On this day, December 10, in 1869

The governor of the Wyoming Territory enacted a law, which enabled women to vote, making Wyoming the first U.S. territory to extend voting rights to women. This occurred 51 years before the nineteenth amendment was passed granting all American women the right to vote. Although Wyoming has gained itself a reputation as the "Equality State" the reasons why women have obtained certain rights early on remain unclear. One theory argues that Wyoming had a small population and needed women's votes in order to be admitted as a state. Another speculates that the suffrage provision was intended to attract more female settlers into the territory. Whatever the reason, it is worthy to note that there is almost always a political motive lurking behind the practice of civil rights reform.