Mississippi
Mississippi’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 Mississippi in the timeline below, or download the timeline as a printable PDF.
Mississippi’s Suffrage Timeline
1897
Nellie Nugent Somerville served as the first president of the Mississippi Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA), and was active in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. MWSA members gave speeches, wrote letters, and marched in parades and fairs to promote suffrage. Like many suffragist groups, MWSA was divided between those who thought a federal amendment was the best way to secure suffrage, and others who believed that Mississippi should enact state suffrage laws. MWSA members advocated for occupational safety, as well as public health measures and child protection measures.
1899
MWSA and the suffrage movement gained steam when the MWSA elected Belle Kearney as president. Like Somerville, Kearney was born into a wealthy Mississippi family and was active in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. As MWSA president, Kearney advocated for the enfranchisement of literate White women. MWSA limited its suffrage advocacy to participation in parades and fairs, which it viewed as a more polite path to change.
1908
Suffragists held a convention at the Governor’s Mansion.
1920
Mississippi’s Legislature rejected the 19th Amendment in February 1920. But when the legislature heard that Delaware, a Republican state, could take the amendment over the finish line, Mississippi Democrats convinced the legislature to reconsider the 19th Amendment.
This time, the Senate vote was tied, and the Lieutenant Governor broke the tie in favor of passage. The Mississippi House was unconvinced and rejected the amendment.
1922
Nellie Nugent Somerville became Mississippi’s first female state legislator.
March 22, 1984
Mississippi ratified the 19th Amendment.*
* Jim Crow laws were enforced in Mississippi until passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and Black women were not able to vote post-1920.
References
Belle Kearney, 1863-1939. (n.d.). Documenting the American South. https://docsouth.unc.edu/fpn/kearney/summary.html
Bishop, M. (2017, July 11). Nellie Nugent Somerville. Mississippi Encyclopedia. https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/nellie-nugent-somerville/
Cooney, Robert. (2005). Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement. American Graphic Press.
McKnight, S. (2017, July 11). Woman Suffrage. Mississippi Encyclopedia. https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/woman-suffrage/
Mississippi and the 19th Amendment. (2020, July 22). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/mississippi-and-the-19th-amendment.htm
Roberts, G. (2017, July 11). Belle Kearney. Mississippi Encyclopedia. https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/belle-kearney/
Spruill, M., & Wheeler, J. (2001, December). Mississippi Women and the Woman Suffrage Amendment. https://www.mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/issue/mississippi-women-and-the-woman-suffrage-amendment