Alaska
Alaska’s Fight for Suffrage
Women worked for over 70 years to get the vote. Divisions over race, tactics, and strategy did not stop suffrage efforts. Women kept their eyes on the prize . . . suffrage. Learn more about the fight for suffrage in Alaska in the timeline below, or download the timeline as a printable PDF.
Alaska’s Suffrage Timeline
1912
Congress granted Alaska the right to form a Territorial Legislature with passage of the Second Organic Act.
1913
Cornelia Templeton Hatcher advocated for temperance throughout her life, and was
drawn to Alaska, where the exceedingly difficult life for men often led to excessive drinking.
In addition to delivering temperance speeches across Alaska, Hatcher devoted herself to the
suffrage fight by partnering with temperance colleagues, Fanny Pedersen, Ida Green, and
Ada Browell. Together, they gathered 400 petition signatures in favor of suffrage, which
they presented to the Alaska Territorial Legislature. The National American Woman
Suffrage Association (NAWSA) also took special interest in Alaska, as the territory lacked an
organization solely devoted to the woman’s suffrage movement. NAWSA sent mail and
telegrams to Alaska’s legislators urging them to support a suffrage bill.
1913
Representative Arthur Shoup introduced Alaska’s first suffrage bill, which he drafted with NAWSA. The bill required voters to be at least 21 years old, have American citizenship, and prove at least one year of Alaskan residency. Alaska’s legislators excluded Alaskan Native women by only allowing indigenous voting if a person had renounced
“tribal customs and traditions.” Ultimately, the House of Representatives rejected
legislators’ delaying tactics, and the bill passed.
Within less than two weeks of introduction, Governor Walter E. Clark signed the suffrage bill into law on March 21, 1913, officially granting non-Native Alaskan women the right to vote, making Alaska the tenth state or territory to do so.
1925
After passage of the Indian Citizenship Act which gave Native Alaskans citizenship rights, the Territorial Legislature passed the Alaska Voters Literacy Act that re-established voting barriers by requiring voters to be able to speak and write English.
1965
The Voting Rights Act eliminated voting restrictions such as literacy tests, which broadened voting rights for Native Alaskan women and men.
References
Alaska and the 19th Amendment. (2020, August 10). National Park Service.
https://www.nps.gov/articles/alaska-and-the-19th-amendment.htm
Alaska State Museum. (2020, September 30). Alaska’s Suffrage Star. https://lam.alaska.gov/suffrage-star
Beeton, B. & Bruce Parham, R. (2020, July). Votes for Women, Woman Suffrage in Alaska: A Resource List. Alaska Historical Society. https://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/about-ahs/special-projects/centennial-of-womens-suffrage-alaska/votes-for-women-woman-suffrage-in-alaska-a-resource-list/
Cooney, Robert. (2005). Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement. American Graphic Press.
Lapka, A. (2019, March 13). The Life of Cornelia Templeton Jewett Hatcher. Alaska Historical Society. https://alaskahistoricalsociety.org/the-life-of-cornelia-templeton-jewett-hatcher/