Nebraska
Nebraska’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 Nebraska in the timeline below, or download the timeline as a printable PDF.
Nebraska’s Suffrage Timeline
1855
Amelia Bloomer, editor of the country’s first women’s newspaper, The Lily, gave a suffrage speech at Omaha’s Douglas House Hotel and testified before the Territorial Legislature.
1867
The legislature granted women taxpayers voting rights for school board elections.
1871
Erasmus and Lucy Correll founded the Hebron Journal to advocate for suffrage and women’s rights. The newspaper invited women to write opinion pieces, and Mrs. Correll had a recurring column.
1882
Nebraska Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) petitioned to put municipal suffrage on the ballot. NWSA leaders included: Ada Bittenbender, an attorney who worked on Temperance, banning tobacco sales, and securing married women’s guardianship over their children and Clara Colby, editor of the suffrage newspaper, The Woman’s Tribune. Referendum opponents, mainly the brewery industry, worked to deliver a resounding defeat for suffrage (75% opposed the referendum).
Although state legislators did not pass suffrage bills, suffragists convinced legislators to introduce suffrage bills in each legislative session to keep the issue front and center for politicians and the local press.
1913
Suffragists gathered over 50,000 signatures from 63 counties to include suffrage on the ballot. In the process, the NWSA seeded 500 clubs and held an automobile tour that covered over 20,000 miles. Anti-suffragists (including lawyers, bank presidents, and prominent businessmen) issued a manifesto arguing that suffrage was inconsistent with government, God, and traditional values. The brewing industry urged men married to suffragists to stop their wives from joining suffrage groups. Once again, the suffrage referendum failed (100,842 votes against and 90,738 votes supporting).
1917
The Nebraska Legislature passed a bill granting women municipal and presidential voting rights. After Governor Keith Neville signed the bill, anti-suffragists attempted to delay/overturn the law by petitioning to add the municipal/presidential voting issue to the 1918 election ballot. When anti-suffragists presented enough signatures to place the issue on the ballot, NWSA discovered a number of fraudulent signatures, which the Nebraska Supreme Court confirmed. After the finding, the referendum was kept off the ballot.
August 2, 1919
The Nebraska Legislature voted unanimously to ratify the 19th Amendment.
References
Ada C. Bittenbender and the Nebraska Woman Suffrage Association. (n.d.). Nebraska State Historical Society. https://history.nebraska.gov/ada-c-bittenbender-and-the-nebraska-woman-suffrage-association/
Amelia Bloomer. (2015, February 26). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/amelia-bloomer.htm
Bloomberg, Kristen Mapel. (2009). “Striving for Equal Rights for All: Woman Suffrage in Nebraska, 1855- 1882.” Nebraska History 90 (2009): 84-103. https://history.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/doc_publications_NH2009EqualRights.pdf
Cooney, Robert. (2005). Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement. American Graphic Press.
Legal Challenges. (n.d.). Nebraska Studies. https://nebraskastudies.org/en/1900-1924/votes-for-women/legal-challenges/
Nebraska and the 19th Amendment. (2019, August 15). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/nebraska-and-the-19th-amendment.htm
The Struggle. (n.d.). Nebraska Public Media. https://nebraskastudies.org/en/1900-1924/votes-for-women/the-struggle/