While legal battles were taking place in the East, women in the West were actually winning the right to vote. In 1869 the Wyoming Territory became the first part of the United States to grant women the right to vote. And, when it joined the Union in 1890, Wyoming became the first state to grant women the right to vote. Colorado followed in 1893. Utah and Idaho did the same in 1896. However, a long period in which no states voted in favor of women’s suffrage followed. It was not until 1910 that Washington enfranchised women, followed by California in 1911, and Arizona, Oregon, and Kansas in 1912.

Why did western states agree much earlier than the rest of the country to grant women the right to vote? In general, ideas about women in the West reflected those of the rest of the country. However, the smaller populations in the...