League of Women Voters Celebrates a Century of Voting

It was only a century ago when women in California were finally given the right to vote.

And in honor of the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, the League of Women Voters of Fremont, Newark and Union City held a celebration the afternoon of Oct. 15 at the Fremont Main Library.

Dressed in attire from the early 1900s, members of the league, along with others from the community, came together to be whipped back to a time where telephones and telegraphs were the equivalents of iPhones and iPads.

A Readers’ Theater Production put on a small production of “Women Winning the Right to Vote in California," showcasing the contributions that Selina Solomons, Mary McHenry Keith, Clara Shortridge Foltz and John Hyde Braley made to the suffrage movement in California.

Written by narrator Shirley Gilbert, the play highlights the movement and the inspiring words of its key players, including three women who were very passionate about politics and were not afraid to show it.

Gilbert also didn’t back away from those who were opposed to the movement, both men and women alike.  Some believed the passing of the ballot would make women “less feminine,” while others believed it wasn’t right for women to be involved with politics.

California became the sixth state in the United States to allow women the right to vote on Oct. 10, 1911. 

This would be just the beginning of rights and equality for women, for the ballot would later be followed by the 19th Amendment of the Constitution, which was passed on Aug. 18, 1920.