Timeline of women's suffrage in Montana facts for kids

Chief Eagle Cap signs a petition at the Montana League of Women Voters booth at the Montana State Fair in Helena

This is a timeline of how women in Montana gained the right to vote. The journey for women's voting rights, also known as women's suffrage, began very early in Montana, even before it became a state. In 1887, women were first allowed to vote in local school board elections and on certain tax issues.

Women continued to fight for full and equal voting rights in the years that followed. This effort led to a big campaign in 1914. That year, Montana became one of just eleven states where most women had the same voting rights as men. Montana later officially approved the Nineteenth Amendment on August 2, 1919. It was the thirteenth state to do so. However, Native American women did not get full voting rights until 1924.

The 1800s

Early Efforts: The 1880s

1883

• The first speech in Montana supporting women's right to vote was given by Frances Willard.

1884

• During a meeting to write the state's rules (called a constitutional convention), Judge W. J. Stephens of Missoula suggested women should vote. But his idea was not accepted.

1887

• Clara McAdow asked for help from women's voting rights groups in the eastern United States.
• March 8: Women won the right to vote in school board elections in their local areas.

1889

• Women's voting rights were suggested again at the Montana State Constitutional Convention.
• People from Jefferson County and Madison County sent requests to the convention, asking for women's suffrage.

Growing Support: The 1890s

1890

• A club focused on women's voting rights was started in Helena.

1895

• May: Emma Smith DeVoe came to Montana. She helped set up local groups for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).
• September: A big meeting about voting rights was held in Helena. Carrie Chapman Catt was a main speaker.
• The Montana Woman's Suffrage Association (MWSA) was formed.
• A bill to change the state's rules to allow women to vote was suggested in the state House of Representatives. But it did not pass in the Senate.

1896

• Emma Smith DeVoe returned to Montana. She kept organizing clubs and getting more women interested in voting rights.
• November: The MWSA held its yearly meeting in Butte.
• November 20: Ella Knowles Haskell became the president of the MWSA.

1897

• November: The MWSA held its yearly meeting in Helena.
• A new group called the Equal Suffrage Party was created.

1898

• February 16: Ella Knowles Haskell spoke at the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Conference in Washington, D.C..
• November 1: The MWSA held its yearly meeting in Helena. Carrie Chapman Catt spoke there again.
• People who supported women's voting rights asked all candidates running for state government jobs where they stood on the issue.

1899

• A bill for women's voting rights was brought to the state government by Mary B. Atwater. But it never made it out of the committee that reviews bills.
• October: The MWSA meeting was held in Helena. Carrie Chapman Catt and Mary Garrett Hay attended.

The 1900s

Jeannette Rankin, Carrie Chapman Catt and another suffragist.

New Century, New Efforts: The 1900s

1900

• Fall: Women in Helena asked the Republican, Democratic, and Populist party meetings to include women's voting rights in their plans.

1902

• Carrie Chapman Catt came back to Montana. She brought Gail Laughlin and Laura A. Gregg to help restart and organize voting rights groups.

1903

• A change to the state's rules to allow women to vote was suggested in the Montana government. But it did not pass.

1905

• Another change to the state's rules for women's voting rights was suggested. It also did not pass.

The Big Push: The 1910s

1911

• Jeannette Rankin became the first woman to speak to the Montana Legislature (the state government) when she talked about women's voting rights to the Senate.
• People supporting women's voting rights set up a booth at the Montana State Fair.

1912

• The Montana Equal Suffrage Association (MESA) was created.
• Supporters of women's voting rights again had a booth at the Montana State Fair.

1913

• A bill for women's voting rights passed in the Montana Legislature! It was then sent to the voters to decide in 1914.
• Jeannette Rankin traveled from Montana to Washington, D.C., by car. Along the way, she collected signatures from people who supported women's voting rights.
• October: The Montana WCTU (a women's group) decided to focus only on women's voting rights for the next year.
• December: The WCTU's newspaper, Woman's Voice, started being published again.

1914

• The Suffrage Daily News newspaper was published in Helena.
• January: MESA opened its main office in Butte.
• Spring: James Lees Laidlaw and Wellington D. Rankin started a Montana group for men who supported women's voting rights.
• May 2: Governor Sam Stewart announced "Woman's Day." A parade of cars supporting voting rights was held on Last Chance Gulch in Helena.
• June: Jeannette Rankin gave a speech at a meeting of the Montana Federation of Women's Clubs (MFWC) in Lewistown. The MFWC then announced they supported women's voting rights.
• September 24: The Montana State Fair had a booth for women's voting rights.
• November 3: The change to the state's rules for women's voting rights passed! The vote was 41,302 for and 37,588 against. Montana became one of eleven states to give women the right to vote.

1915

• January: A meeting for women who had gained the right to vote was held in Helena. They discussed how to use their new voting power wisely. Women changed the name of their voting rights groups to the Montana Good Government Association.

1919

• August 2: Montana officially approved the Nineteenth Amendment. This amendment gave women across the United States the right to vote. Montana was the thirteenth state to approve it.

Full Rights: The 1920s

1924

• The Indian Citizenship Act was passed. This law gave Native Americans the right to vote in Montana and across the country.