Article by Erik Smith. Published on Tuesday, November 10, 2010 EST.
Washington Marks 100th Anniversary of Votes for Women
Here’s the proof! Herrera appears in a hallway gallery of prominent Republican women, on display in the Institutions Building.
By Erik Smith
Staff writer/ Washington State Wire
OLYMPIA, Nov. 9.—Washington marked the 100th anniversary of woman suffrage Monday with daylong hoopla at the state Capitol.
Among other things, the celebration made the following points:
n Yesterday’s controversy is a fact of life today.
n The women of 1910 wore elaborate hats.
n And Jaime Herrera, the newly elected member of Congress from southwest Washington’s 3rd District, is really a woman – even if the National Women’s Political Caucus isn’t celebrating the fact. Herrera is a conservative Republican, and doesn’t take the firm stand on abortion rights that such women’s groups prefer. All of which shows that women in this state not only have the right to vote — they also have the right to make up their own minds.
Washington gave women the vote on Nov. 8, 1910, after a battle that had raged since the earliest territorial days. Many viewed it as a matter of justice. There were fears among men that votes for women would mean new laws against booze and gambling. It didn’t take long for the women to prove them correct.
Started With First Territorial Legislature
In 1854, at the first meeting of the territorial Legislature, delegate Arthur A. Denny, one of Seattle’s founding fathers, proposed giving women the right to vote – but the measure proved too radical. It failed by one vote.
In 1867, the Washington territorial Legislature granted the right to vote to “all white citizens over the age of 21,” and women put the law to the test by casting ballots in 1869. In most places their votes apparently were rejected, but 15 women succeeded in having their votes counted in Thurston County.
In 1877, the territorial Legislature granted women the right to vote in school board election. An effort to include woman suffrage in the territorial constitution failed by an 8-7 vote in 1878.
Washington became the third state to grant women the right to vote by an act of the 1883 territorial Legislature. Preceding Washington were Wyoming and Utah territories. The act was “clarified” in 1886 with disastrous results. The Washington territorial Supreme Court struck it down the next year, saying the titles of the original act and the clarifying statutes were not properly written.
The law was reenacted in 1888, with a correct title. But the Supreme Court struck it down again, saying that the federal government had intended to place the word “male” before “citizenship” in the “organic act” – the act that created Washington territory. By this time Washington was on its way to becoming a state, and the new constitution became the battleground.
But because women could not vote for electors to the first state constitutional convention in 1889, the cause was weakened. The question was submitted to voters but lost by 19,000 votes.
More Female Republicans in Congress Than Democrats
It was another decade and a half before the movement gathered steam again, in Washington state as well as nationally and internationally. The 1909 Legislature voted to put the issue on the ballot in 1910, and an intense campaign was mounted statewide. The measure won by 22,623 votes, a two-to-one margin. Washington became the fifth state to grant women the right to vote.
The first female legislators, Frances Axtell and Nena Croake, were elected in in 1912 and served in the 1913 Legislature.
Today Washington is one of the most female-friendly states in the country toward women elected officials, with a woman for governor and two women representing the state in the U.S. Senate.
And it is worth noting that even though traditional women’s political groups might have their problems with Herrera, there have been more Republican women in Congress from Washington state than there have been Democrats.
On the Republican side there have been five. In addition to Herrera and current 5th District congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers, the state has had Jennifer Dunn, Catherine May and Linda Smith.
On the Democratic side, there have been four. In addition to current senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, the state has had Jolene Unsoeld and Julia Butler Hansen.
One of many displays at the state Capitol Monday.
Many participants in the Monday ceremonies wore costumes of the suffragette era.
Members of the state Supreme Court re-enacted the 1888 arguments that revoked womens’ right to vote.
Representatives of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Facsimiles of signs carried by suffragettes in 1910.
Complimentary photos in the office of Lt. Gov. Brad Owen.
Secretary of State Sam Reed in period garb.
“The Heyday of Huge Hats” — and an example.
A commemorative ceremony under the Rotunda.
Barbara Madsen, chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
State Sen. Randi Becker, R-Eatonville.
State Sen. Karen Fraser, D-Olympia, one of the biggest supporters of the Womens’ History Consortium, organizers of the ‘Day of Jubilation’ event.
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