Dakota Datebook: 100 Years of Women Voting

When the Federal Suffrage Amendment passed in the U.S. House and Senate on June 4th, 1919, there were many calls in North Dakota for a special session so North Dakota could ratify the amendment. However, Nonpartisan League Governor Frazier did not want the expense of a special session just for the sake of suffrage.

On November 2, 1920, eligible men and women around the country were able to vote equally in the election for the first time. According to the census bureau, approximately 26 million women were now able to vote. However, there were still an estimated 1.5 million women considered ineligible.

Suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns learned about militant protest tactics from suffrage efforts in England. They felt such tactics could help in the United States, but the National American Woman Suffrage Association did not approve, so they founded a separate group, the National Woman’s Party, under Alice Paul’s leadership.

North and South Dakota officially became states on this date in 1889, at a time when suffrage was a hot topic of conversation. The year began with suffragists requesting the right to vote at the territorial legislative session. In July, members of the constitutional convention met in Bismarck and discussed whether the right for women to vote should be written into the state constitution. Neither of these proved fully successful, but women were able to retain their right to vote for matters relating to schools.

North Dakota’s 4th Annual Industrial Exposition took place in Bismarck in October 1914, and the city was bustling with activity. The Bismarck Tribune proudly exclaimed, “Never in the history of the state was there such an elaborate, … extensive, and … excellent display of the state’s products. … Not only is there quantity, but also a quality which is perfection itself, accompanied by beauty unsurpassed.” 1914 marked the 25th anniversary of statehood, so a special State and Anniversary day was planned for the exposition. Other special days occurred almost every day during the two-week run. On this date, it was suffragist day.

On this date in 1912, excitement grew as plans were made for Jane Addams to speak in the state. Addams was a well-known suffragist, activist, and social reformer. In 1889 she had co-founded Hull House in Chicago, a secular settlement house. She and other residents provided a number of services that were helpful for the community, including kindergarten and day care for working mothers; an employment bureau; an art gallery; libraries; and classes in English, citizenship, theater, music and art.

In 1914, suffragists increasingly campaigned for the right to vote as the election on the matter approached. Speakers of some renown came to North Dakota — including Mrs. Antoinette Funk, a suffrage leader from Illinois. It was a visit that led to her arrest. The reason? She was speaking in the street without a permit.

On this date in 1914, last minute preparations were underway in Garrison as participants set up for the Garrison Corn Show, which was organized by the Garrison Industrial Association. This was the second year of the show, and folks were preparing for the big get-together. The Bismarck Daily Tribune noted, “The merry clatter of carpenters’ hammers resounds at the new corn show building proclaiming the coming event as one of the most important in the history of Garrison. Never before has a community been aroused to active interest in agricultural affairs as that for many miles around Garrison, where the work of the Garrison Industrial Association in its campaign for more and better farmers, is reaching its height in getting ready for the second annual corn show.”

On November 3 of 1914, voters in North Dakota had the opportunity to pass woman’s suffrage, and on this date, suffragists were actively campaigning for this change. Various club and group activities in September noted increasing activities for the suffragists. In Fargo, local suffragist Kate S. Wilder gave suffrage addresses in several WCTU districts. At a state tennis tournament held on the Island park courts there, large yellow umbrellas protecting the judges from the sun advertised, “Votes for North Dakota Women, Nov. 3, 1914.”

In 1919, suffragists around the country called for special state legislative sessions to gain the necessary majority to ratify it. However, in North Dakota, Nonpartisan League Governor Frazier was not keen on the idea, saying it would be an extra expense, and just to address suffrage, wasn’t necessary.

On this date in 1920, Tennessee became the 36 th state to ratify the federal woman’s suffrage bill, meeting the three fourths majority required to pass the 19 th Amendment. The bill had easily passed the Tennessee Senate, but had remained deadlocked in the State House of Representatives. Finally, young Harry Burn, whose own constituents were locked in debate and swelling in anti-suffrage ranks, changed his “nay” to an “aye,” creating uproar in the room. Another representative, a staunch anti-suffragist, changed his vote as well so that he could propose voting again, but nothing would change—suffrage passed.

In 1889, who could vote and how they could vote became a keen part of the debates during North Dakota's Constitutional Convention. A. S. Parsons of Mandan headed the standing committee on elective franchise that examined voting rules. Regarding women's suffrage, newspapers noted that this chairman was “unfriendly to the scheme in any shape or form.” Consequently, full enfranchisement was not awarded to women in the constitution, but they were granted the right to vote for school officials, a right they had also held under the territorial laws.

Even as Dakota Territory prepped to divide into states in 1889, women’s suffrage was a point of contention. Suffragists presented a petition at the territorial convention in January that was signed by over 4000 women asking the legislature to enact a law giving women the same voting rights as men.

On this date in 1914, suffragists were prepping to represent their cause at the North Dakota State Fair, to be held in Fargo from July 20-25.

On this date in 1913, well-known North Dakota resident Sara Cushing received accolades for her recent submission of “a design in the form of a sticker for use on all correspondence, which met with the immediate approval of the suffrage leaders as the insignia for which they have been wishing. The design is in the suffrage colors, yellow and white, and the two phrases, Service for Uplift and Votes for Women, are prominent.” The Fargo Forum noted, “North Dakota has the honor of being the home of the author of what is expected to be the national emblem for the suffrage cause.”

In 1874, the Pembina Bill was proposed to the territorial legislature. This bill would carve a new Territory out of Dakota Territory called Pembina. Senator Sargent offered an amendment to that bill that would allow women the right to vote at the formation of the new territory. Newspapers reported that Sargent offered this because he believed granting women the right to vote would "purify society and open wider avenues to them."

The Federal Suffrage Amendment to the Constitution passed through the U.S. House and Senate on June 4 th , 1919; and thereafter, suffragists rallied, cajoled, hoped and prayed that their united dream would triumph as the bill was sent out to the states to be approved by a three fourths majority. The amendment was known colloquially as the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, as she had drafted it many years before.

The Votes for Women's League began to establish itself in North Dakota in 1912. Fargo was the first community to form a Votes for Women League on February 4. It grew quickly. Mrs. Clara Darrow was elected president, and many "well known Fargo women ... entered their names on the charter membership list," according to reports.

On this date in 1914, Mrs. Harriet Darling Hall, National Women's Christian Temperance Union lecturer and organizer, was in North Dakota traveling around the state and lecturing. She was "said to be a strong and forceful speaker," and many looked forward to her talks. Her first stop was in Fairmount, where she spoke to about 200 people, and the town held a suffrage parade! In fact, the Bismarck Tribune noted that Hall had organized "new local WCTU's" which would "make their special work for the summer, the agitation of the suffrage question." In fact, many local chapters would follow this lead, offering speeches and opening conversation on the topic of women's right to vote. The Women's Christian Temperance Union had an interesting relationship with suffrage. The group was founded in 1874, in response to the effects of alcohol in the community and in the home. However, after Frances Willard became the organization's second president, more social issues became a part of the group.

The first city in North Dakota to formally organize a Votes for Women League was Fargo, in early 1912. It happened with the visit and lecture of Miss Sylvia Pankhurst, a British artist, author, and suffragist, who was both daughter to and disciple of famous British suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst.

On this date in 1915, Clara Darrow of Fargo, lay on her death bed in Jacksonville, Florida. She had taken ill while travelling. It was not completely unexpected, as she had not been in the best of health, but it still was a surprise. Her death occurred at 3am the following day, and only one of her five children arrived in time to see her before she breathed her last—a speedy demise for a dynamo in the suffrage movement in North Dakota.

Yet another attempt at women’s suffrage was made in 1913 during the Legislative Assembly in Bismarck. Those who were pro-suffrage were more organized this time. The legislature actually did pass the bill—but rather than granting immediate suffrage, it left the issue up to voters … all male … in the general election of 1914.

On this date in 1917, Beulah Amidon, daughter of Judge Amidon of Fargo, was making a name for herself as a suffragist as she traveled the United States. Beulah, 22 years old, was said to be a suffragist since childhood. She had graduated from college in Fargo and then went to California, where she established legal residence so she could vote. Coincidentally, shortly after she moved, North Dakota passed limited suffrage for women. However, she would have to live in North Dakota for a full year again if she wanted to vote in her home state.

By this date in 1920, 35 of the 36 states needed had ratified the 19 th Amendment. Some states had already granted full or partial suffrage. North Dakota was one of 12 that had granted partial suffrage, and as a result, women were able to participate in their first presidential primary. A court ruling found that women could also run for election as delegate to national party conventions, and two women were on the ballot for those positions.

On this date in 1920, women in North Dakota were able to participate in their first presidential primary, thanks to the passage of partial suffrage in the state legislature. The Bismarck Tribune recorded this shift in voting rights, saying it was the “first time in the history of North Dakota that women will have an opportunity to express their preference for presidential candidates.”

North Dakota women received partial suffrage in 1917 after Governor Frazier signed a bill that mirrored similar legislation in Illinois. The bill granted women “the Right to vote for presidential electors and certain other officers, and to participate and vote on certain matters and in certain elections.” Essentially, the bill let women vote on everything except where they were expressly prohibited by the state Constitution. To get anything else required a constitutional amendment.

Since a first attempt at suffrage in Dakota Territory occurred in 1868 , you might think that came about thanks to a concentrated effort. However, this was not the case. In fact, twenty years later, on Feb. 23 rd 1888, Marietta Bones wrote to Linda Warfel Slaughter, well-known and prominent pioneer in the Bismarck area. Marietta said in part:

On this date in 1920, more than 2,000 women from across the United States, including a delegation from North Dakota, were attending a convention set up through the National American Woman Suffrage Association at the Congress Hotel in Chicago. The weeklong convention was called a celebration of the emancipation of American women. Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the Suffrage Association, stated that this “ratification convention” was “the most momentous of all conventions held in the last fifty-one years.”

[Dakota Datebook: 100 Years of Women Voting is produced in cooperation with the North Dakota Woman Suffrage Centennial Committee.] The attempt to pass woman’s suffrage in the Dakota Territory was first made in 1868 and 1869 as one of the earliest of its kind in the United States. It passed the House but not the Council, was reworked, and passed the Council, but then the House did not pass it, so the bill failed. Yet the bill did receive much attention around the country, some accurate, some erroneous, and all marking the attitudes that were prevalent.

[Dakota Datebook: 100 Years of Women Voting is produced in cooperation with the North Dakota Woman Suffrage Centennial Committee.] Multiple attempts for women’s suffrage were made in Dakota Territory and North Dakota before the approval and passage of the 19 th Amendment in 1919. One of the first occurred during the eighth territorial session, held December 1868 to January 1869.

[Dakota Datebook: 100 Years of Women Voting is produced in cooperation with the North Dakota Woman Suffrage Centennial Committee.] As suffragists worked for their right to vote, they used the holidays to show support for their communities, simultaneously raising awareness for the fight for women’s right to vote. It was reported that in 1909 in New York, Mrs. Alva Belmont, a financial benefactress and leader of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage and the National Woman’s Party, gave two thousand dolls to poor children; and “each… wore a yellow ‘votes for women’ sash.” Newspapers editorialized, “there seems to be some hope for the cause if the coming generation is to be brought up with suffrage thrust at it from infancy.”

[Dakota Datebook: 100 Years of Women Voting is produced in cooperation with the North Dakota Woman Suffrage Centennial Committee.] Governor Lynn Frazier had called a special session in late November 1919 that addressed, among other issues, the proposed 19th Amendment to the US Constitution to grant women the right to vote. The House and Senate both voted in favor by December 1st, and it was signed by both branches on December 4th.

[Dakota Datebook: 100 Years of Women Voting is produced in cooperation with the North Dakota Woman Suffrage Centennial Committee.] The right for women to vote was disputed for decades. Women and men alike populated both sides of the debate. Proponents united in rallying behind the push for change, which eventually resulted in the passage of the 19th Amendment.