Wyoming Grants Women the Vote
The Wyoming Territory became the first US jurisdiction to grant women the right to vote
December 10, 1869
The First Place Women Could Vote
In December 1869, the Wyoming Territory made history by becoming the first government in the United States to grant women the right to vote. The law was signed by Governor John Campbell and gave women full voting rights — decades before the Nineteenth Amendment extended suffrage nationwide. Wyoming also became the first place to allow women to serve on juries. At the time, the territory had far more men than women, and some supporters hoped the law would attract more female settlers. Whatever the motive, the result was groundbreaking and set a precedent the rest of the country would eventually follow.
Women Who Made It Real
Wyoming's decision was not just symbolic. Women immediately exercised their new rights. Esther Hobart Morris became the first female justice of the peace in the United States, serving in South Pass City in 1870. Women served on grand juries and helped shape local governance. When Wyoming applied for statehood in 1890, federal lawmakers tried to pressure the territory to drop women's suffrage as a condition for entry. Wyoming refused, famously declaring it would remain out of the Union a hundred years rather than come in without women's suffrage. Congress relented, and Wyoming entered the Union with full women's voting rights intact.
A Ripple Across the Nation
Wyoming's example inspired suffragists across the country. Colorado, Utah, and Idaho followed in the 1890s. The national movement grew stronger through the early 20th century, culminating in the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Wyoming's early leadership earned it the nickname "The Equality State," a title it still carries today. The 1869 law proved that giving women the vote did not cause the chaos opponents feared — it simply made democracy more complete. It remains one of the most important milestones in the long history of American civil rights.