Kansas
Kansas’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 Kansas in the timeline below, or download the timeline as a printable PDF.
Kansas’s Suffrage Timeline
1867
Kansas became the first state to hold a referendum on suffrage, bringing national suffrage leaders out to campaign—but voters voted against suffrage two-to-one. Six years earlier, when Kansas had become a state, it adopted the Wyandotte Constitution, allowing women to vote in school board elections.
1879
Kansans formed the Equal Suffrage Association (ESA) in Lincoln, and the ESA joined the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association (KESA) in 1884.
1887
The legislature passed legislation giving women the right to vote in municipal elections. Shortly after, as a joke, men included Susanna Salter’s name on the Prohibition Party ticket for Argonia mayor, and she received two-thirds of the vote, becoming the first female mayor in the country.
1894
Legislators considered another suffrage constitutional amendment, and KESA enlisted the assistance of Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Catt, and Anna Howard Shaw to campaign in the state. But the liquor and railroad industries funded opposition efforts and soundly defeated the measure by 35,000 votes. KESA continued to organize non-partisan campaigns and conventions to spotlight the cause and discouraged speakers from including political rhetoric in their speeches.
1911
When the legislature considered an amendment granting women full suffrage, Governor Walter Stubbs supported the measure. This time, the legislature passed the amendment in a three-to-one vote, and the issue was sent to the voters via a 1912 referendum.
1912
With 175,246 votes in favor and 159,197 votes in opposition, Kansas voters approved a suffrage amendment.
June 16, 1919
Kansas ratified the 19th Amendment.
References
Caldwell, M. (n.d.). The Woman Suffrage Campaign of 1912. Kansas Historical Society. https://www.kshs.org/p/the-woman-suffrage-campaign-of-1912/12944
Collins, K. (n.d.). Biographical Sketch of Lucy Browne Johnston. Alexander Street. https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1009656477
Cooney, Robert. (2005). Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement. American Graphic Press.
Fighting for Voting Rights: A Women’s Suffrage Movement. (n.d.). Visit Topeka. https://www.visittopeka.com/things-to-do/the-crossroads-to-freedom/topekas-crossroads-to-freedom/fighting-for-voting-rights-a-womens-suffrage-movement/
Kansas and the 19th Amendment. (2019, August 19). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/kansas-and-the-19th-amendment.htm
Lucy Browne Johnston Papers. (n.d.). Kansas Historical Society. https://www.kshs.org/p/lucy-browne-johnston-papers/14052
LWVK History. (n.d.). League of Women Voters of Kansas. https://lwvk.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=588009&module_id=543097
McCormick, M. (2024, March 4). Women’s Fight for the Right to Vote Here in Kansas is 100 Years Old… and Counting. ACLU Kansas. https://www.aclukansas.org/en/publications/womens-fight-right-vote-here-kansas-100-years-old-and-counting
Richardson, K. (2021, August 20). The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Kansas. Museum of World Treasures. https://worldtreasures.org/blog/the-womens-suffrage-movement-in-kansas
Smith, W. (n.d.). A Half Century of Struggle: Gaining Woman Suffrage in Kansas. NPS History. https://npshistory.com/publications/wori/kh-v4n2-1981.pdf
Susanna Madora Salter, Kansas Historical Society. https://www.kansashistory.gov/kansapedia/susanna-madora-salter/17181