Abigail Scott Duniway - Governor Oswald West - Portland Oregon

The Oregon Equal Suffrage Amendment was an amendment to the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, establishing

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

, which was passed by

ballot initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put directly to a plebiscite o ...

in 1912. The Oregon Suffrage Amendment was placed on the ballot several times between 1884 and 1912.

History

Changes to the

Constitution of Oregon The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights.

could be made after the

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper house, upper and lower chamber: the Oregon State Senate, Sena ...

passed an amendment bill in both legislative houses. A women's suffrage amendment was passed by the Oregon Assembly in 1882. The amendment went to the voters in 1884, but it was defeated. In 1900, the Oregon State Equal Suffrage Association urged the approval of the 1900 effort to ratify the amendment. Ballot measure #2 on the state's 1906 ballot was the "first attempt in American political history to amend the constitution of a state by the direct initiative of the people, and without any intervention by the legislature." The

initiative Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...

failed, with 36,902 votes in favor and 47,075 against. The organization, Portland Women Opposed to Suffrage, worked on the 1906 campaign, urging local businessmen to lend their names to the fight against women's suffrage. When the initiative was ratified in 1912, Oregon became the seventh state to extend the right to vote to women.

Abigail Scott Duniway Abigail Jane Scott Duniway (October 22, 1834 – October 11, 1915) was an American women's rights advocate, newspaper editor and writer, whose efforts were instrumental in gaining Women's suffrage in the United States, voting rights for women in ...

was a longtime advocate for women's suffrage in Oregon,Moynihan, Ruth Barnes (1983). ''Rebel for Rights: Abigail Scott Duniway''. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. , p. 216. and Governor

Oswald West Oswald West (May 20, 1873 – August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Early life West was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada but moved to Salem, Oregon with his family at t ...

asked her to write and sign the equal suffrage proclamation. left, 500px, From left to right: Kathryn Clarke and Marian Towne">Kathryn_Clarke_(politician).html" ;"title="Fern Hobbs, Kathryn Clarke (politician)">Kathryn Clarke and Marian Towne ">Kathryn Clarke (politician)">Kathryn Clarke and Marian Towne">Kathryn_Clarke_(politician).html" ;"title="Fern Hobbs, Kathryn Clarke (politician)">Kathryn Clarke and Marian Towne In March 1915, the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger honored three early women in public service in Oregon, in the wake of the passage of the equal suffrage amendment: Fern Hobbs (left) was private secretary to Governor Oswald West, and was later appointed by him to the newly-established State Industrial Accident Commission. Kathryn Clarke (politician), Kathryn Clarke (center), was appointed to a vacancy in the State Senate by West. Due to doubts about the legality of the appointment, Clarke insisted on a special election, in which she defeated two male opponents.

Marian Towne Marian B. Towne (December 6, 1880 – February 16, 1966) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who was the first woman to serve in the Oregon House of Representatives. She was elected to that office in 1914, serving until 1917. Town ...

(right), the first woman ever elected to the Oregon Legislature, served in the Oregon House of Representatives.

References

Oregon ballot measures 1906 referendums Initiatives in the United States 1906 in Oregon 1912 in Oregon Women's suffrage in Oregon {{oregon-stub

History

See also

References