Women's History Month 2020: Suffrage in Kansas

Female Suffrage in Kansas, Wikimedia Commons

Five  territories granted suffrage before statehood (Wyoming, Utah, Washington, Montana and Alaska). And while they granted suffrage before statehood, some states made female suffrage a priority at the start of statehood.

Kansas became a state in 1861. In that same year, women were granted suffrage rights in school elections. [1]  In 1867 the young state of Kansas voted on a referendum to allow citizens (white men) to vote on women's suffrage (impartial, without regard to sex or color). [2] [3]

The referendum was defeated. No suffrage rights for women. They tried again in 1893 for a constitutional amendment but it again failed to pass. [4]

In 1887,  women's suffrage in local elections was passed in Kansas. Giving white women some voting rights. Accounts of the 1887 election by county as reported by newspapers can be found on the Kansas Memory website (Woman Suffrage in Kansas: An Account of the Municipal Elections in Kansas in 1887.) 

Finally, in 1912 Kansas women received full suffrage rights 8 years prior to the 19th amendment. [5]

Resources

League of Women Voters Kansas (Timelines)
Kansas Historical Society - League of Women Voters of Kansas Records
FamilySearch Catalog- Registration of voters, 1867 Leavenworth, Kansas







[1]"LWVK History," League of Women Voters Kansas (v: accessed 19 March 2020).
[2]"Women's Suffrage," Kansas Historical Society (https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/women-s-suffrage/14524: accessed 19 March 2020).
[3] "Kansas and the 19th Amendment," NPS (kansas-and-the-19th-amendment.htm: accessed 19 March 2020).
[4] "LWVK History," League of Women Voters Kansas (v: accessed 19 March 2020).
[5] Kansas and the 19th Amendment," NPS (kansas-and-the-19th-amendment.htm: accessed 19 March 2020).