Wyoming Women's Suffrage

Wyoming Women's Suffrage refers to the 1869 decision by the Wyoming Territory to grant women the right to vote, making it the first U.S. jurisdiction to do so. The move was motivated by strategic political reasons—encouraging female settlers to migrate west—and reflected evolving attitudes about gender equality. When Wyoming became a state in 1890, this right was preserved, setting a precedent for women’s enfranchisement nationally. Wyoming’s pioneering stance played a key role in the broader women’s suffrage movement, contributing to the eventual passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted women nationwide the right to vote.