Michigan declares itself a state and writes its first state constitution, the Constitution of 1835, in its first Capitol building, located in Detroit.Īrticle 2, Section 1 defines the qualifiers of electors thus: The Michigan State Capitol will be offering special guided tours celebrating the 2020 Women's Suffrage Centennial. For an even more intimate learning experience, place yourself in the very spaces where many of these events tooks place. Please be aware that access to the Rare Book Room is by appointment to schedule call 51 or email Steps. Anyone interested in learning more is strongly encouraged to check out this bibliography of materials from the Library of Michigan's open collections, or from its Rare Book Room. Due to the sheer volume of information available in historical state documents, we have been selective in choosing particular moments that we believe to be most important to the fight for woman’s suffrage in Michigan’s Capitols. Along the way, they organized multiple campaigns, celebrated some important incremental victories, and mourned many defeats. In Michigan, several generations of women and men devoted over seventy-five years and untold resources to the movement. It was a difficult, fraught, and frustrating process that played out in states and state capitol buildings across the country.

Woman’s suffrage didn’t happen suddenly in 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. A timeline detailing some of the most important moments in the fight for woman’s suffrage that occurred in Michigan’s three Capitols.

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