Timeline of women's suffrage in Florida facts for kids

This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Florida. It lists important dates and events in the history of women's right to vote in the state. Ella C. Chamberlain started the movement in 1892. After she left the state in 1897, the work stopped for several years. In the 1900s, new groups formed in cities like Jacksonville and Orlando. Women marched, gave speeches, and asked the government for their rights. Some cities allowed women to vote in local elections before the rest of the country. Finally, the Nineteenth Amendment gave women the right to vote across the nation in 1920.

Early History of Voting Rights

Starting the Movement in the 1890s

1892

• Fall: Ella C. Chamberlain writes a newspaper column about voting rights in Tampa.

1893

• January: The Florida Woman Suffrage Association (FWSA) is created to help women get the vote.

1894

• Chamberlain speaks to a workers' union to share information about suffrage.
• The FWSA holds a bazaar, or a market, to raise money for their cause.

1895

• January: A large meeting called a convention is held in Tampa to discuss voting rights.

1897

• Chamberlain moves away from Florida. The movement slows down for some time.

The Fight for the Vote in the 1900s

New Groups and Petitions

Letters about the Florida Equal Franchise League in 1913

1907

• John Schnarr of Orlando asks people to sign a petition for women's voting rights.

1912

• June 15: A new group called the Equal Franchise League starts in Jacksonville.

1913

• February: New clubs form in Lake Helen and Orlando.
• March 3: Women from Florida join the famous Woman Suffrage Procession march in Washington, D.C.
• April: The group in Jacksonville asks the Florida Legislature to change the law so women can vote. The lawmakers say no.
• October: Several women in Orlando try to register to vote.
• November: A statewide group called the Florida Equal Suffrage Association (FESA) is formed.

1914

• Men join the fight by forming The Men's Equal Suffrage League of Florida.
• December: Pattie Ruffner Jacobs speaks at a meeting in Pensacola.
• July: The Equal Franchise League of Jacksonville publishes a special newspaper issue about voting.

First Successes in Florida Cities

1915

• February: A meeting about equal suffrage is held in Orlando.
• March: Anna Howard Shaw visits Winter Haven to give speeches.
• June 19: Zena Dreier casts a vote in Fellsmere. She is the first woman to legally vote in the South.
• The Florida Federation of Women's Clubs officially supports the right to vote.

1916

• March: A large meeting is held in Miami to plan more actions.

Protests and Challenges

1917

• April: Lawmakers consider a bill for women's suffrage again, but it does not pass.
• May: Alice Paul visits Florida, and a chapter of the National Woman's Party is started.
• November 10: Mary A. Nolan of Jacksonville joins protests at the White House. She is detained by police for her actions.
• November 15: Nolan is present during the Night of Terror, where protesters were treated very harshly.
• November 20: A convention is held in Tampa.

1918

• November: Several towns, including Daytona Beach and DeLand, pass laws allowing women to vote in city elections.

1919

People gathering in De Leon Springs, Florida, in 1917

• January: The city of Orlando changes its rules to let women vote.
• February: A group of suffragists traveling on the Prison Special train visits Jacksonville.
• May 26: Women in Orlando vote for the first time.
• July: Women in Winter Park vote for the first time.

Victory and Beyond

The 19th Amendment and After

1920

• September 7: Helen Hunt West becomes the first woman in Florida to register to vote under the new national law.

1921

• The main suffrage group becomes the League of Women Voters of Florida. This group still helps voters today.

1924

• The Indian Citizenship Act gives Native Americans citizenship. This helps Native American women gain voting rights.

Protecting Rights for All Women

1965

• The Voting Rights Act is passed. This law protects the voting rights of African-American and Native American women who faced unfair rules.

1969

• May 13: Florida officially approves, or ratifies, the Nineteenth Amendment. This was a symbolic act since the law was already in effect nationwide.

See also

• List of Florida suffragists
• Women's suffrage in Florida
• Women's suffrage in states of the United States
• Women's suffrage in the United States