Washington Women's History Consortium

Centennial Resources

The Fifth Star:

Washington Women and the Right to Vote

Created by www.reelgrrls.org

The short film The Fifth Star follows Naomi Nelson as she explores the history of Washington State suffrage. The movie includes archival footage and interviews with public officials and historians. Written by Julia Levy and Naomi Nelson. Directed by Naomi Nelson. Used with permission of Reel Grrls.

Watch The Fifth Star:

For PC (WMV) | For Mac (SWF)



Women's Votes, Women's Voices Educational Curriculum


Women's Voices, Women's Votes Educational Site Washington was the fifth state in the nation and the first state in the west to permanently grant women the right to vote. This unit complements the exhibition Women's Votes, Women's Voices, organized by the Washington State History Museum, Washington Women's History Consortium, and the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture.



Select Bibliography on Women’s Suffrage in Washington


Download a pdf copy of the bibliography or view the lists below:



Primary Sources



Emma Smith DeVoe Papers


Emma Smith DeVoe Papers The digitized Emma Smith DeVoe Papers from the Washington State Library offer a window into the long-time career of the one-time president of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association and the people, events, and issues connected to the movement she led to secure the vote for women in Washington state in 1910. The collection includes extensive correspondence to and from DeVoe and other major players in the suffrage movement as well as thirteen scrapbooks of newspaper articles and ephemera dating back to 1892 when DeVoe worked in North Dakota as a NAWSA organizer.

May Arkwright Hutton Collection


May Arkwright Hutton Papers The May Arkwright Hutton Collection consists of a varied and consistently detailed group of personal letters relating to suffrage activities, social and political events, and family matters, and manuscripts for speeches on equal rights – all written in May Arkwright Hutton's own energetic, forceful style. The digital collection will also eventually include photographs and scrapbooks.

Court Cases:

To find text for other decisions visit the Washington State Supreme and Appellate Court Decisions search page and enter case names.

Also see John P. Hoyt and Women’s Suffrage by Charles Wiggins.

Speech of Hon. D.R. Bigelow on Female Suffrage


Susan B. Anthony Diary Entries


Territorial Legislation from 1873 Washington House of Representatives




Secondary Sources


Debating Suffrage? The ‘Still Hunt’ in Spokane, 1898
by Nancy Driscol Engle

The Earnest Ladies: The Walla Walla Woman's Club and the Equal Suffrage League of 1886-1889
by Nelson A. Ault

Emma Smith Devoe: Practicing Pragmatic Politics in the Pacific Northwest
by Jennifer Ross-Nazzal

The History of Woman Suffrage in the State of Washington
by Clyde Barrett Simmons

How Washington Women Regained the Ballot
by C. H. Bailey

In No Uncertain Terms: From the Writings of May Arkwright Hutton
by Laura Arksey

May Arkwright Hutton
by Benjamin H. Kizer

May Arkwright Hutton and the Battle for Women's Suffrage
by Emalee Gruss Gillis

The Nevada Bloomer Case
by John Fahey

Sacagawea and the Suffragettes: An Interpretation of a Myth
by Ronald W. Taber

The Souvenir of Western Women

Votes for Women
by Gardiner Vinnedge

The Woman Suffrage Issue in Washington 1890-1910
by Marte Jo Sheeran

The Woman Suffrage Movement in Washington
by T. A. Larson

Women's Suffrage: No Constitutional Franchise
by Doris Pieroth




Suffrage Timeline Poster


Suffrage Timeline Poster

Download a Timeline of Women's Suffrage in Washington.