Women were graciously given the vote, here in Colorado, in 1893 — almost 30 years before the passage of the 19th Amendment.
That’s the kind of guys we were, here in Colorado. And still are.
Of course, in 1893, there weren’t too many women living here yet, so the potential risk was minimal.
I believe the general idea was to give women something — the right to vote — that didn’t cost anything and probably wasn’t too dangerous, but still made the women feel special.
“What do you think about taking me out to dinner tonight, Jim? It’s been a few months since we did anything together.”
“You’re complaining? Hell, we gave you the vote last year. What more do you want?”
Although I could be wrong about the motivation. It’s also possible that the men of Colorado were simply trying to keep up with the Joneses.
“The Joneses” being the men of the Pitcairn Islands, who granted women the right to vote in 1838.
Curiously enough, all the women were of Tahitian descent.
The Pitcairn Islands were uninhabited at the time they were discovered by European sailors in 1606… but then everyone forget where they were located. The main island, Pitcairn Island, was rediscovered by British explorer Philip Carteret in 1767, but he plotted the coordinates incorrectly… a mistake which, in turn, created a good deal of consternation for Fletcher Christian in 1789, after he led a mutiny on the HMS Bounty and then spent several months searching for Pitcairn Island.
He finally found it.
Nine mutineers and their Tahitian companions decided to make their home on the island, since the British naval authorities were unlikely to apprehend them there — considering that maps showed the island to be situated 180 miles in the wrong direction. They lived in isolation until 1808, by which time — following a series of murders — only one Englishman, 10 Tahitian women, and 23 children remained.
Presumably, a relatively happy Englishman.
After being accidentally rediscovered by British vessels, the island eventually became an official British colony in 1838. Exactly how that date aligns with the fact that the Pitcairn women were also granted the vote in 1838, I have been unable to discover… because, back in Great Britain, women were denied the universal right to vote until 1928.
We might assume that the sole remaining English mutineer simply got tired of casting the lone ballot at every election, and decided to liven things up by implementing women’s suffrage.
Of course, the men of Colorado were facing a very different situation, in 1893, when they were presented with the opportunity to grant women the right to vote. There were about twice as many adult men in Colorado as adult women. (If ‘men’ can ever really be considered ‘adults’.)
These were times when many a Colorado man wished he lived on Pitcairn Island, even if the women there had already obtained the vote 55 years earlier. There are things more important than voting, as even our President Joe Biden will attest.
Fate was working its magic in the American West, however. Wyoming and Utah had already granted women suffrage, in 1869 and 1870 respectively, and had proved that even voting women were perfectly happy to let the men fill any and all elective offices, regardless.
Also, because of the lopsided demographics, about half of the grown men in Colorado had never successfully obtained a wife, and were therefore relatively innocent of the dangers.
“Miss Abigal, I surely would be delighted if you would permit me to escort you to the church social next Sunday.”
“Well, now, Mr. Wentworth. That’s right kindly of you to ask, and I would be obliged to accompany you. But… I need to pose a query, first, if you don’t mind?”
“Miss Abigal, I’d be pleased to answer any question you might want to pose.”
“It’s simply this, Mr. Wentworth. How do you plan to vote on the women’s suffrage measure, on next Tuesday’s ballot?”
“Why… I… I reckon I’d like to see a fine lady like yourself allowed into the voting booth during next year’s Presidential election.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wentworth. A most civilized answer. What time can I expect to see your carriage at my residence on Sunday?”
It was 27 more years before the U.S. finally implemented women’s suffrage for the entire nation. Unfortunately, the change coincided with the 18th Amendment, also approved in 1920, which prohibited the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages… followed a few years later by the Great Depression.
I’m not drawing any connection between these events. The reader can do that for himself.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all.