IV 

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; 


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•HRES 700 IH 

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; 


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•HRES 700 IH 

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; 


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•HRES 700 IH 

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 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) supports the designation of ‘‘Wyoming 

3 Women’s Suffrage Day’’; and 

4 (2) encourages the people of the United States 

5 to observe the day with appropriate ceremonies and 

6 activities. 

Æ 


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