S02 E15 Colorado: She Voted from the Mountaintop

In this episode, Andrea Malcomb discusses the suffrage battle in Colorado.

We talk about the events and activists in the CO voting rights campaign:

• Mrs. Margaret Brown (Molly Brown) was a staunch supporter of women’s suffrage and contributed her skills, time and funding to the campaign.
• Elizabeth Ensley and Ida Clark DePriest were African American activists who worked for women’s suffrage as part of the Colorado Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association as well as many organizations advocating for their communities. 
• Dr. Caroline Spencer, an ardent suffragist, went to the summit of Pike’s Peak in 1916 to plant a banner for the National Women’s Party.
• Agapito Vigil, a Mexican American stock raiser and farmer, was a delegate to the Colorado Constitutional Convention in 1875 where he voted to include women’s suffrage in the state constitution.
• The Every Word We Utter statue in Loveland features national suffragists including Susan B. Anthony who campaigned in Colorado.

About our Guest:

   Andrea Malcomb is Vice President of the organization Historic Denver and the Director of the Molly Brown House Museum. She is focused on elevating the house museum as a nationally recognized women’s history site while also expanding the museum’s education partnerships across Denver. Under her leadership, the museum has elevated its public history impact through programs and interpretation that superimpose feminized narratives of historical events onto contemporary place-based activities, prompting audiences to explore a new, woman-centered dynamic between past and present. She currently sits on the board of the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, Museum of Denver, and Irish Network CO.

Links to People, Places, Publications:

Colorado & the 19th Amendment (here)

Molly Brown Biographical Sketch (here)

Visit the Molly Brown House Museum and historical marker (here)

Minnie Reynolds Biographical Sketch (here)

Elizabeth Ensley Biographical Sketch (here) 

Ida Clark DePriest Biographical Sketch (here)

Dr. Caroline Spencer Biographical Sketch (here)

Agapito Vigil Biographical Sketch (here)

Visit the Every Word We Utter statue here)

Visit the Olney and Mills historical marker (here)

Visit the Salida historical marker (here)

CM Marihugh is a public history consultant and currently conducting independent research for a book on commemoration of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. She has an M.A. in Public History from State University of New York, and an M.B.A. from Dartmouth College.

Learn more about:

• National Votes for Women Trail (here)
• National Votes for Women Trail - William G. Pomeroy historical markers (here)
• National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (here)

Do you have a question, comment, or suggestion? Get in touch! Send an e-mail to NVWTpodcast@ncwhs.org