1915 Pennsylvania Amendment 1

1915 Pennsylvania Amendment 1
November 2, 1915
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 385,348 46.63%
No 441,034 53.37%

1915 Pennsylvania Amendment 1 was a proposed amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution to grant women the right to vote. The amendment was defeated in a 46.63% to 53.37% vote, with a bare majority of 34 out of 67 counties voting against.

Background

In March 1915, Pennsylvania's legislature passed a bill that added the referendum to the November 1915 ballot.

In the lead up to the election, Hannah Patterson made calls for a Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Party Convention to take place in Harrisburg, in order to plan out the final push to get out the vote. Attendants of the convention included Suffrage Party leaders and legislative leaders.

The calendar developed at the convention was as follows:

"May and June 1915: Open-air work, especially street meetings to continue through the summer and fall. July 1915: auto tours of rural sections. August 1915: suffrage booths at county fairs. September 1915: Headquarters at full strength so that the climax of the campaign – a house to house canvass of registered voters – can be carried out effectively".[1]

Viewpoints

Legislators

Democrat Joseph H. Guffey: "I strongly favor woman suffrage. I shall vote to give the women of Pennsylvania the ballot and I shall give them all the personal support in my power."[2]

Results

County "Yes" vote "No" vote Yes % No %
Adams 1,279 2,908 30.55 69.45
Allegheny 50,557 47,539 51.54 48.46
Armstrong 3,277 2,587 55.88 44.12
Beaver 5,710 2,982 65.69 34.31
Bedford 1,396 3,176 30.53 69.47
Berks 7,302 13,355 35.35 64.65
Blair 6,857 5,745 54.41 45.59
Bradford 4,065 1,859 68.62 31.38
Bucks 3,349 7,090 32.08 67.92
Butler 4,795 3,660 56.71 43.29
Cambria 7,583 6,480 53.92 46.08
Cameron 325 192 62.86 37.14
Carbon 2,685 3,034 46.95 53.05
Centre 2,330 3,392 40.72 59.28
Chester 7,429 6,035 55.18 44.82
Clarion 2,158 1,539 58.37 41.63
Clearfield 4,999 2,825 63.89 36.11
Clinton 2,004 1,658 54.72 45.28
Columbia 2,402 2,652 47.53 52.47
Crawford 4,736 2,596 64.59 35.41
Cumberland 2,442 4,379 35.80 64.20
Dauphin 7,549 9,242 44.96 55.04
Delaware 8,147 9,229 46.89 53.11
Elk 1,276 2,216 36.54 63.46
Erie 7,123 4,695 60.27 39.73
Fayette 6,915 5,470 55.83 44.17
Forest 674 259 72.24 27.76
Franklin 2,958 3,498 45.82 54.18
Fulton 473 862 35.43 64.57
Greene 1,694 2,070 45.01 54.99
Huntingdon 1,789 2,381 42.90 57.10
Indiana 2,639 2,252 53.96 46.04
Jefferson 4,572 2,343 66.12 33.88
Juniata 527 1,410 27.21 72.79
Lackawanna 11,319 8,666 56.64 43.36
Lancaster 6,554 13,343 32.94 67.06
Lawrence 5,020 2,829 63.96 36.04
Lebanon 1,511 4,211 26.41 73.59
Lehigh 4,184 10,373 28.74 71.26
Luzerne 14,639 11,500 56.00 44.00
Lycoming 4,222 4,790 46.85 53.15
McKean 3,321 1,164 74.05 25.95
Mercer 6,329 2,997 67.86 32.14
Mifflin 1,179 1,577 42.78 57.22
Monroe 926 1,286 41.86 58.14
Montgomery 8,709 13,024 40.07 59.93
Montour 718 953 42.97 57.03
Northampton 4,383 7,814 35.94 64.06
Northumberland 6,110 6,010 50.41 49.59
Perry 1,051 2,111 33.24 66.76
Philadelphia 77,247 122,519 38.67 61.33
Pike 341 463 42.41 57.59
Potter 2,030 979 67.46 32.54
Schuylkill 6,726 7,769 46.40 53.60
Snyder 595 1,667 26.30 73.70
Somerset 2,634 3,937 40.09 59.91
Sullivan 463 490 48.58 51.42
Susquehanna 2,779 1,547 64.24 35.76
Tioga 2,912 1,704 63.08 46.92
Union 641 1,056 37.77 62.23
Venango 4,464 2,397 65.06 34.94
Warren 2,616 1,241 67.82 32.18
Washington 7,215 5,504 56.73 43.27
Wayne 1,731 1,228 58.50 41.50
Westmoreland 12,421 11,281 52.40 47.60
Wyoming 994 904 52.37 47.63
York 5,348 12,090 30.67 69.33
State total 385,348 441,034 46.63 53.37[3]

Later events

On June 24, 1919, Pennsylvania's legislature voted to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment. On August 18, 1920, the 36th state needed for ratification approved the amendment. The U.S. Secretary of State certified the amendment on August 26, 1920.[4]

References

  1. ^ "THE CAMPAIGN IN PENNSYLVANIA IN 1915". Wilson Edu. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Founding Feminists: October 25, 1915". Feminist Majority Foundation. Archived from the original on 1 October 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  3. ^ "STATE REFERENDA ON WOMAN SUFFRAGE PENNSYLVANIA". Archived from the original on 1 October 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
  4. ^ "PA House Celebrates 100 Years of Women's Suffrage" (PDF). PA House Archives. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.

See also

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