News & Updates

Myrtle Cain In 1922, women were able to run for office. In 1923, four women reached the Minnesota State Legislature. After this success, however, few women followed in their footsteps. Numbers did not increase significantly until the 1980s. The 2019-2020 legislature includes sixty-four women, down from a peak of seventy-one…

Bertha Berglin Moller. Harris & Ewing, Photographer. The 19th Amendment Passes Congress in 1919 After the success of protests, progress stalled. President Wilson was focused on the war in Europe. In response, the NWP initiated the protests again. The Senate narrowly defeated the measure twice, in October 1918 and again…

Sylvie Thygeson. Silent Sentinels Bring a Loud Response Starting in January 1917, women from the NWP picketed the White House almost daily. They stood as “silent sentinels” holding banners. The NWP wanted to highlight what they saw as President Wilson’s hypocrisy. He was fighting for democracy abroad when millions of…

A group of Minnesota Suffragists with their banners at suffrage headquarters, in the winter of 1917. With the death of first-generation leaders like Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1902) and Susan B. Anthony (1906), the suffrage movement entered a period of stagnation. Organizations like the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage formed.

Clara Ueland Clara H. Ueland (1869-1927) was president of the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association from 1914 until 1920. The MWSA became the Minnesota League of Women Voters. Her leadership, organizational skills, and persistence gave the Minnesota suffrage movement the direction it needed to succeed. She worked as a teacher before…

Clara Hardenbrook and her daughters. Suffragists came from many different backgrounds. Many were working class women with jobs in factories and stores. Some were from ethnic and racial minority groups. Some lived in small towns or on farms. Some were career women—doctors, lawyers, teachers, reporters. Others were middle or upper…