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 ‘‘Cow-
boy 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 inde-
pendence, founding, and rise to prominence of the United 
States were extensive, vital to those objectives, and wor-
thy of recognition; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Nov 14, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR700.IH
HR700
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 700 IH 
Whereas, on December 10, 1869, the Wyoming Territory ap-
proved 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 be-
came 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; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Nov 14, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR700.IH
HR700
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
•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, Wyo-
ming, 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, in-
dividualism, 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; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Nov 14, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR700.IH
HR700
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
•HRES 700 IH 
Whereas the milestones of women’s suffrage in Wyoming illu-
minate 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 Wyo-
ming; and 
Whereas the ongoing contributions made by women to Wyo-
ming 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. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
23:52 Nov 14, 2019
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HR700.IH
HR700
pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS