Hawaii
Hawaii’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 Hawaii in the timeline below, or download the timeline as a printable PDF.
Hawaii’s Suffrage Timeline
1893
Following the overthrow of Hawaii’s queen and the 1898 U.S. annexation of Hawaii, Native Hawaiian women began to organize for suffrage rights.
1900
The U.S. Congress enacted the Organic Act of Hawaii, which established Hawaii as a U.S. territory and explicitly limited voting to men literate in either English or Hawaiian.
1912
Wilhelmina Kekelaokalaninui Wideman Dowsett, the daughter of a Native Hawaiian chieftain, founded the National Women’s Equal Suffrage Association of Hawaii (WESAH), which welcomed women of all ethnicities and backgrounds. Almira Pitman, who married a Native Hawaiian in Massachusetts, linked WESAH to New England suffrage groups and testified before the U.S. Congress on behalf of Native Hawaiian women’s need for the vote.
1919
The Hawaiian Senate approved suffrage legislation, but the House of Representatives declined to vote on the bill. House members feared that if women were allowed to vote, Native Hawaiians would surpass white representation in the Hawaiian Legislature. Even after Dowsett organized a 500 person suffrage parade which ended up with suffragists holding “Votes for Women” banners on the House floor, the House failed to pass the bill.
After Congress enacted the 19th Amendment, Hawaii, as a territory, could not participate in the ratification process. The 19th Amendment gave women in U.S. states and territories the right to vote, and Hawaiian women could vote in territorial elections.
1959
Wilhelmina Kekelaokalaninui Wideman Dowsett, the daughter of a Native Hawaiian chieftain, founded the National Women’s Equal Suffrage Association of Hawaii (WESAH), which welcomed women of all ethnicities and backgrounds. Almira Pitman, who married a Native Hawaiian in Massachusetts, linked WESAH to New England suffrage groups and testified before the U.S. Congress on behalf of Native Hawaiian women’s need for the vote.
References
Almira Pitman. (2020, September 3). Historic Hawaii. https://wscc.historichawaii.org/profile/almirapitman/
Gilbert, S. (n.d.). Suffragists You Need to Meet: Wilhelmina Dowsett (1861-1929). League of Women Voters. https://my.lwv.org/california/diablo-valley/article/suffragists-you-need-meet-wilhelmina-dowsett-1861-1929
Hawai’i and the 19th Amendment. (2019, August 22). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/hawaii-and-the-19th-amendment.htm
History.com Editors. (2010, February 9). Americans Overthrow Hawaiian Monarchy. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/americans-overthrow-hawaiian-monarchy
KS Ho’okahua Cultural Vibrancy Group. (2021, March 8). Womenʻs History Month: Nā me’e wāhine o Hawai’i — Women heroes of Hawai’i. Kamehameha Schools. https://www.ksbe.edu/article/womens-history-month-na-mee-wahine-o-hawaii-women-heroes-of-hawaii
Learning Network. (2012, January 17). Jan. 17, 1893| Hawaiian Monarchy Overthrown by American-Backed Businessmen. The New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/jan-17-1893-hawaiian-monarchy-overthrown-by-america-backed-businessmen/
Verhovek, K. (2025, March 3). The 19th Amendment, Explained. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/19th-amendment-explained
Queen Lili’uokalani. (n.d.). Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. https://womenshistory.si.edu/herstory/activism/object/queen-liliuokalani