Timeline of women's suffrage in Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a timeline of women's suffrage in Illinois. Women's suffrage in Illinois began in the mid 1850s. The first women's suffrage group was created in 1855 in Earlville, Illinois by Susan Hoxie Richardson. The Illinois Woman Suffrage Association (IWSA), later renamed the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association (IESA), was created by Mary Livermore in 1869. This group held annual conventions and petitioned various governmental bodies in Illinois for women's suffrage. On June 19, 1891, women gained the right to vote for school offices. However, it wasn't until 1913 that women saw expanded suffrage. That year women in Illinois were granted the right to vote for Presidential electors and various local offices. Suffragists continued to fight for full suffrage in the state. Finally, Illinois became the first state to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment on June 10, 1919. The League of Women Voters (LWV) was announced in Chicago on February 14, 1920.
1850s
1855
- Alonzo Jackson Grover gives the first women's suffrage speech in Illinois.[1]
- Susan Hoxie Richardson creates the Earlville Suffrage Association.[2]
1860s
1869
- Mary Livermore organizes a women's suffrage convention in Chicago.[3]
- During the convention, the Illinois Woman Suffrage Association (IWSA) is created.[4]
- Livermore starts the women's suffrage newspaper, The Agitator.[5]
1870s
1870
- February: Frances Willard and the IWSA petition the Illinois Constitutional Convention to include women's suffrage in the state constitution.[3]
- February: Annual meeting of IWSA held at the Opera House in Springfield, Illinois.[6]
1871
- Annual convention of IWSA held at Farewell Hall in Chicago.[7]
1872
- Annual convention of IWSA held in the Opera House in Bloomington, Illinois.[8]
1873
- School offices are opened to women in Illinois.[9]
1874
- Ten women are elected to County Superintendent of Schools.[10]
1876
- Elizabeth Boynton Harbert becomes president of IWSA.[10]
- IWSA affiliates with the National Women's Suffrage Association (NWSA).[10]
1879
- Frances Willard brings a petition to the General Assembly for women to have suffrage rights over alcohol-related issues in Illinois.[11]
1880s
1884
- The American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) holds their annual convention in Chicago.[12]
1885
- Susan B. Anthony addresses the Cook County Woman's Suffrage Society.[13]
1887
- Mary Holmes becomes president of IWSA.[10]
1888
- The Decatur Women's Suffrage Club is formed by Sophie Gibb and 100 other women in Decatur, Illinois.[9]
- The Naperville Equal Suffrage Club is created.[14]
1890s
1890
- IWSA changes their name to the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association (IESA).[10]
1891
- April 6: Fifteen women led by Ellen Martin legally vote in Lombard, Illinois using a loophole in their city charter.[15]
- June 19: Women gain the right to vote in school elections with a School Suffrage law.[15][16][17]
1892
- The Illinois Supreme Court decides that the School Suffrage law is constitutional.[18]
1893
- A bill for Township suffrage for women is introduced in the state Senate, but is not successful in the House.[19]
- A bill to repeal the School Suffrage Law is defeated in the state House.[19]
- March: Carrie Chapman Catt tours the southern part of Illinois.[20]
1894
- The Chicago Political Equality League (CPEL) is created.[10]
1895
- A bill for Township suffrage is again introduced in the Senate, but fails.[19]
- April: IWSA holds their annual convention in Decatur.[9]
1897
- Caroline Fairfield Corbin creates the Illinois Association Opposed to the Extension of Suffrage to Women.[9]
- Bills for Township and Bond suffrage are introduced in the state legislature, but do not pass.[21]
1898
- Women's suffrage groups lobbied for women to be exempt from taxation since they did not vote, but the legislature did not act on the idea.[22]
1899
- Again, bills for Township and Bond suffrage are introduced in the legislature, but do not pass.[23]
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