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[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 700 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 700

 Supporting the designation of December 10, 2019, as ``Wyoming Women's 
                            Suffrage Day''.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 14, 2019

 Ms. Cheney submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                 the Committee on Oversight and Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Supporting the designation of December 10, 2019, as ``Wyoming Women's 
                            Suffrage Day''.

Whereas the epithets for the State of Wyoming are the ``Cowboy State'' and the 
        ``Equality State'';
Whereas the official State motto of Wyoming is ``Equal Rights'';
Whereas, at the founding of the United States, the inherent right of women to 
        vote and participate in the political process was inhibited;
Whereas the contributions of women to the fight for the independence, founding, 
        and rise to prominence of the United States were extensive, vital to 
        those objectives, and worthy of recognition;
Whereas, on December 10, 1869, the Wyoming Territory approved the first law in 
        the history of the United States to grant women the right to vote and 
        hold public office;
Whereas, in 1869, the Territorial Legislature of the Wyoming Territory also 
        passed legislation formally enabling women to hold property and assuring 
        equal pay for teachers;
Whereas the government of the Wyoming Territory was the first government to 
        explicitly acknowledge and affirm the inherent right of women to vote 
        and to hold office;
Whereas the Wyoming Territory granted women the right to vote more than 20 years 
        before Wyoming became the 44th State admitted to the Union;
Whereas, when Congress invited Wyoming to join the Union and demanded that 
        women's suffrage be revoked, the Wyoming Legislature said, ``We will 
        remain out of the Union one hundred years rather than come in without 
        our women'';
Whereas, on September 6, 1870, Louisa Gardner Swain became the first woman in 
        the world to cast a ballot after being granted universal suffrage in 
        Wyoming;
Whereas, on March 7, 1870, in Laramie, Wyoming, the first jury in the United 
        States to include women was sworn in;
Whereas, in 1870, Mary Atkinson served as the first female court bailiff in 
        Laramie, Wyoming;
Whereas Esther Hobart Morris was appointed to serve as justice of the peace in 
        February 1870, making her the first woman to serve as a judge in the 
        United States;
Whereas, in 1892, the women of Wyoming became the first women to vote in a 
        Presidential election;
Whereas, in 1894, the people of Wyoming elected Estelle Reel to serve as the 
        State superintendent of public instruction, making her one of the first 
        women in the United States elected to serve in a statewide office;
Whereas, in 1920, the residents of the town of Jackson, Wyoming, elected a city 
        council composed entirely of women, the first all-women government in 
        the United States, which was dubbed the ``petticoat government'' by the 
        press;
Whereas, in 1924, Wyoming became the first State to elect a female Governor, 
        Nellie Tayloe Ross;
Whereas, on May 3, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Nellie Tayloe 
        Ross as Director of the United States Mint, making Ross the first woman 
        to hold that position;
Whereas, as Director of the United States Mint, Nellie Tayloe Ross oversaw the 
        establishment of the Franklin half dollar and the beginning of the 
        production of proof coins for public sale;
Whereas the United States did not endorse women's suffrage until 1920, with the 
        ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
        States, 50 years after Wyoming;
Whereas the decision of the people of Wyoming to endorse women's suffrage 
        demonstrates the foresight, bravery, individualism, and honesty of the 
        citizens of Wyoming and the staunch adherence of the citizens of Wyoming 
        to the storied ``Code of the West'';
Whereas achieving voting rights for all women required firm and continuing 
        resolve to overcome reluctance, and even fervent opposition, to rightful 
        enfranchisement;
Whereas the milestones of women's suffrage in Wyoming illuminate and strengthen 
        the heritage of Wyoming as the ``Equality State'';
Whereas December 10, 2019, marks the 150th anniversary of the date on which 
        women's suffrage became law in Wyoming; and
Whereas the ongoing contributions made by women to Wyoming and the United States 
        should be recognized: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation of ``Wyoming Women's Suffrage 
        Day''; and
            (2) encourages the people of the United States to observe 
        the day with appropriate ceremonies and activities.
                                 <all>
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