Votes for Women

The year 2019 marks the centennial of Nebraska’s ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Votes for Women brings together articles published in Nebraska History magazine about the women’s suffrage movement in this state. Together they tell the story of the movement’s struggles and eventual triumph between 1855 and 1920.

Nationally known leaders such as Susan B. Anthony and Amelia Bloomer were active in Nebraska, and homegrown leaders such as Clara Bewick Colby and Doris Stevens achieved national influence. In Nebraska itself, the struggle between pro- and anti-suffrage forces (both led by women) was not only about women’s rights but also involved matters of class, religion, race, and national origin.

Votes for Women is illustrated with historic photographs and artifacts from the collections of History Nebraska.