Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

Event, People, Site

Location

111 Statehouse Plaza, Little Rock, AR 72201, USA

Lat/Long

34.74856, -92.27231

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

On Saturday, May 2, 1914, hundreds gathered at the Old State House in Little Rock, Arkansas to celebrate Suffrage Day. The day’s events were led by Florence Brown Cotnam and members of the Little Rock Political Equality League. The Old State House was decorated in yellow and white, the colors of the women’s suffrage organization, and attendees, both men and women, wore yellow pennants given out by the Political Equality League.

The celebration began in the morning on the lawn of the Old State House, where hundreds gathered to hear speakers in support of women’s right to vote. This included a series of five-minute talks made by both men and women from the steps of the Old State House. After the morning events, a luncheon was served at the New Capital Hotel.

Florence Brown Cotnam and the Little Rock Political Equality League continued to advocate for women’s suffrage. 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.” That July, efforts of Arkansas suffragists paid off when the Arkansas State Legislature ratified the Nineteenth Amendment. By August 1920, the necessary 36 states had ratified the amendment, securing women’s right to vote across the United States.

As of 2022, the Old State House in Little Rock, Arkansas was in operation as the Old State House Museum.

Links

• Old State House Museum