Prohibitionists Debate Women's Suffrage
A state convention becomes a battleground over a pro-suffrage plank.
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The Prohibition party of the state of Washington held their state convention in this city and adopted a platform including a demand for a constitutional amendment giving women the privilege of suffrage equal with men. The plank was opposed by Elder Moss, who remarked that man was intended by God to be the head of the family, the church, and the nation. Winnie Thomas challenged his argument with considerable warmth, leading to a heated exchange where Moss claimed deafness to avoid the rebuttal. Ultimately, the pro-suffrage plank was adopted by an overwhelming majority.
“How can you prove it? From such doctrines I pray for deliverance!”
This debate underscores the long struggle for gender equality in Washington politics, pre-dating the state's successful push for suffrage in 1910. It captures the tension between religious institutionalism and the emerging political power of women activists in the late 19th century.
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