Suffrage Presentation
Cecelia Wittmayer
November 18, 2018
 

How many of the women here today voted earlier this month?  If you did, you have a cadre of very brave women to thank for that privilege.  They were threatened, they were arrested, they were humiliated, they were beaten.  But, in today’s vernacular, “Nonetheless, they persisted.”

When you voted this week, you also helped celebrate the 100th anniversary of the women’s suffrage efforts in South Dakota.  So, this month, we thought it was appropriate to talk to you about one of the largest and, eventually, one of the most successful efforts in civil disobedience that occurred in this state and in this nation.

Let me begin with background on the national suffrage movement:  The Seneca Falls Conference, in Seneca Falls, New York, is considered the birth place of the suffrage movement in the United States.  On July 4, 1848, a group of 300 people, including 40 men, held a conference to discuss the social, civil and religious rights of women.
Several years below, in 1840, the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London refused to seat women at the convention.  Two of those women – Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton – met each other again in Seneca Falls, became friends and decided to organize their own convention.

At the convention, Stanton presented the opening address, during which she read a Declaration of Sentiments.  It started on a familiar note, with these words:  When in the course of human events…..
However, the tone and content soon changed.  Stanton went on to say:  This history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries on the part of man towards women; having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.  To prove this, let facts be admitted to a  candid world.  He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise. He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she has no voice.  He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded men both natives and foreigners.  Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen -- the elective franchise -- thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides….

Stanton concluded by saying that married women were  civilly dead.  Single women were taxed  without representation.  They were all deprived of the ballot, of rights of property, of the right to their persons and of rights over  their children.  Women were deprived of educational and occupational opportunities and were subjected to a double standard of morality and to the assumption of the basic superiority of men.  And, they were catalogued in state constitutions with idiots, lunatics, criminals and paupers and this, Ms. Stanton said, would have to change!

As might be expected, the suffrage movement was opposed by big business, particularly the oil industry, the railroads, the liquor industry and even organized religion.  Any organization that was comfortable with the status quo and a male-dominated world     was opposed to suffrage for women.

Although the movement started in the East, it spread with the pioneers to the western part of the U.S. At first, men saw it as a great way to get publicity in the eastern papers and to attract new settlers. But, eventually, women adopted the movement and were the primary force behind the suffrage movement.  In fact, many of the national suffrage leaders spent years in South Dakota working  for the vote -- most notably Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony and Matilda Joselyn Gage.

Now, let’s talk about South Dakota Suffrage Movement:  As early as 1872, the Dakota Territory legislature came within one vote of enfranchising women, but the chair of the territorial committee cast a no vote to break the tie.  Although the Honorable G.C. Moody later became a champion of suffrage, his vote set the stage for one of the state's longest political struggles.

In October 1885, Dakota Territory residents attended a national suffrage convention in Minneapolis.  The first Dakota Territory Suffrage Club was organized in Webster the next month by Marietta Bones.  After the convention, local leaders wrote to Susan B. Anthony and asked her to come to the state to help them campaign for suffrage.

In 1886, the territorial legislature passed a suffrage plank but the territorial governor, Governor Pierce of Chicago, vetoed it.  He thought suffrage leadership should come from the Congress and not the states -- and certainly not from territories that wanted to become  states!

When South Dakota became a state in 1889, the constitution was accepted without suffrage for women, although it did give the vote to immigrants who had filed their first papers.  Filing “first papers” meant that the immigrant had registered with the county government and declared their intention to become citizens. 

The new constitution did require the legislature to submit a suffrage amendment to voters at the next full  election.  In November 1889, at the first legislative session after statehood, the legislature disagreed on whether or not to honor the commitment made by the territorial legislature.  Some legislators suggested that it wasn’t necessary to submit  the suffrage plank to the registered voters of  the state.  Finally, the men yielded to pressure and agreed to put the suffrage plank on the 1890 ballot, although it was, eventually, badly defeated.

In November 1889 (about the same time the South Dakota legislature was arguing the suffrage plank in the state constitution), Bones and other state workers attended another national convention in Chicago.  At the convention, the national officers of the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the two national suffrage associations clashed over the issues of temperance, politics and women's suffrage.

Marietta Bones of Webster took the side of Ellen Foster, an Iowa delegate, who said the movement should be non-partisan.  However, Bones also wanted suffrage and   temperance to continue to work  together.

Susan B. Anthony got caught in the middle between Foster    and Bones on the one hand and Frances Willard of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (the WCTU) on the other.  Anthony agreed with Bones that the suffrage movement should be non-partisan but said that it should be separate from temperance.  The split at the national level between suffrage  and temperance leaders eventually affected the suffrage campaign in South Dakota.

In 1890, South Dakota asked for financial support from the national organization.  Remember, the suffrage amendment was going to be presented to the voters at the first South Dakota election and the state's suffrage workers wanted help with their campaign.  The national organization gave $4,000 to South Dakota but named Susan B. Anthony as chair of the South Dakota committee and gave her control of the money.  She, in turn, refused to pay for any suffrage activities that were linked with temperance, knowing the cause was inheriting the enemies of prohibition -- mainly the liquor industry.

Anthony’s control of the purse strings only increased the tension between Anthony and Marietta Bones, who was one of the original state organizers.  In 1890, Bones accused Anthony of misappropriating thousands of dollars from the suffrage fund and the fight made it into all the newspapers in the state.

From a February 1890 issue of the Argus Leader:  Susan B. Anthony and Mrs. Marietta Bones of South Dakota have each other by the ears. Mrs. Bones says Susan is tricky and scheming and Susan says Mrs. Bones doesn't amount to much.

In April 1890, Argus Leader wrote:  A few days ago, Miss Anthony thought she had clinched things by remarking that she was not a mean, measly rotten apple because she is pelted by such.  But Bones countered, “Oftentimes what appears to be a good sound  apple is rotten to the core.” These two women, the editor said, are having about as much trouble with apples as their grandmother    in the Garden of Eden.

In June 1890, Aberdeen’s Saturday Pioneer News wrote:  South Dakota suffragists have no use whatever for Miss Anthony and very little for  Mrs. Bones.  The sooner they are muzzled effectively, the better for all true friends of the cause.  Mrs. Bones, in a clever letter   to the Minneapolis Tribune last week, continues the old war against her enemy, Miss Anthony.  Frankly, it would be better for the cause of woman suffrage if these two women could be out of the state  until after the election.

In July 1890, the Aberdeen Daily News wrote:  The women suffragists of the state have kicked up – if this is not a disrespectful thing to say of ladies – a big mess among themselves.  … A quarrel was precipitated that will not be healed.

National suffrage leaders spend months, campaigning and lecturing throughout the state in 1889 and 1890.  But the campaign lacked organization and never really recovered from the disagreements over money and mixing politics, suffrage    and temperance.
An incident late in October 1890 revealed how discouraged the workers were.  Anthony and Mary Seymour Howell of New York were riding  in an old wagon, driven by what Susan B. Anthony later described as a prematurely old little boy whose feet did not touch the wagon’s floor.  The aged horses could not travel  faster than a walk, even though a cold Dakota wind was blowing into their faces.  After an unbroken, silent hour, Anthony said, “Mrs. Howell, humanity is at a very low  ebb."

By election day in November 1890, the campaign had disintegrated and the amendment was badly defeated.  The women's efforts were summarized by Libby Wardell, the state organization's press superintendent: 

• 789 speeches by national speakers
  
• 707 speeches by state speakers
  
• 104 speeches given under the auspices of the WCTU
  
• A total of 1,600 speeches given across the state
  
• 400 local and county clubs of women organized
  
• $8,000 spent in support of suffrage.
  

Nevertheless, the amendment was defeated.  There were 68,600 ballots cast in the 1890 election with almost 23,000 votes for women’s suffrage and about 45,600 opposed.  Suffrage received about 1/3 of the votes cast.  So, 1,600 speeches, $8,000 in money, for fewer than 23,000 votes.  In 1890, there were 30,000 immigrants in South Dakota -- Russians, Scandinavians, Poles and other nationalities.  It is claimed that they voted almost solidly against woman suffrage.  But even if this were true, they must have had the assistance of 15,000 other men!

When did suffrage pass in South Dakota?  The 1890 campaign and vote was followed by a series of five campaigns in 1893-1894, 1897-1898, 1909-1910, 1913-1914, and 1915-1916. 

In 1897, the state adopted initiative and referendum, which gave citizens the right to propose legislation by petition and required that the proposed legislation be submitted to a direct popular vote without action by the legislature.  Women collected sufficient signatures to place the suffrage amendment on the ballot, only to be told that the initiative and referendum clause applied only to the proposal of laws and not to constitutional amendments.

Since each successive suffrage campaign brought increased support, suffragists decided to try again in 1917.  The 1917 legislature passed a resolution supporting suffrage and scheduled it for a vote of the general population in November 1918.  Shortly after the legislature adjourned in 1917, the U.S. entered World War 1 and the major enemy of the U.S.  was Germany.  After much deliberation, the suffrage leaders decided that the US entry into the war was perfectly timed.  The women’s contributions to the war effort strengthened their position at a time when German immigrants were accused of being enemy aliens and the liquor industry was losing ground to a growing prohibition sentiment. 

Governor Peter Norbeck called a special session of the legislature to discuss state affairs -- in particular, the German immigrant population in the state and  the clause in the state's constitution that granted citizenship to immigrants who filed their first papers. 
According to press coverage of a speech by Secretary of State Frank Hood: As the law now stands, a subject of the Kaiser may come to South Dakota,  reside in the state six months, take out his first papers and vote   at all elections.  But when war comes, he can plead that he is an immigrant and not be bound to fight for us.  A woman, born in South Dakota, educated in the fundamental principles of government, earnestly loyal, sacrificing so much in this world's struggle, is denied the ballot.  This is not fair or just!

The section of the constitution that dealt with immigrant citizenship was the same section of the constitution that gave men but not women the right to vote. 

At the special session of the legislature, the legislators agreed to address both issues – immigrant citizenship and women’s suffrage – in the same amendment.  In the rewriting process, the word “male” was eliminated from the language on suffrage and naturalization and a 5-year residency requirement were added for immigrants.  The amendment became known as the Citizenship Amendment and was promoted as part of the state's patriotic war effort.

Because of the way the amendment was worded, men voting against immigrant citizenship automatically voted for women’s suffrage.  The amendment was popular but not wildly popular.  To boost support for the amendment, the Honorable William Jennings Bryan toured the state's chautauquas during the summer of 1918 and spoke on behalf of suffrage.

He also publicized the cause in  his periodical, The Commoner.  He wrote:  there are two requisites for a good voter: morality and intelligence.  As the larger majority of women than men pursue their studies beyond the eighth grade, women have the more highly  trained intellect.  As the majority of men don't advance above the eighth grade and their teachers are women, all the instruction they receive about government is  given to them by women.  In considering the moral standpoint, in our state of Nebraska, there are 98 percent more men in the penitentiary than women and a similar proportion prevails throughout the United States.  If you go to the churches, the percentage is almost reversed.  Therefore, if women are intelligent enough to stay out of the penitentiary and in the churches, it seems they have the qualifications of good voters, regardless of gender.

The suffrage amendment finally passed in South Dakota, in November 1918 with a 60 percent majority.  50 years and 7 formal campaigns later, the amendment made it into the state constitution.  But, in reality, the amendment passed because it took the vote away from the German immigrants in the state, not because it granted the vote to  women.
However, the state's passage of the Citizenship Amendment was not the final chapter in the struggle for women's suffrage in South Dakota.

When Congress adopted the 19th Amendment in 1919, South Dakota suffragists wanted the state to be one of the first to ratify.  South Dakota law required political parties to hold proposal meetings in the capital in December preceding an election year.
Governor Norbeck was reluctant to call another special session of the legislature, but he agreed to the suffragists' ratification plan, if the legislators would come to Pierre at their own expense.  Most were coming anyway for the proposal meetings, so the special session was set for Tuesday, December  3, 1919 at 7 p.m.

The call was issued on November 30, in the midst of a blizzard.  One legislator rushed home to Huron from      Minneapolis, told his wife to send his suitcase after him and just caught the train to Pierre.  Another used three vehicles getting to the train through the blizzard.
The legislature wanted to ratify the amendment as  quickly as possible, so it was introduced into both houses at the same time and the first and second readings were completed that evening.  The resolution was referred to committee and the legislature adjourned about 11:50 p.m.  The session was called to order the next day at exactly 12:01 a.m. and the national amendment was ratified by unanimous vote at 12:44 a.m. on December 4, 1919.  It was the first time the legislature convened in the middle of the night, but members were anxious to get home because of the weather and trains left Pierre in both directions at 2 a.m.

Despite those efforts, South Dakota was not among the first states to ratify the 19th Amendment.  South Dakota was actually the 21st state on the list.  The first states to ratify were Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan, all on June 10, 1919.  Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18 1920.

1. Wisconsin (June 10, 1919)
   
2. Illinois (June 10, 1919, reaffirmed on June 17, 1919)
   
3. Michigan (June 10, 1919)
   
4. Kansas (June 16, 1919)
   
5. New York (June 16, 1919)
   
6. Ohio (June 16, 1919)
   
7. Pennsylvania (June 24, 1919)
   
8. Massachusetts (June 25, 1919)
   
9. Texas (June 28, 1919)
   
10. Iowa (July 2, 1919)[note 1]
    
11. Missouri (July 3, 1919)
    
12. Arkansas (July 28, 1919)
    
13. Montana (August 2, 1919)[note 1]
    
14. Nebraska (August 2, 1919)
    
15. Minnesota (September 8, 1919)
    
16. New Hampshire (September 10, 1919)[note 1]
    
17. Utah (October 2, 1919)
    
18. California (November 1, 1919)
    
19. Maine (November 5, 1919)
    
20. North Dakota (December 1, 1919)
    
21. South Dakota (December 4, 1919)
    
22. Colorado (December 15, 1919)[note 1]
    
23. Kentucky (January 6, 1920)
    
24. Rhode Island (January 6, 1920)
    
25. Oregon (January 13, 1920)
    
26. Indiana (January 16, 1920)
    
27. Wyoming (January 27, 1920)
    
28. Nevada (February 7, 1920)
    
29. New Jersey (February 9, 1920)
    
30. Idaho (February 11, 1920)
    
31. Arizona (February 12, 1920)
    
32. New Mexico (February 21, 1920)
    
33. Oklahoma (February 28, 1920)
    
34. West Virginia (March 10, 1920, confirmed on September 21, 1920)
    
35. Washington (March 22, 1920)
    
36. Tennessee (August 18, 1920)
    

 
If you’re interested in learning more about suffrage:  

• My thesis is in the DSU library.
  
• The History of Woman Suffrage is in the Rare Book Archives at SDSU library.  Some 10 to 12 volumes on suffrage history were written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joselyn Gage  and others.  Those books are organized by state and by year and make for some wonderful reading.
  

As a sidebar to South Dakota's suffrage history:  national suffragist Matilda Joselyn Gage was the mother of four daughters -- all of whom eventually lived in    Dakota Territory, at least for a time.  One daughter was married to Frank Baum, an Aberdeen newspaperman and Matilda Joselyn Gage lived with them for a time  in Aberdeen.  Her papers are archived in the Aberdeen City Library.   Baum later took his family back to the East Coast   and was living there when he wrote The Wizard of Oz.  That tornado in the Wizard of Oz?  You guessed it!  That was a product of Frank Baum’s imagination, after he lived in the north central part of the state for a couple years!
Matilda Joselyn Gage was an enthusiastic worker for the suffrage movement for many years until a conflict with Anthony and Stanton soured her on the movement.  Eventually, she quit working for suffrage and devoted herself to what she referred to as the TRUE ENEMY, which was the church.  Her book, Woman Church and State is a truly radical perspective on the church's role in the oppression of   women.

Link to South Dakota State Historical Society Article on Suffrage: suffrage_article.pdf

Link to Suffrage Map of US: suffrage_map.pdf

Link to a YouTube video of a more recent version of her presentation on suffrage:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aml69apRavA&feature=youtu.be
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