The Woman's Suffrage Movement
On June 10, 1919, Wisconsin became the first state to ratify the 19th amendment granting national suffrage to women. From 1846 to 1919, different groups of women's rights supporters had focused much of their energy on winning the vote, though each pursued different strategies. Although Wisconsin had not been completely unenlightened in its approach to women's legal rights (the rejected 1846 constitution would have given married women property rights), neither had it been on the forefront of the cause. Just seven years before the 19th amendment passed, a statewide referendum on suffrage had met with a resounding two-to-one defeat, so... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
![Link to article: Wisconsin passes the nation's first equal rights bill, 1921](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Wisconsin passes the nation's first equal rights bill, 1921 |
![Link to article: Prominent women journalists and editors](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Prominent women journalists and editors |
![Link to article: A Wisconsin woman recalls the convention at Seneca Falls](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A Wisconsin woman recalls the convention at Seneca Falls |
![Link to article: Wisconsin's first female lawyer challenges prevailing opinion](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Wisconsin's first female lawyer challenges prevailing opinion |
![Link to article: A secret woman suffrage club in Richland Center in 1882](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A secret woman suffrage club in Richland Center in 1882 |
![Link to article: Wisconsin voting and civil rights legislation, 1846-1929.](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Wisconsin voting and civil rights legislation, 1846-1929. |
![Link to article: Suffrage activists seek new members through a "suffrage school" in 1914](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Suffrage activists seek new members through a "suffrage school" in 1914 |
![Link to article: Suffrage publications from the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Suffrage publications from the Wisconsin Woman Suffrage Association |
![Link to article: Jessie Jack Hooper runs for the Senate in 1922](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Jessie Jack Hooper runs for the Senate in 1922 |
![Link to article: A sketch of the life of Meta Berger](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | A sketch of the life of Meta Berger |
![Link to article: Suffragists prove that Wisconsin ratified suffrage first](/turningpoints/images/article.gif) | Suffragists prove that Wisconsin ratified suffrage first |
![Link to artifacts: A Wisconsin tunic from a 1916 suffrage parade](/turningpoints/images/artifacts.gif) | A Wisconsin tunic from a 1916 suffrage parade |
![Link to book: The Political Equality League makes the case for woman suffrage, 1912](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | The Political Equality League makes the case for woman suffrage, 1912 |
![Link to book: Theodora Youmans emphasizes the need to educate women voters](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Theodora Youmans emphasizes the need to educate women voters |
![Link to book: Theodora Youmans appeals for donations to the Wisconsin Woman's Suffrage Association](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Theodora Youmans appeals for donations to the Wisconsin Woman's Suffrage Association |
![Link to book: Theodora Youmans urges supporters to keep up the fight in 1917](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Theodora Youmans urges supporters to keep up the fight in 1917 |
![Link to book: Marion Dudley testifies on behalf of suffrage, 1880](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Marion Dudley testifies on behalf of suffrage, 1880 |
![Link to book: A guide to Progressivism for women voters, 1922](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A guide to Progressivism for women voters, 1922 |
![Link to book: Women's charitable work before 1876](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Women's charitable work before 1876 |
![Link to book: Susan Frackelton recalls the Wheelock School for Girls (1926)](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Susan Frackelton recalls the Wheelock School for Girls (1926) |
![Link to book: A Milwaukee woman urges woman and child labor reform, 1899.](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A Milwaukee woman urges woman and child labor reform, 1899. |
![Link to book: A brief summary of women's suffrage legislation in the U.S. and abroad, 1907](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A brief summary of women's suffrage legislation in the U.S. and abroad, 1907 |
![Link to book: A list of women's suffrage activists in Wisconsin, 1880.](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | A list of women's suffrage activists in Wisconsin, 1880. |
![Link to book: Baraboo women found their own cultural organization, 1880](/turningpoints/images/book.gif) | Baraboo women found their own cultural organization, 1880 |
![Link to images: Pictures of the woman suffrage movement in Wisconsin](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Pictures of the woman suffrage movement in Wisconsin |
![Link to images: Anti-suffrage poster from the 1912 referendum](/turningpoints/images/images.gif) | Anti-suffrage poster from the 1912 referendum |
![Link to manuscript: A timeline of Wisconsin women's suffrage legislation, 1848-1915](/turningpoints/images/manuscript.gif) | A timeline of Wisconsin women's suffrage legislation, 1848-1915 |