Female Suffrage in North and South Dakota, 1913-20

• In Event: Politics and History

Abstract

The extension of the franchise to groups previously excluded from political power is truly one of the central puzzles in historical political development posing the challenge of explaining why and under what conditions privileged enfranchised groups willingly share power with the disenfranchised. The paper examines the politics of female suffrage in South Dakota (where female suffrage passed in 1918) and North Dakota (where partial female suffrage extension was passed in 1917 but the franchise for state-level offices was not extended until the 19th Amendment came into force in 1920.) The paper presents new archival evidence examining the role of the populist Non-Partisan League (NPL) -- which had first emerged in North Dakota in 1915 -- in contributing to electoral dynamics pushing in favour of the extension of female suffrage. The paper also considers archival evidence regarding the role of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in both states and the degree to which its involvement contributed to different outcomes in the two states.

Author

• Gerard William Boychuk, University of Waterloo