Wisconsin celebrates centennial of the 19th Amendment passage, remembers prominent Oshkosh suffragist
OSHKOSH - With a prominent Oshkosh suffragist at the forefront, Wisconsin became the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.
On the morning of June 10, 1919, the all-male Wisconsin Legislature gave American women full enfranchisement after the U.S. Congress approved the measure June 4.
It would take more than a year until Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment in August 1920, crossing the two-thirds majority threshold needed to make the 19th Amendment part of the U.S. Constitution.
Illinois likes to claim it was first, but it was actually Wisconsin, said Margy Davey, president of the League of Women Voters Winnebago County.
Wisconsin ratified the amendment at 11:52 a.m. June 10, 1919, while Illinois passed it at 10:48 a.m. that day, but errors in the document forced legislatures to redraft; therefore, making Wisconsin the first.
The League of Women Voters of Winnebago County will mark the ratification Wednesday at The Howard.
To celebrate the centennial of Wisconsin ratifying the 19th Amendment, the League of Women Voters of Winnebago County will host a celebration from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Howard, 405 Washington Ave.
While the local chapter is hosting the event, League members from across the state will join and anyone interested in learning more about Oshkosh's ties to the women's suffrage is welcome to join, Davey said.
Retired UW-Oshkosh history professor Helen Bannan will portray Oshkosh suffragist Jessie Jack Hooper at the event to answer questions people may have about women's suffrage. Bannan is working on a biography about Hooper, Davey said.
Part of the reason the League is having the celebration at The Howard is because the building existed when Hooper was alive, Davey said.
The League strives to educate and inform voters about issues and candidates.
Oshkosh's most prominent suffragist also advocated for disarmament and rights of indigenous people.
Hooper became a prominent member of the Women's Suffrage Movement and advocated for the passage of the 19th Amendment.
She was active in the national and Wisconsin women's suffrage movements before the passage of the 19th Amendment, according to the Oshkosh Public Museum. She toured states, asking governors to give women the right to vote with other prominent suffragists, including Carrie Chapman Catt and Minnie Fisher Cunningham.
Wisconsin women gained the right to vote only in school-related elections in 1886.
Because Hooper couldn't vote in anything besides school elections, every other year, Hooper's husband, Mark Hooper would vote how his wife wanted during the years she wasn't allowed to vote, Davey said.
After the passage, Hooper became the first president of the Wisconsin League of Women Voters and was also active in the national organization, which formed in 1920 to help women exercise their new right to vote, according to the museum.
In 1922, the Democratic Party recruited Hooper to run for U.S. Senate, and two women led her campaign. But Hooper lost her bid to Republican Robert E. LaFollette.
Her defeat didn't deter her from advocating for political causes until her death in 1935. After losing the Senate race, she worked for world peace, serving as a member of the League of Women Voters for international cooperation to prevent war, according to the museum.
In 1924, Hooper invited more than 100 women from across the country to discuss world peace, which eventually lead to the 1928 Conference on the Cause and Cure of War, according to the museum. She also tried to gather 1 million signatures supporting military disarmament.
According to the museum, Hooper also advocated for the rights of indigenous people, particularly those of the Menominee Nation, by chairing Indian Affairs Committee of the Wisconsin League of Women Voters.
Meg Jones of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.
If you go
- What: Wisconsin First State to Ratify! Celebration
- When: Wednesday, June 19 from 5 to p.m.
- Where: The Howard, 405 Washington Ave., Oshkosh
Contact Lydia Slattery at 920-426-6710 or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter at @lydiaslattery.