a century ago, while challenging them to find similarities to and differences from life today.
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