Oregon
Oregon’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 Oregon in the timeline below, or download the timeline as a printable PDF.
Oregon’s Suffrage Timeline
1872
Abigail Scott Duniway unsuccessfully attempted to vote with several companions in Portland.
1873
Duniway helped found Oregon’s first suffrage group, the Oregon State Woman Suffrage Association (OSWSA). In her weekly human rights newspaper, The New Northwest, Duniway opposed allying with the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) efforts, believing its Prohibition support would hurt suffrage.
1880
After debating suffrage bills in 1872 and 1874, the Oregon Legislature passed a suffrage bill that required passage for a second time in the next legislative session, as well as approval through a voter referendum.
1884
In the lead up to the voter referendum, suffragists, led by Duniway, canvassed statewide for support. Liquor and business interests funded anti-suffrage efforts through public relations and press campaigns, and voters soundly rejected the bill by a margin of more than two-to-one.
1900
Oregon considered suffrage legislation four more times in the following years.
In 1900, roughly 48% of the electorate voted in favor of suffrage.
In 1905, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) held its convention in Oregon. With national attention, the state legislature included a suffrage measure on the 1906 ballot. Suffragists spent over $18,000 to campaign, but the anti-suffragists successfully targeted the measure, arguing that passage would lead to Prohibition. With 47,075 votes in opposition and 36,902 in favor, the measure failed.
In 1908—Duniway and other suffragists campaigned for another ballot measure, but it also failed with 58,670 votes against and 36,858 in favor.
In 1910—Only 37% of the electorate voted in favor of the suffrage bill.
1912
The Oregon Legislature offered voters another chance to approve suffrage. Suffragists distributed literature and postcards, urging voters to pass suffrage and “fill the gap” of suffrage on the West Coast. With 61,265 (52%) of voters in support, and 57,104 (48%) individuals voting in opposition, Oregon’s women finally won the right to vote.
January 13, 1920
The Oregon Legislature ratified the 19th Amendment.
References
Cooney, Robert. (2005). Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement. American Graphic Press.
Jensen, K. (n.d.). Woman Suffrage in Oregon. Oregon Encyclopedia. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/woman_suffrage_in_oregon/
Oregon and the 19th Amendment. (2019, September 10). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/oregon-and-the-19th-amendment.htm
The Evolution of Women’s Rights in Oregon. (n.d.). Oregon Secretary of State. https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/exhibits/suffrage/Pages/timeline-oregon.aspx
Ward, J. (n.d.). Abigail Scott Duniway (1834-1915). Oregon Encyclopedia. https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/abigail_scott_duniway/