Dakota Datebook: Early attempts at suffrage Thursday, January 23, 2020

Prairie Public

The attempt to pass woman’s suffrage in the Dakota Territory was first made in 1868 and 1869 as one of the earliest of its kind in the United States.

It passed the House but not the Council, was reworked, and passed the Council, but then the House did not pass it, so the bill failed. Yet the bill did receive much attention around the country, some accurate, some erroneous, and all marking the attitudes that were prevalent.

In Washington D.C., the National Republican reported on the vote, stating: “Women are scarce in Dakota, probably, and suffrage is held out as an inducement to female immigration.”

Read more at: https://news.prairiepublic.org/post/early-attempts-suffrage