Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

People

Location

145 N 5th St, Hebron, NE 68370, USA

Lat/Long

40.167454882251, -97.589106473118

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

Though the United States celebrated the centennial of the 19^th Amendment—which recognized women’s right to vote—back in 2020, it is important to remember that the ratification of the Amendment did not happen in a vacuum; rather, it was accomplished through decades of tireless advocacy. From grassroots groups petitioning local officials, to statewide coalitions and national organizations seeking to amend state constitutions and eventually the Federal Constitution, the women’s suffrage movement took many forms in the years leading to the 19^th Amendment. One such early campaign was led by Erasmus and Lucy Correll, and Barbara J. Thompson, who sought to amend the Nebraska State Constitution to establish statewide suffrage for women in 1881-1882.

In 1879 the Hebron Woman Suffrage Association formed following Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s interest in the area after she noticed a budding community of activists and organizers. In History of Woman Suffrage, published in 1887 and edited by the aforementioned Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Joslyn Gage, the Hebron community is mentioned as a frontrunner in a chapter dedicated to Nevada.

The first working society was that of Hebron, which was organized by Mrs. Stanton, April 15, 1879. The citizens were prepared for the undertaking. E.M. Correll, editor of the Hebron Journal, in editorials, in lectures by himself and others, had urged on women the dignity and importance of interesting themselves on their own behalf.

In 1880 and 1881 Erasmus and Lucy Correll, Barbera J. Thompson, and other suffragists from the Hebron community rallied for a proposed amendment to the Nebraska Constitution, which would give women the right to vote in state elections. The Correll couple and Thompson used newspaper articles and editorials in the Hebron Journal to increase awareness and public support for the women’s suffrage movement within their local community.

Along with his work in publishing, Erasmus also served as a politician, and he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Nebraska Legislature from 1880-1882. In 1881 he was also appointed as the President of the American Suffrage Association. Lucy worked as a writer, editor, and business manager for several local newspapers throughout her career. Thompson served as the Secretary of the Hebron Woman Suffrage Association and authored editorials to the local newspaper discussing the issue of suffrage while rallying the community behind the movement. Although it appears the local support was there, unfortunately the State was not yet ready to adopt the change. Despite their best efforts, both times Erasmus attempted to bring the bill forward during his tenure in the Nebraska House of Representatives, the amendment failed. First it died at the committee level, then again in 1882 by a decisive statewide vote.

Though the sweeping efforts made in 1881 and 1882 by advocates such as the Corrells and Thompson ultimately failed to amend the Nebraska State Constitution, they laid the ground work for later activists to continue fighting for women’s right to suffrage. In 1917 Nebraska passed a limited suffrage act, and in 1919 the state unanimously ratified the 19^th Amendment, which was enacted in August of 1920, allowing women to vote in all elections.