History Colorado

Denver Public Library, Special Collections and Archives

Explore a timeline of key dates of the Women’s Vote Movement to discover where women already had the right to vote and who was left out.

Voting Rights Timeline

Colorado Suffrage

Explore Minnie Reynold's desk at the Denver Women’s Press Club. 

Suffrage Work in Action!

Learn about key leaders of the suffrage movement and how they contributed to the cause.

Suffrage Movement Hall of Fame

Make a meme that draws comparisons to this billboard. 

For or Against?

Over 100 years ago the 19th Amendment was passed. It was the largest expansion of voting rights in US history and continues to be relevant today.

How did women gain the right to vote and why does it matter?
How was voting different then vs. today?  
Who was excluded from voting over time? 
Who were key leaders in the national and Colorado suffrage movement? 
How did Colorado passing women’s suffrage in 1893 help lead to national women’s suffrage in 1920? 
What was the long term impact? 


Elected Women in Colorado Teacher’s Guide

“This Shall be the Land for Women!-The Struggle for Western Women’s Suffrage”

Caroline Nichols Churchill, Active Footsteps (Colorado Springs, 1909). 

, Denver Public Library, Western History Collection (DPLWHD). 

Women's Voting Rights in Colorado-Middle School

Civics and Government

Social Studies

U.S. History

Women’s suffrage referendum was put before Colorado voters for the first time. It failed to pass but did give women the right to vote in school elections and to hold school offices in Colorado. 

Election Notice-Colorado Springs Gazette, September 29, 1877


Article, Election Notice

ELECTION NOTICE . To the , County Clerk of El Paso County , Greeting ;

You are hereby notified that at the , general election to be held in your County on Tuesday , the 2 nd day of October , A . D . 1877 , for the election of County and Precinct officers , that by virtue of an act of the First General _Assembly of the State of Colorado , ‘ entitled _An act to extend the right of suffrage to women of lawful age and otherwise qualified , according to the provisions of the Constitution ; Section _1 of said act , which reads as follows : That every female person shall be entitled to vote at all elections , in the same manner in all respects as male persons are or shall be entitled to vote by the Constitution and laws cif this State , and that the same qualifications as to age , citizenship , and time of residence in the State , County , City , Ward . and Precinct , and _all other qualifications required by law to entitled male persons to vote , shall be required to enable female persons to vote , will be submitted for approval or disapproval ; and those who approve the same shall have written or printed upon their ballots the words Woman ’ s Suffrage Approved , and such . as do not approve the same shall have written or printed upon their ballots the words ‘ ~ Woman ’ s Suffage not Approved As soon as convenient after the receipt of this notification , you will cause public proclamation of the same to be made , as directed by law , in the several voting precincts of your county , including therein such County and Precinct officers as are required by law to be chosen at said _election .

In testimony whereof , _I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the great seal of the State at Denver , this _13 th day o August , A . D . 1877 . Was . M . CLARK , [ SEA ~ L . ) ‘ Secretary of State .

To County Clerk of El Paso county : — Sia : This is to notify you that hy _reason of the resignation of the Hon . Ehenezer T . Wells , one of the _Judges of the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado , a vacancy exists in said office , which , under the law , is to be filled at the next general election for county officers . Yon are therefore directed to give notice by _, publication , as required by law . that at the general election for county officers , to beholden in each county of the State on the first Tuesday of October , A . D . 1877 , there _will be chosen one Judge of the Supreme court of the - State of Colorado to fill the vacancy existing by the resignation of the Hon . Ebenezer T . Wells , as aforesaid , for the unexpired term thereof , ending on the second Tuesday- in _January , A . D . z 886 .

In testimony whereof _I have hereunto subscribed my name and affixed the great seal of the State of Colorado . Done at the city of Denver , in said State of Colorado , this first day of September , A . D . 1877 . ‘ _, w _, _ M . _CiAaic , Secretary of State . By E . Walden Brewster , Deputy . .

Public notice is hereby given that in pursuance of the above nOtices _aCd ~ be laws of the State of Colorado governing elections , there will be an election held at the places designated by the Board of County Comissionérs for holding elections in the several precincts in El Paso County , in the State of Colorado , on

. Tuesday , ‘ October ad , i _877 , for the purpose of voting on the amendment to the constitution of the State of Colorado , to extend the _right _, of suffrage to women of lawml age , ’ and otherwise qualified , in the above _nOtice referred to _; also _‘ for the purpose of electing a Jud ge of the Sui’reme Court , to fill the vacan cy existing by reason of’ th ~ _resigna . ( ion of the Hon . Ebenëier T . Wells ; _, and-also for the purpose of electing the following named _County-and Precinct officers , _tn ~ wit _:. — ‘ ‘

One County _Commissioner for the 2 _Commissioner District , One County Judge , One County Clerk , - One County Treasurer , One Sheriff , One County Superintendent of Schools , One County Assessor , • _- _Oi _. e County Surveyor , One Coroner , One _Justice of the Peace in each precinct , One Constable in each precinct , One Road _Over ~ eer in each precinct . Witness my hand and official seal this 3 _d day of September , A . D . 1877 . IRVING _HOWBEItT , [ _sEal _. . ] County ‘ Clerk .

Referendum

Colorado women’s suffrage referendum was held on November 7, 1893, to ratify a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit discrimination against women voting. The referendum passed, making Colorado voters the first to extend voting rights beyond men. This took place more than a quarter century before the national women’s suffrage act in 1920. 

1893 Ballot for Pitkin County, Colorado, including the women's suffrage question (Equal Suffrage Approved/Not Approved) on the bottom of the ballot. 3 column ballot includes candidates for the People's Party, Pitkin County Citizen's Silver Ticket, and Democratic Ticket. Icons on the ballot include a house scene, an American Flag, and a rooster. The back of the ballot reads: "Official Ballot for Election Precinct No. 3. of Pitkin County, Colo. November 7, A.D. 1893, and is signed by James J. Warnock, the County Clerk of Pitkin County, Colorado." Richard Perry was marked twice on the ballot, possibly leading to it being invalidated.

Candidates on the front of the ballot include: Edward Farrell, Marvin L. Parr, Thomas H. Hayes, Michael C. McNichols, Michael O'R. Hughes, Edward M. Scanlan, Lee Hayes, Andrew J. McCormac, Henry T. West, and Owen Traynor from the People's Party. Richard Perry, Frank M. Yates, James T. Stewart, Walter S. Clark, Charles H. Allen, Edward C. Stimson, Eben C. Babbit, James McMurray, Henry E. Tamm, and Lawrence Andin from the Pitkin County Citizen's Silvert Party. George W. Gladden, Smith Cullom, John T. McCarthy, J. A. Harmon, Charles H. Allen, Uriah Taylor, George Nyce, and A. G. Stitt from the Democratic Party.

The original ballot is very thin and has several holes in it. Part of the Mini-MSS Collection, oversize.

Historical Note; Women in Colorado became the first in the nation to gain the vote through popular referendum, and this ballot is an example of the issue as it was given to voters. The suffrage issue won by 62% in Pitkin County, which was slightly higher than the rest of the state at 55%. The People Party, also known as the Populist Party, swept Pitkin County in 1893 with majorities for all its candidates.

Ballot, 1893 Pitkin County Ballot 1

Ballot, 1893 Pitkin County Ballot 2

Ballot, 1893 Pitkin County Ballot

2nd Referendum

Passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment granted most American women the right to vote. Colorado was one of 35 states that already recognized women’s voting rights before the passing of the 19th Amendment.

Photo of Colorado Governor Oliver H. Shoup signing the suffrage bill in the Governor's Office

Photograph, 19th Amendment Signing

19th Amendment

The Supreme Court ruled that people of Japanese ancestry are not eligible to become naturalized citizens. 

This gelatin dry plate negative was taken by in the Aultman Studio (Trinidad, Colo.) by Oliver E. Aultman (1867-1953) in 1910. The Aultman Studio register identifies the individual who ordered the portrait as Harry O'Khiro. Names recorded in the Aultman Studio register may be misspelled or inaccurate. The image depicts a group composed of two men, a woman, and a child. They are likely a family.

Gelatin dry plate negative, Harry O'Khiro Family Portrait

Who Can Be A Citizen?

The Indian Citizenship Act grants citizenship to Native Americans but many western states limit voting rights. 

A round button, the back is silver with a pin towards the top, the front is white with light blue/gray native style geometric design behind red lettering. The log below the lettering is blue text with a red feather and a rectangle with a white headdress in profile.

Button used for National Congress of American Indians at the 2008 Denver Democratic National Convention

Campaign Button, Democratic National Convention

Limited Voting

The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which prohibited citizenship for people with Chinese ancestry, is repealed in an effort to strengthen World War II alliance between U.S. and China.

1903 General Election Ballot Box.  NATIONAL BALLOT BOX / PATd / JUNE 17, 1884 / MF'D BY AMOS PETTIBONE / CHICAGO

Ballot Box, General Election 1903 (Image 1)

Ballot Box, General Election 1903 (Image 2)

Ballot Box, General Election 1903 (Image 3)

Ballot Box, General Election 1903

Chinese American Citizens

The Luce-Celler Act allows Filipino Americans and Indian Americans to naturalize and become U.S. citizens; the Act also establishes quotas that allowed 100 people from India and 100 people from the Philippines to immigrate to the U.S. each year.

Luce-Celler Act

The Walter-McCarran Act grants all people of Asian ancestry to become citizens.

Denver Post press photograph depicting the Japanese American Gow family looking out the window of a residence, possibly their home at 1108 Twenty-second Street in Denver. Pictured (left to right) are Tomoe Gow, Gale Gow, Larry Gow, Katsuto K. Gow, and Patsy Gow. Katsuto Gow, a World War II veteran, and his family were barred from moving to a new home at 2718 Gaylord Street by a restrictive covenant. The government refused to authorize the loan.

The original photograph has been altered with paint for publication.


Photograph, Katsuto Family

Walter-McCarran Act

New Mexico became the final state to enfranchise Native American voters.

Relief shown by hachures and spot heights. Shows the Little Colorado River as Rio de Lino or Colorado Chiquito Little. Lost county of Greenwood, Colorado is shown. Metalliferous areas and Indian tribes located in New Mexico and Arizona. Colorado counties are those of 1873.

Map, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona

Native American Voting

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 suspends literacy tests in the Deep South and provides federal enforcement of voting rights in an effort to eradicate Jim Crow Laws designed to limit African American voting.

Golden Transcript, Volume 104, Number 164, August 6, 1970.  Article discusses the Voting Rights Act

Article, Voting Rights Act Results Dramatic

Voting rights act results dramatic

By TOM GREENE

ATLANTA (UPI 1-Five year: ago today President Lyndon B Johnson signed into law tht Voting Rights Act of 1965, described by his attorney general. Ramsey Clark, as a “bold experiment in democracy.” The experiment has produced dramatic results. The number of blacks regis tered to vote in the six southern states fully covered by the act has nearly doubled. Five years ago 72 Negroes held elective positions in the South. The figure today is 540. White politicians who defended segregation in the 1950 s headed into the 1970 s voicing concern about poverty Many who failed change wit!, the times learned that the Negro electorate, while usually not big enough to elect black candidates, often produced victories for more moderate whites. Blacks Praise Effect Charles Evers, the black man elected a year ago as mayor of

Fayette, Mis., termed the act the greatest deterrent to racial discrimination we have ever had.” Mr. ana Mrs. Thomas .Mauldin of .Selma, Ala., the first persons to register under the act, are convinced black people are far better off now than five years ago. “People have got more rights, more privileges, than they have ever had before,” said Mauldin. “They look more like citizens now’.” There now are 10,000 black voters in the Selma area, and •Mauldin figures this is why the once dusty streets in Sell.' 2 ’s Negro neighborhoods are being paved. “If it keeps up, we’re going to have all these streets black topped.” Some Conservatives Opposed George Andrews, 69, a conservative Democrat who has represented a south Alabama district in Congress since 1942, doesn’t share the Mauldins’ liking for the act. “This has been the most punitive, vindictive piece of

legislation ever passed in this country.” Andrews said. “I’ve actually seen people voting who couldn't read. We have to permit morons to vote, and that diminishes the intelligence of the electorate.” The Voting Rights Act was applied to states in which less than 50 per cent of the voting age population registered to vote. It specifically covered Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Virginia, portions of North Carolina and Alaska (the only nonsouthem state). The law suspended state literacy tests for prospective voters, empowered the Justice Department to send federal registrars to foot-dragging counties and extended civil and criminal protection to persons seeking to register. The most significant registration tool was the suspension of literacy tests in many sections of the South but in other areas blacks with doctorate degrees were rejected.

Voting Rights Act

The 1970 Voting Rights Act prohibits literacy test in 20 states.

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Women's Voting Rights in Colorado-Middle School

Voting Rights Timeline

Guiding Question

1877 CE

1893 CE

1920 CE

1922 CE

1924 CE

1943 CE

1946 CE

1952 CE

1962 CE

1965 CE

1970 CE