Women's History Month 2020: Suffrage in Colorado

Men and women outside a polling station in Colorado 1893.

Many years ago I was at a conference and another speaker announced that Colorado was the first state to grant women's suffrage.

Of course, I rushed up to her later and let her know that she was wrong.

I then explained how even if we looked at full suffrage rights and ignored New Jersey's early female suffrage, she was still wrong.

Remember the equality state, Wyoming? Or that Utah women had the right to vote before Wyoming women voted and although that was taken away it was brought back?

So no.

But if you want to get into semantics, maybe Colorado was the first "state" to grant suffrage. Colorado achieved statehood in 1876. Wyoming granted suffrage rights before this but they were a territory. Utah also granted suffrage before this but they also were a territory. 

"Colorado held a referendum on November 7, 1893 on the subject of women’s suffrage. The proposed amendment was passed, making it the first time in U.S. history that a popular vote passed women’s suffrage into law (as opposed to an executive order or a legislative amendment), and the first time in U.S. history that a state granted women’s suffrage while being a state." [1]

Ok, so Colorado was officially a state when it granted suffrage. 

Tomato, towmato.

What's important is that it was granted. And it was the 3rd place in the US to grant suffrage or the 2nd if you don't count Utah's initial plunge into women's suffrage.




[1] "Which State Had Women’s Suffrage First?," History Colorado (https://www.historycolorado.org/story/womens-history/2019/07/25/which-state-had-womens-suffrage-first: accessed 17 March 2020).