Women
who paved the way....
Esther Peterson |
|
Martha
Cannon (1857-1932) |
 In 1896, Martha Maria Hughes
Cannon was
the first woman elected to
the Utah State Senate, which
also made her the first
female state senator in
the country. Cannon
ran as one of five Democratic
candidates from Salt Lake
County. Her husband,
Angus M. Cannon, was running
as one of the five Republican
candidates for the same seat. However,
Martha won the election by
2,671 votes. During
her two terms in office, Martha
introduced several pieces
of legislation relating to
the health and well being
of Utah citizens including "An
Act Providing for the Compulsory
Education of Deaf, Dumb, and
Blind Children," "An Act Creating
a State Board of Health and
Defining Its Duties," and "An
Act to Protect the Health
of Women and Girl Employees." |
Women's
Suffrage in Utah |
 The
right to vote was
first granted to
women in Utah in
1870 by the territorial
legislature, making
Utah the second
state, behind Wyoming,
to grant suffrage
rights to women. At
the time no state
provided women
with the right
to vote. However,
the right of Utah
women to vote was
revoked by the
U.S. Congress in
1887 as part of
a national effort
to end polygamy
in the state. In
response, Utah
women, both Mormon
and non Mormon,
joined national
efforts to ensure
suffrage for women
across the nation. With
statehood in sight,
suffragettes moved
quickly to ensure
the right to vote
would be added
to the new state
constitution. The
state Constitution,
adopted in 1895,
included a provision
that ensured that "the
rights of citizens
of the State of
Utah to vote and
hold office shall
not be denied or
abridged on account
of sex. Both male
and female citizens
of this state shall
enjoy equally all
civil, political
and religious rights
and privileges." For more information see: Beverly Beeton, Women Vote in the West: The Woman Suffrage Movement 1869-1896 (1986); Elizabeth Cady Stanton, et al, eds., History of Woman Suffrage (reprint 1969); Jean Bickmore White, "Woman's Place Is in the Constitution: The Struggle for Equal Rights in Utah in 1895," Utah Historical Quarterly 42 (Fall 1974); Thomas G. Alexander, "An Experiment in Progressive Legislation: The Granting of Woman Suffrage in Utah in 1870," Utah Historical Quarterly 38 (Winter 1970). |
| Jean
M. Westwood |
(Photo courtesy
of Marriot Library
Special Collections) |
| Reva Beck Bosone |
You can read more about Reva in Clopton, Beverly B. Her Honor, the Judge: The Story of Reva Beck Bosone. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1980. |
Born
in Provo,
Utah, Esther
Peterson was
a leading activist
in the labor,
women's,
and consumer
movements for
more than half
a century.
She relished
her roles
as labor educator,
lobbyist,
government
official, corporate
executive,
and always
as an advocate
for working
women and men.
Jean
M. Westwood began
her political
work at the grassroots
level in Utah
and Arizona,
and served as
a member of the
Utah Women's
Legislative Council
from 1952-56
and 1965-68. In
1972 she was
elected chairman
of the Democratic
National Committee,
becoming the
first woman to
head a major
American political
party. 
Reva
Beck Bosone was
born in Utah
in 1895. She
graduated from
the University
of Utah College
of Law at Salt
Lake City in
1930 and practiced
law until she
became a member
of the State
house of representatives
in 1933. She
was elected Salt
Lake City judge
in 1936 and served
until she was
elected to Congress.
During the Second
World War she
served as chairman
of the Women’s
Army Corps Civilian
Advisory Committee
of the Ninth
Service Command.
She also acted
as official observer
at the United
Nations Conference
at San Francisco
in 1945 and was
the first director
of Utah State
Board for Education
on Alcoholism
in 1947 and 1948.
In 1949 she was
elected as a
Democrat to the
Eighty-first
and Eighty-second
Congresses. Thereafter
she resumed the
practice of law
in Salt Lake
City, acted as
legal counsel
to Safety and
Compensation
Subcommittee
of House Committee
on Education
and Labor and
as a judicial
officer, Post
Office Department.