Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

People

Location

15 E Intendencia St, Pensacola, FL 32502, USA

Lat/Long

30.41021, -87.21401

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

Frank L. Mayes (1873-1915) was the owner and editor of the Pensacola Journal, a daily newspaper published at 15 E. Intendencia Street in Pensacola, Florida. Mayes was an active supporter of women’s suffrage, and opened the columns of the Pensacola Journal to the Pensacola Equal Suffrage League. In September 1914, the Pensacola Equal Suffrage League edited a special “Equal Suffrage Edition” of the Pensacola Journal. In this special edition, Mayes was quoted, “I have never been able to see any reason why any woman who desired to do so, should not be permitted to vote on any question on which men are permitted to vote.” He continued, stating that women’s suffrage would “… elevate the politics of all parties to a higher plane, and as a result … conduce to better government no matter what political party may be in power.” He concluded, stating, “I am in favor of permitting the women of Florida to vote, just as the men of Florida now vote.”

Mayes died suddenly on February 1, 1915. That month, Mayes’s life and his dedication to the fight for women’s suffrage was discussed at the regular meeting of the Pensacola Equal Suffrage League, and a resolution was adopted by the league that in part read, “… The Pensacola Equal Suffrage League has lost a peerless friend, a loyal advocate and a brilliant leader…”

On June 4, 1919, the United States Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment which states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” By August 1920, the necessary number of states had ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, securing women’s right to vote across the United States, including in the state of Florida.