Suffragist in the Pacific Northwest
May Arkwright Hutton
From the time she was a small child May Hutton had been exposed to the arguments surrounding the enfranchisement of women. She had escorted her blind grandfather to many political events and had even had the opportunity to have William McKinley come to her house where the two men discussed events including women’s suffrage. It was a moment that was not lost on young May and she would later reflect back on the afternoon’s education.
When May moved west to Idaho she became a stronger advocate for suffrage. She began to read publications like Abigail Scott Duniway’s “The New Northwest” and became more convinced of the right women had to the ballot. She had to pay taxes and live under the laws that were passed by representatives that she had no say in electing. Because she could not vote politicians were less inclined to listen to concerns that she may have and were generally not troubled by the impact that the laws they passed had on women.
In this paternalistic environment May rose up and began to agitate for the right to cast a ballot. She helped other suffragists’ campaign in Idaho, she wrote a bevy of letters, attended meetings, and generally made her position known to anyone who would listen. She was a natural leader and understood the difficult nature of her task, but she was not intimidated, the challenge brought out the best in May. In 1895, in part because of her efforts, Idaho added women’s suffrage to their state constitution and in the fall of 1896 May cast a ballot.
Suffrage was available to women in Idaho but when May moved to neighboring Washington in 1906 she lost the right. Washington was still grappling with the issue and May brought her fervor and resources to the fight. She worked ceaselessly, to the point of physical exhaustion, to secure the right to vote. At one point she offered a prize to the high school students for the best essay on “why women should be given the ballot”
She was a member of women’s suffrage organizations and emerged as a leader of the movement in eastern Washington. May opposed the more militant suffragists like the Pankhursts, instead she supported constant persuasion in a more acceptable form. She attended meetings, wrote even more letters, and she pushed the issue to the forefront in the press never letting up in her writing to the newspapers. She was simply too important to ignore and too tenacious to have allowed attention to waver from the cause.
Some within the movement were critics of May. Her rough edges were still very much apparent leading some to question her leadership position. In some cases she was embarrassing to the more “refined” of the suffragists; in other cases she simply rubbed them the wrong way. Her boisterous, powerful presence made it difficult to share the limelight.
Through all the personal challenges she maintained a dogged determination to stick to the issue at hand. She had worked far too long for the movement and felt too much conviction to be moved aside by ruffled feathers. The movement in Washington progressed forward and on November 11, 1910 the voters passed an amendment grating women suffrage.
May had been integral in two states suffrage movements using her gifts and resources to help attain what she saw as a basic human right. After the amendment was passed she refocused her energies working for the betterment of many groups that were maligned in society. Her childhood dreams of helping those less fortunate were coming true.
Sources:
Arksey, Laura. “Hutton, May Arkwright (1860-1915).” History Link: The Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History, http://historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=7547 (accessed March 8, 2009).
Horner, Patricia Voeller. “May Arkwright Hutton: Suffragist and politician.” in Women in Pacific Northwest History: An Anthology, ed. Karen J. Blair, 25-42. Seattle: University of Wasington Press, 1990.
Leinberger, Lisa. “Gravesite monument memorializes Huttons.” Spokesman Review, April 17, 2008.
Montgomery, James. Liberated Woman. Fairfield: Ye Galleon Press, 1985.
Schwantes, Carlos Arnaldo. The Pacific Northwest: An Interpretive History. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996.
Washington State Historical Society: Digital Collection. “May Arkwright Hutton Collection”. http://digitum.washingtonhistory.org/cdm4/browse.php?CISOROOT=/hutton (accessed March 8, 2009).
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