Washington state celebrating centennial of votes for women

On Saturday, the exhibit Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices opened at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, Wash.

The exhibit, which will be on display in Tacoma until Sept. 27, 2009, will also travel to four cities in the state.

Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices highlights the struggle to obtain voting rights for women in the state.
 
I enjoyed the exhibit. The work of two leaders in the state, Emma Smith DeVoe and May Arkwright Hutton, is highlighted in displays.

"We Want More Than the Vote," another display, showcases the success women have achieved in the political arena. One of U.S. Senator Patty Murray's tennis shoes is included. Murray, a state legislator, first ran for office in 1989 campaigning as a "mom in tennis shoes."

An interactive display, “Women Making a Difference,” allows exhibit visitors to select famous woman from a life-size screen, including photographer Imogen Cunningham and judge Carolyn Dimmick, to learn more about their lives. Separate displays of women making difference are included for King County Councilmember Ruby Chow, Congresswoman Julia Butler Hansen, activist and NAACP founder Nettie J. Asberry, and Sisters of Providence member Mother Joseph.

Among the other displays are: “Votes for Women,” “Territorial Victory,” “The Beginnings of the Movement,” “Give Women a Fair Deal,” “Battle Lost, but War Wages On,” “The Battle Continues for Equal Rights,” “Winning the West – Sophisticated Campaign – Matter of Justice – Coalitions – Straw Votes,” “Washington Women Go National,” “November 8 – Victory in Washington – 1910,” “The New Woman,” “Extending the Vote,” “What Does It Mean to Vote?” “Who Can Vote?” “One Vote – One Voice,” and “A Sacred Right.”

Women in Washington state were able to vote in 1910. When did women in other states receive the vote? Here’s a list:

• 1890 –- Wyoming

• 1893 – Colorado

• 1896 – Utah and Idaho

• 1911 – California

• 1912 – Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona

• 1913 – Alaska and Illinois

• 1914 – Montana and Nevada

• 1917 – New York

• 1918 – Michigan, South Dakota, and Oklahoma

On the national level, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, to extend suffrage to women, was proposed on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920. Tennessee was the 36th state to vote for ratification.

The Washington Women’s History Consortium, Washington State History Museum, and Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture organized the exhibit.