Timeline of women's suffrage in Maine facts for kids
This is a timeline showing when women in Maine gained the right to vote. People who supported women's right to vote were called suffragists. They started working in Maine in the mid-1850s.
In 1857, Ann F. Jarvis Greely and other women in Ellsworth, Maine began giving talks about women's rights. That same year, the first request (called a petition) for women's voting rights was sent to the Maine Legislature (the state's law-making group). Women kept fighting for equal voting rights through the 1860s and 1870s.
The Maine Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) was created in 1873. A year later, the first Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) group started. In 1887, the Maine Legislature voted on a change to the state constitution to allow women to vote. However, it did not get enough votes to pass. Other tries to pass women's voting laws also failed during this time.
In the 1900s, suffragists continued to organize meetings and groups. New groups formed, like the Maine chapter of the College Equal Suffrage League in 1914. The Men's Equal Suffrage League of Maine also started in 1914. In 1917, voters in Maine had a chance to vote on women's suffrage in a special election (called a referendum). This vote happened on September 10, but it did not pass.
On November 5, 1919, Maine officially approved the Nineteenth Amendment. This amendment gave women across the United States the right to vote. By September 13, 1920, most women in Maine could vote. However, Native Americans in Maine were not allowed to vote for many more years. In 1924, Native Americans became American citizens. In 1954, a vote to give Native Americans voting rights passed in Maine. The next year, Lucy Nicolar Poolaw (a Penobscot woman) became the first Native American living on a reservation in Maine to cast a vote.
Contents
The Fight for Women's Vote in Maine
Early Efforts (1850s-1870s)
1850s: First Steps
- 1854: Famous suffragist Susan B. Anthony spoke in Bangor, Maine.
- 1855: Lucy Stone, another important suffragist, gave talks in Augusta and Cornish.
- 1857: The first request for women's voting rights was sent to the Maine Legislature. It was signed by men and women from Bangor, Maine.
- 1857: Ann F. Jarvis Greely and Sarah Jarvis started a series of talks about women's rights in Ellsworth.
- March 1857: Susan B. Anthony spoke at one of the Ellsworth talks.
- 1858: A second request for women's voting rights was given to the Maine Legislature.
1860s: Growing Support
- 1865: Women working in factories marched for the right to vote in the Lewiston Independence Day parade.
- 1868: Lavinia Snow and her sister, Lucy Snow, created the Equal Rights Association of Rockland.
- May 1869: Lucy Snow went to a big meeting for equal rights in New York.
1870s: New Groups Form
- 1871: Mary Livermore spoke to about 1,000 people in Portland about women's voting rights.
- 1873: A large meeting about women's voting rights was held in Augusta. Hundreds of people attended.
- 1873: The Maine Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) was officially started.
- 1874: The first Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) group in Maine began. This group often supported women's right to vote.
- 1874: Suffragists had a special parade float in Bethel.
Later Efforts (1880s-1910s)
1880s: Votes and Petitions
- June 1881: The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) held a meeting in Portland.
- 1887: A request for women's voting rights was given to the state legislature. They voted on a change to the constitution, but it did not get enough votes to pass.
- 1889: A bill to allow women to vote in local city elections failed in the state legislature.
1890s: More Organizing
- 1891: Hannah Johnston Bailey became the president of the MWSA.
- 1895: More than 9,000 people signed petitions supporting women's right to vote in local elections. However, the bill did not pass.
- 1899: A bill was presented to the state legislature. It said that women who paid taxes should not have to pay them if they couldn't vote. This was because they were being taxed without having a say in the government.
1900s: Public Awareness
- 1900: Public meetings about voting rights were held in many towns across Maine.
- August 1900: Suffragists held an open house event that welcomed over 200 people.
- 1906: The Maine Federation of Labor, a group representing workers, supported women's voting rights.
- 1907: Suffragists in Farmington voted to support a national change to the constitution for women's suffrage.
- March 3, 1909: Fannie J. Fernald spoke to a United States Senate committee about women's suffrage.
1910s: Closer to Victory
- 1913: The Maine Association Opposed to Suffrage for Women (MAOSW) was formed. This group was against women voting.
- 1913: The College Equal Suffrage League of Maine was created.
- March 3, 1913: Suffragists from Maine marched in a large parade in Washington, D. C.
- 1914: The Men's Equal Suffrage League of Maine was formed. This showed that men also supported women's voting rights.
- 1915: A bill to pass a full women's suffrage amendment passed in the state legislature.
- 1915: Florence Brooks Whitehouse started the Maine chapter of the Congressional Union.
- 1917: The state legislature proposed a women's suffrage amendment.
- September 10, 1917: The women's suffrage amendment was put to a vote by the public, but it failed.
- March 1919: A law was proposed and passed to allow women to vote for presidential electors. This meant women could vote for the president.
- July 3, 1919: The presidential electors bill was put on the next ballot for a public vote.
- November 5, 1919: Maine officially approved the Nineteenth Amendment. This was a huge step!
- November 12, 1919: The Maine Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) changed its name and became the League of Women Voters (LWV) of Maine.
Voting Rights for All (1920s-1950s)
1920s: Women Vote!
- August 26, 1920: The Nineteenth Amendment became law across the United States.
- August 30, 1920: Lewiston opened its registration books for women to sign up to vote.
- September 1, 1920: Portland started registering voters. Augusta M. Hunt was the first woman in line to register there.
- September 13, 1920: Women in Maine voted in a general election for the very first time. They also voted on the presidential elector bill, which passed.
- 1924: Native Americans were finally considered United States citizens. However, those living in Maine still could not vote in state elections.
1950s: Native American Voting Rights
- 1954: A public vote to give Native Americans in Maine the right to vote passed.
- 1955: Lucy Nicolar Poolaw (a Penobscot woman) became the first Native American living on a reservation to vote in Maine. This was a very important moment for equal rights.
