Women's suffrage

By state


1 Juniper* - 1861

2 Ontonagon* - 1867

3 Nibrasca* - 1869

4 Kances* - 1870

5 Maine* - 1871

6 Olympia* - 1871

7 Connecticut - 1878

8 Massachusetts - 1882

9 Cimarron* - 1883

10 Vermont - 1884

11 New Hampshire - 1884

12 Ohio - 1884

13 East Florida* - 1885

14 Illinois** - 1887

15 Michigan - 1887

16 Missouri** - 1888

17 Tennessee** - 1888

18 Indiana - 1888

19 Wisconsan - 1889

20 Virginia - 1891

21 Rhode Island - 1892

22 Delaware - 1892

Obtained nationwide by New Constitution (1892)

*Women's suffrage upon admission

**Women's suffrage upon re-admission (Richmondite state)

Movement history

Pre-Liberty and Union War

-1848: Seneca Falls Convention

-1850-1868: National Women's Rights Conventions

-creates a newspaper, Woman's Journal to organize and corral the movement

-1852: International Women's Rights Convention

-held in London, British Isles

-1855: organizes effort by formally creating National Women's Rights Association (NWRA)

-with state/territorial organizations beneath it with broad autonomy


-1854: Juniper Territory votes for women's suffrage

-by 1 vote

-as move to attract women settlers as well as because well-educated female pop thx to land grant college

-1856: Pembina Territory votes for women's suffrage

-very low population and very male

-1862: Nibrasca Territory votes for women's suffrage

-also here rising pressure of women's suffrage movement

-1865: Ontonagon Territory votes for women's suffrage

Liberty and Union War

-with Liberty and Union War (1868-76) attention drawn to that

-Women's Rights Conventions now not organized for time being

-NWRA declares its proud and firm support for Constitutionalists

-it being heavily tied to abolitionism and all

-during war it's heavily involved in activism, organizing, nursing, and many more

-and brings about effort to argue for women's suffrage on basis of women soldiers within Constitutional Government > Army of Kances

-NWRA campaigns heavily for amendment abolishing slavery

-gets massive number of signatures to petitions for this purpose

-unprecedented female political involvement


-1870: Kances votes for women's suffrage

-granted statehood after local Comuneros accomplish great victory

-constitutional convention held under military arms

-both women's activism and large gender gap leads the way

-1871: Maine votes for women's suffrage

-gets statehood thanks to long-term movement

-with both mainland Massachusetts and Maine under Justicialist domination it's now viable esp. to secure Justicialist victory

-women's suffrage obtained thanks to strong reform movement in area which wins by one vote

Post-Liberty and Union War

-NWRA tries to campaign for inclusion of sex in 20th amendment

-but fails

-with 22nd amendment movement splits over it formally including word male in constitution

-Lucy Stone supports it in name of black suffrage, Stanton and Anthony do not

-eventually Lucy Stone's movement does succeed in winning women's suffrage in the states

-with Antillean War (1880-4) women's suffrage orgs also focus on war effort again

-with declaration of convening of Washington Convention in 1888 the orgs unify to convince delegates

-and get good delegates elected

-eventually when held from 1889-90 by 5 votes able to pass women's suffrage portion of new constitution

-there is a wave of revulsion across the nation against this

-even in states already with women's suffrage, women are reluctant because they already have it and suffrage orgs already dissolved

-and that the portion passed with a bare majority means it's hardly a vote of confidence

-but with presidential elections decided by raw numbers, women important and doubles states' strength in them

-and Justice Party does not want to alienate women

-eventually, after a tough struggle, it is passed in 1892

-and this results in Constitution of the United States (1885) coming into law