How Wyoming Achieved Statehood: First with Women's Suffrage

Wyoming's path to statehood is unique in U.S. history: it was the first territory to grant women full voting rights and the first state admitted with women's suffrage enshrined in its constitution.

Territorial Period (1868–1889)

• 1868: Wyoming Territory organized from Dakota, Idaho, and Utah territories. Capital: Cheyenne. Economy: Railroad (Union Pacific), cattle, coal.
• 1869: Territorial Legislature passes woman suffrage bill (introduced by William H. Bright, backed by Esther Hobart Morris). Governor John Campbell signs it. Women vote in 1870; Morris becomes first female justice of the peace.
• 1880s: Population surpasses 60,000 (statehood threshold). Cattle boom, then bust (1886–87 winter). Pressure for statehood grows.

The Constitutional Convention (1889)

Delegates met in Cheyenne (Sept 1889). They drafted a constitution that retained women's suffrage (Article 6, Section 1) despite warnings from Congressional delegates that it might block admission. The constitution also included innovative provisions: public ownership of water, irrigation districts, and a ban on corporate contributions to legislators.

Congressional Battle and Admission (1890)

• House: Passed admission bill easily (1890).
• Senate: Fierce debate. Opponents cited small population (~62,000), economic dependence on cattle, and—most controversially—women's suffrage. Supporters (including Senator Joseph M. Carey) argued Wyoming met all legal criteria.
• Compromise: None needed on suffrage. The Omnibus Bill (admitting Wyoming, Idaho, Washington) passed Senate 37–16.
• July 10, 1890: President Benjamin Harrison signs proclamation. Wyoming becomes the 44th state.

Significance

Wyoming's admission proved a territory could be a state with women voters. It forced the national suffrage conversation forward. Wyoming women voted in the 1892 presidential election—30 years before the 19th Amendment. The state motto, "Equal Rights," reflects this legacy.