Clarina Nichols and Women’s Suffrage (1840’s-1920)
In August, 1920 the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution granted women the right to vote in state and national elections. In the 1800’s, here in Vermont, women’s rights were very limited. Property, personal and voting rights did not exist for women in the early 19th century. Local woman Clarina Nichols worked to change that reality. Nichols was Vermont’s first well-known female leader for reform on women’s issues. In the 1840’s Clarina Nichols was the editor of the local newspaper, the Windham County Democrat. She wrote editorials that argued for women’s rights, African American rights, children’s rights and prohibition. Her advocacy led to a change in Vermont law for married women. In 1847 the Vermont Legislature passed statutes which established more rights for women. Married women gained the right to own property, write their own wills and protect themselves from the debts of their husbands. In 1851 Nichols went on the national stage for women’s rights […]