Wyoming might have been part of the Wild West, but it was civilized enough in 1869 to give women the right to vote, over two decades before the territory became a U.S. state. In fact, keeping women's suffrage intact was a condition of Wyoming agreeing to join the Union in 1890, 30 years before that right was extended to all U.S. women by the 19th Amendment. "We will stay out of the Union a hundred years rather than come in without our women," the territorial legislature wrote.
In a place where female teachers were already guaranteed equal pay and women had property rights, it's probably not surprising that when 69-year-old Louisa Swain cast that first female ballot in Laramie in September 1870, no one tried to stop her. “There was too much good sense in our community for any jeers or sneers to be seen on such an occasion,” the Laramie Sentinel stated. The law that gave women voting rights also allowed them to hold public office and to serve on juries. No wonder Wyoming is nicknamed the "Equality State."
Want to know more about Wyoming?
- Wyoming is home to the first U.S. national park, Yellowstone (though partly in Montana and Idaho, as well), the first national monument, Devils Tower, and the first national forest, Shoshone.
- Although it is the 10th-largest U.S. state in terms of area, Wyoming is home to the fewest number of people.
- Wyoming might be landlocked, but it contains 35 named islands, mostly located in Jackson Lake and Yellowstone Lake in the state's northwest corner.
