dec 10, 1869 - Wyoming Passes the 1st Women's Suffrage Law

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Motivated more by interest in free publicity than a commitment to gender equality, the Wyoming territory legislators pass a bill, signed into law on December 10, 1869, granting women the right to vote. Western states led the nation in approving women’s suffrage, however, some of them had less pure motives. Though some men recognized the important role women played in frontier settlement, others voted for women’s suffrage only to strengthen the conservative voting blocks. In Wyoming, some men were also motivated just by loneliness. In 1869, the territory had over 6,000 males and only 1,000 females, and men hoped women would be more likely to settle in the rugged and isolated country if they were granted the right to vote.

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