Women’s Right to Vote in Maryland

The Army of the Severn

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Women didn’t get the right to vote in Maryland until 1941. It was a long and tortuous journey with many women advocating, and at times even putting themselves in danger, for their rights. The story is a reminder not take our right to vote for granted.

Walk around State Circle in Annapolis and you might miss the black and white photo high on the wall beside the State House Inn at 25 State Circle. But it’s worth stopping for a few minutes to take a look at the women described as the “Army of the Severn.” It took a very dedicated group of women over a surprisingly long campaign to secure voting rights for Maryland women.

History of Maryland Women’s Right to Vote

Margaret Brant, an unmarried Maryland landowner, asked the legislature for the right to vote in 1648. She was promptly denied. It took the next 300 years for women to get the right to vote in Maryland.

Multiple women’s groups, including the Just Government League formed in 1909, were dedicated to winning women’s right to vote and to advocate for women’s education. Women crossed the state on foot and in wagons in their quest to gain support for the right to vote. In 1913, more than 8,000 suffragists attended a parade in Washington, D.C., one day before the inauguration of President Woodrow Wilson.

After marching from Baltimore to Annapolis, members of the Just Government League gathered at the Maryland State House on January 7, 1914 to deliver a suffrage petition to the General Assembly. It was rejected. The U.S. Congress finally passed the 19th Amendment on June 4, 1919. It was ratified on August 18, 1920.

The Maryland legislature rejected the 19th amendment in 1920 because they felt that the amendment impeded states rights. A challenge that went all the way to the Supreme Court, further slowed Maryland women’s voting rights. In 1941 Maryland finally ratified the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote.

The vote was not certified until March 25, 1958.

Women in Office

Maryland’s first woman legislator was Mary Eliza Watters Risteau, from Harford County. She was elected in 1921 and served for eight years. In 1934, she was the first woman elected to the Maryland Senate. She served two terms.

Army of the Severn

The following is the text on the plaque for “The Army of the Severn” located on the fence outside of 25 State Circle.

“Members of the Just Government League, a women’s suffrage organization, gathered at the Maryland State House on January 7, 1914. Known as The Army of the Severn , this contingent delivered a suffrage petition to the General Assembly after marching from Baltimore to Annapolis.

Established in 1909, The Just Government League became the largest organization in Maryland advocating for women’s suffrage.

After Congress adopted the 19th amendment in 1920 guaranteeing women the right to vote, the League turned its focus to women’s civil and political rights and in 1922 won the right for women to hold public office in Maryland.

Despite the efforts of women across the state, Maryland did not ratify the 19th Amendment until March 22, 1941 and the vote was not certified until February 25, 1958.”