WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT IN DUBUQUE

WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE MOVEMENT IN DUBUQUE. Iowa'd first constitutions restricted the right to vote to white males. Most Iowans, like people elsewhere at the time, believed that the womens' role was in running the household and caring for children; men held jobs and represented the family in public affairs. Although a women’s suffrage convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, called for expanding political rights for women, but the issue did not gain much attention in Iowa until immediately after the CIVIL WAR. As debate focused on the status of freed black former slaves, some women and men began to argue that women also also be allowed to vote.

During the 1870s and 1880s, women suffrage advocates supported various proposals, but none could win passage in two consecutive sessions of the legislature as required to change the constitution. In public debate, the issue became entangled in the debate on the sale and manufacture of alcohol. Women were seen as allies of those wishing to prohibit or greatly limit such sales, and therefore, prohibitionists were usually advocates of granting the vote to women. When a prominent women’s suffrage leader in New York, Victoria Woodhull, spoke out for greater sexual freedom, the suffrage movement became accused of advocating for “free love.”

In 1870, Mary Spencer became the first woman appointed unanimously to a position within the Iowa legislature. Suffragists everywhere saw the appointment as a major victory. The same year, the Iowa legislature approved a resolution to amend the constitution, allowing women to vote. Progressives in Iowa believed the vote for women would soon be realized. (1) Although the bill was defeated in 1872, a core group suffragettes remained alive in Iowa until the passage of the 19th amendment. (2) During this time Annie Savery, a Des Moines resident and suffragist, spoke for women’s intellectual independence. Even fellow suffragists rejected extremist ideal. Moderates saw her as someone who would scare supporters away from the cause. (3) Looking for allies, woman's suffrage joined with the temperance movement in 1874. Taking the form of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, suffragettes saw getting the vote as the only way to control alcoholism. (4)

The history of women's suffrage in Iowa from 1894 to 1919 was one of gradual but steady progress. In 1894 women in Iowa were granted partial suffrage. They were given the right to vote on bond issues and tax increases for schools and municipalities. While another positive step, it was far from the suffragettes' goal. In 1908 the city of Des Moines threatened even this advance when it denied women the vote in these cases. Mary Jane Whitely's successful suit of the city established an important precedent. (5) In 1916 when Iowa voted to allow a referendum that would grant women the ballot. Its defeat in a corrupt election led to increased activism. (6)

On April 19th, 1919, the women of Iowa were finally granted the right to vote in presidential elections. Three months later on July 2nd, 1919 Iowa ratified the 19th amendment in full, making them the tenth state to do so. Over a year later Tennessee ratified the 19th amendment on August 18th, 1920. With their acceptance of the new amendment, every eligible woman in the United states was granted the vote. (7)

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Source:

1. "Women's Suffrage in Iowa," https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=3c04988656ba4a71a186a32503233f42

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Ibid.

7. Ibid.