Washington Women's History Consortium

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Women's Suffrage

Women's voices and influence have always been a part of Washington’s history, even without the vote. The fight for permanent woman's suffrage in Washington, however, spans over 50 years in territorial and state history. Washington was the first state in the 20th century and the fifth state in the Union to enact women’s suffrage. Washington women’s success in 1910 helped inspire the campaign that culminated in passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, when women won the right to vote nationally.

The campaign for women's rights in Washington, however, did not end in 1910, but continues to the present. By commemorating the Suffrage Centennial, Washingtonians celebrate the long and arduous road to the achievement of women's suffrage, the continuing struggle for women's rights and the significant role of women in public and private life. The victory in 1910 was an important culmination of the fight for the rights of women as citizens but only the beginning of a century of women’s activism to shape Washington. After the 1910, women had new tools to continue the reforms they had begun earlier.

Read more about the suffrage movement in Shanna Stevenson's article The Fight for Women's Suffrage: A Brief History


Related Collections

May Arkwright Hutton Collection
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture


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.


Women's Collection
Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture


The Women's Collection contains photographs, letters, and pamphlets related to a wide variety of topics in women's history. Subjects covered include women in politics, women's clubs, charitable organizations, women of color, suffrage, ERA, women in the workforce, prohibition, and prostitution.


Pacific Northwest Historical Documents Database
University of Washington


The Pacific Northwest Historical Documents database is a collection of original diaries, letters, reminiscences and political documents drawn from various sources within the Special Collections Division. These documents recount the early settlement of Washington and the establishment of homesteads and towns and describe the hardships faced by many of the early pioneers. Some writings also focus on political and societal issues that challenged the settlers of the Pacific Northwest, such as the women’s suffrage movement.


Governors Papers Related to Women's Issues 1904-1984
Washington State Archives


This collection documents contacts between the Governor's Office, women, and women’s organizations, regarding women’s issues, women’s suffrage, women's rights, and comparable worth. It includes correspondence, legislation, proclamations, reports, newspaper clippings, booklets, information on comparable worth, and information from the Governor’s Commission on the Status of Women, the Interagency Committee on State Employed Women, and the Women's Council.


Women's Suffrage Collection
Washington State Archives


The Women's Suffrage Collection contains images of documents relevant to women's suffrage history in Washington state, including the 1854 Womans Suffrage Amendment introduced by Arthur Denny, An Act in Relation to Female Suffrage, and An Act to Repeal an Act Relating to Woman Suffrage.


Women's History Collection
Washington State Historical Society


The Women's History Collection contains images on diverse topics relevant to women's history in Washington state. Topics range from women's suffrage to the Equal Rights Amendment to the papers of Tacoma legislator Lorraine Wojahn.


Emma Smith DeVoe Papers
Washington State Library


Emma Smith DeVoe Papers The digitized Emma Smith DeVoe Papers 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.


Women's History, Washington State, 1870-1950
Washington State University


This collection contains documents from multiple archival collections, selected because of their relevance to Washington women's history, and because of their rarity. Each of these unique or rare documents provides a glimpse into "hidden" history. The time period from 1870 to 1950 was selected to encompass the suffrage movement, important developments in Washington State history, and the general economic and social status of women.