Oklahoma
Oklahoma’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 Oklahoma in the timeline below, or download the timeline as a printable PDF.
Oklahoma’s Suffrage Timeline
1895
National American Woman Suffrage Association organizer Laura Gregg visited Oklahoma, where she and local suffragists established the Oklahoma Territory Equal Suffrage Association (OTESA).
1897 & 1899
OTESA submitted suffrage petitions and held meetings and lectures to urge the Territorial Legislature to consider suffrage legislation. Although the House passed the bills, the Committee on Elections of the Council (similar to a senate) delayed the bills to prevent passage.
1907
During the statehood process, OTESA unsuccessfully lobbied congressional delegates to include suffrage in Oklahoma’s constitution. OTESA’s organizational structure dissolved shortly after, and the Oklahoma Woman Suffrage Association (OWSA) assumed the leading suffrage role. One of OWSA’s early presidents, Oklahoma City resident Kate Biggers, lobbied legislators and revitalized suffrage clubs across the state.
1910
Led by Biggers, suffragists gathered enough signatures (38,500) to add suffrage to the ballot, but opponents challenged the signatures, arguing that 5,000 of the signatures were fraudulent. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in favor of suffragists and the amendment appeared on the ballot. After the liquor industry claimed that women voters would be quick to support Prohibition and other moral restrictions, anti-suffragists soundly defeated the measure by a vote of 128,928 to 88,808.
1918
During the next suffrage ballot measure, the Oklahoma Anti-Suffrage Association used teas, luncheons, and literature to argue that equal suffrage would not solve women’s issues and would undermine traditional feminine values.
Suffragists canvassed and published appeals to connect with supporters, and legislators understood the value of appealing to women voters. Although the governor did not endorse suffrage, he agreed that the voters should be permitted to consider the issue via referendum.
On November 5, 1918, Oklahoma voters supported suffrage with 106,909 votes in favor, and 81,481 votes opposed, making Oklahoma the 21st state to grant women the right to vote.
February 28, 1920
Oklahoma ratified the 19th Amendment on February 28, 1920.*
* Jim Crow laws were enforced in Oklahoma until passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and Black women were not able to vote post-1920.
References
Anti-Suffrage Association. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society. https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entryname=ANTI-SUFFRAGE%20ASSOCIATION
BIGGERS, KATE H. HIMROD (1849–1935). (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society. https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=BI006
Brown, D. (n.d.). How Women Got the Vote in Oklahoma. https://my.lwv.org/sites/default/files/howwomengotvote.pdf
Cooney, Robert. (2005). Winning the Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement. American Graphic Press.
Harris, J. (n.d.). Biographical Sketch of Margaret Rees. Alexander Street. https://documents.alexanderstreet.com/d/1010922303
Oklahoma and the 19th Amendment. (2019, October 2). National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/oklahoma-and-the-19th-amendment.htm.
Oklahoma Woman’s Suffrage Association. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society. https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entryname=OKLAHOMASWOMANSUFFRAGEASSOCIATION
Suffrage Amendment. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society. https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SU002
Votes for Women: 100 Years of Women’s Suffrage. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society. https://www.okhistory.org/learn/votesforwomen
Women’s Suffrage in Oklahoma. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society. https://www.okhistory.org/learn/wmsuffrage4
Women’s Suffrage in Oklahoma: The Amendment Process. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society. https://www.okhistory.org/learn/wmsuffrage3