Dakota Datebook: 1868 Suffrage Attempt Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Prairie Public

Multiple attempts for women’s suffrage were made in Dakota Territory and North Dakota before the approval and passage of the 19th Amendment in 1919. One of the first occurred during the eighth territorial session, held December 1868 to January 1869.

The bid for woman’s suffrage, proposed as “a bill for an act to confer upon women the elective franchise and the eligibility to office,” first was introduced in mid-December by House Representative Enos Stutsman, an early pioneer in Dakota Territory. He had settled in Yankton in the fall of 1858, and eventually moved to Pembina in North Dakota.

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