Wyoming Legacy In Women’s Rights
Each March, communities globally gather to recognize International Women’s History Month, with March 8 marking the beginning of International Women’s Week; a time meant for the world to reflect on the progress and achievements made, while continuing to focus on the current erosion of women’s rights around the world. In Wyoming, a state known as the Equality State, the history of women’s rights is not a side note; it’s one of the many key stories that helped build the event.
Understanding the origins of International Women’s History Week and Month, alongside Wyoming’s own history, reveals why this celebration resonates so strongly here at home.
International Women’s Day’s origins begin in the early 20th century, emerging from labor movements in the United States and Europe. In 1908, thousands of women marched in New York City, calling for improved working conditions, equal pay, and voting rights. The following year, the U.S. celebrated its very first National Women’s Day.
In 1910, German activist Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of creating International Women’s Day at the International Socialist Women’s Conference. By 1911, more than one million people were participating in rallies and marches across Europe advocating for women’s rights.
From then on, March 8 became recognized as International Women’s Day after Russian women staged protests in 1917, demanding “bread and peace.” Decades later, in 1975, the United Nations officially began celebrating International Women’s Day, and in 1978, a school district in California initiated Women’s History Week. By 1987, Congress designated March as Women’s History Month in the U.S.
Wyoming earned its well-known nickname, the Equality State, in 1869 when the territorial legislature passed a law granting women the right to vote. The bill that enacted this was signed by Governor John A. Campbell on Dec. 10, making Wyoming the first territory in the United States to give those rights to women.
When Wyoming sought statehood in 1890, Congress pressured the territory to revoke women’s suffrage. The state of Wyoming refused to do so. Territorial leaders reportedly responded that they would remain out of the Union for a hundred years rather than join without women’s voting rights. On July 10, 1890, Wyoming entered the Union as a state, with women’s suffrage intact. This decision placed Wyoming at the forefront of the national suffrage movement decades before the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920.
It’s also important to know that several women played central roles in shaping Wyoming’s legacy.
Esther Hobart Morris became the first female justice of the peace in the U.S. in 1870, serving in South Pass City. Though her term was brief, her appointment symbolized the new political possibilities for women. Louisa Swain of Laramie is widely recognized as the first woman to cast a legal vote under the 1869 law. Her ballot, which was cast in 1870, remains a defining moment in Wyoming history. Therese Jenkins, a teacher and activist, also advocated for women’s suffrage and equality during the territorial years prior to statehood. These women and many others laid the foundation for Wyoming’s identity as a leader in the fight for women’s rights.
In 1924, Wyoming again made history by electing Nellie Tayloe Ross as governor, where she became the first woman elected governor in the United States following the death of her husband, Gov. William Bradford Ross. She later served as director of the U.S. Mint, continuing on her public service.
These milestones were not isolated events; they reflected a culture that, at key moments, chose inclusion over exclusion.
Laramie remains central to preserving and sharing the history. The Wyoming Women’s History House, often referred to as the Wyoming Women’s History Museum, houses exhibits, archives, and educational materials that document the state’s role in advancing women’s rights.
The museum highlights stories of suffrage leaders, early voters, and women who shaped Wyoming’s political and social landscape. It also connects past struggles to ongoing conversations about equality and representation.
Beyond the museum, individuals can explore women’s history at the American Heritage Center located at the University of Wyoming, which holds extensive archival collections, or visit the Wyoming State Museum in Cheyenne for broader exhibits on state history. Across the country, institutions such as the National Women’s History Museum offer additional resources to understand women’s contributions.
International Women’s History Week and Month encourage reflection on all that women have fought for. For Wyoming, that reflection includes pride in being first, but also a new understanding that equality is not a finished chapter. The story of women’s rights in Wyoming did not end in 1869 or 1890; it continues on in classrooms, courtrooms, boardrooms, and community spaces across the state.
In a state where the fight for suffrage helped define its identity, Women’s History Month is not just a national observance; it’s a homegrown legacy.
