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With suffrage achieved in Nevada but not nationally, the suffrage debate remained a topic of public discourse in local newspapers. Nevada newspapers touted the fact Nevada women had already received the vote as other states attempted to pass suffrage amendments. In a 1915 article in the Nevada State Journal, the paper claimed that the conservatism of the East defeated suffrage, while the “west and parts of the south always have been more willing to try political experiments” unlike the east, “which is suspicious of innovations.”[1]
The attainment of suffrage for women in Nevada provided an opportunity for local suffragists, such as Anne Martin, to continue the national fight. In 1916, the same year as the first Nevada election women were eligible to vote in, Martin left the state to conduct a speaking tour about suffrage. One Nevada newspaper detailed her departure and made sure it indicated, “She will return to Reno in time to register for the November election.”[2] All women received the right to vote with the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. The August 18, 1920 edition of the Tonopah Daily Bonanza proclaimed the victory in a huge front-page headline.[3]
It is important to note that despite the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, not all women received the right to vote. Indigenous women had to wait until 1924 with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act, before the United States recognized them as citizens, thus delaying their ability to vote. A 1924 headline in the New York Times stated “Indians to Vote Next Election Day” and indicated the newly enfranchised status of indigenous peoples.[4] Despite their exclusion from citizenship, indigenous women found other ways to exert power and take on leadership roles in their communities, including working in mining camps and utilizing outing services in order to earn wages to support their communities.
African American women, although technically granted the right to vote in 1920, still faced struggles to do so, particularly in the South. It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which enforced the earlier voting rights granted to African Americans, that voting became less restricted. Similar to the anti-suffrage groups questioning the passage of suffrage in Nevada in 1914, some Southern states fought against the Voting Rights Act. A 1965 article in the New York Times revealed that Alabama applied an injunction against the enrollment of African American voters by Federal examiners, a move that the Federal courts declared as void.[5]
Despite the accomplishments achieved towards equality with the Civil Rights Movement, many women still faced inequalities in their daily lives. Several African American Nevada women, in particular, found ways to foster and promote equality for women and minorities through their community engagement efforts. Ruby Duncan, founder of Operation Life, is a long-time social justice activist. Hattie Canty was a labor activist and president of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union Local 226. It is the efforts of these women, plus many more, that add to the legacy of women’s community engagement in Nevada.
Although women in America obtained suffrage in 1920, the fight for equality was in many ways just beginning. Shortly after passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman drafted the first version of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), calling for equal rights for all people, regardless of sex. The ERA debate in Nevada continued off and on until 2017 when the state legislature finally ratified the amendment. Furthermore, the recent Women’s Marches highlight the ongoing issues relating not only to equality for women, but for other groups as well. In 2018, Las Vegas became the site for both a women’s march and rally that expanded on many of the issues the 2017 march did not address. The national group chose Las Vegas as the site of the main event due to Nevada being a key political swing state. In addition, it wanted to honor the victims of the October 1, 2017 shooting. Although the mediums used to promote public discourse have changed greatly with the advent of the internet, people still ultimately rely on media to keep up with the issues and promote their own views. As with the earliest newspapers in Nevada, these views still fall on various ends of the political spectrum.
Sources:
[1] “Conservatism of the East Defeats Equal Suffrage,” Nevada State Journal, October 21, 1915, America’s Historical Newspapers.
[2] “League President Leaves for the East,” Nevada State Journal, May 5, 1916, America’s Historical Newspapers.
[3] “Suffrage Bill is Ratified,” Tonopah Daily Bonanza, August 18, 1920, Historic American Newspapers.
[4] “Indians to Vote Next Election Day,” New York Times, September 7, 1924, ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
[5] “U.S. Court Backs Voting Rights Act,” New York Times, November 24, 1965, ProQuest Historical Newspapers.
© Copyright 2018 Christina Lamoureux. All Rights Reserved.
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