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Social studies activity

Wyoming's Story: Yellowstone, Cowboys & Women's Suffrage

Wyoming gave women the right to vote in 1869 — and when Congress said Wyoming couldn't join the United States unless it took that right AWAY, Wyoming sent back a telegram that said: 'We will stay out of the Union a hundred years rather than come in without women.' Congress blinked first. Wyoming joined — WITH women's voting rights — and became a state. The whole country wouldn't give women the vote for another 30 years.

Hands OnAbout 25 minutesScreen-freeParent help expected

Materials and setup

How this changes by age

Pre-K (ages 3–4)

Wyoming gave women the right to vote in 1869 — and when Congress said Wyoming couldn't join the United States unless it took that right AWAY, Wyoming sent back a telegram that said: 'We will stay out of the Union a hundred years rather than come in without women.' Congress blinked first. Wyoming joined — WITH women's voting rights — and became a state. The whole country wouldn't give women the vote for another 30 years.

Difficulty 1 of 3

Steps

  1. Look at a picture of Wyoming's wide, wide-open plains — imagine living somewhere you can see for 50 miles in every direction.
  2. Draw a ballot box on your paper — a box with a slot at the top for dropping in your vote.
  3. Draw a person — any person — dropping in their vote with a big smile.
  4. Ask a grown-up: 'Has there ever been a time you stood up for something even when other people disagreed?'

Learning objectives

  • Wonder at Wyoming's early decision to give women the right to vote
  • Notice that Wyoming said no to Congress and kept its principles — and was admitted anyway
  • Ask questions about why it took the whole country 51 more years to do what Wyoming did in 1869

Kindergarten (ages 5–6)

In 1872, Yellowstone National Park became the first national park in the ENTIRE WORLD. No country had ever done that before — set aside a huge piece of wild land and said: 'This belongs to everyone, forever. Nobody can build on it or own it. It will just be wild.' Yellowstone has more geysers than anywhere else on Earth — over 500 of them! And Wyoming has more wild pronghorn antelope than people. Today there are national parks in over 100 countries. It all started in Wyoming.

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Look at a picture of Old Faithful erupting — a column of hot water shooting 100-180 feet into the air.
  2. Draw Old Faithful in the center of your paper, big and dramatic, with the water reaching all the way to the top.
  3. Draw a bison on the left, a pronghorn antelope on the right, and a family of tourists watching from a safe distance.
  4. Draw a sign that says 'Yellowstone National Park — Belongs to Everyone.'
  5. Write or dictate: 'The world's first national park was Yellowstone, in Wyoming, founded in ___.'
  6. Talk about: Why might it be important to have places that belong to EVERYONE and can never be sold?

Learning objectives

  • Identify Yellowstone as the world's first national park, founded in Wyoming in 1872
  • Understand that national parks are public land protected for everyone
  • Retell that Wyoming gave women the right to vote in 1869, over 50 years before the rest of the country
  • Explain why preserving wild places for future generations is a form of long-term thinking

Early elementary (ages 6–8)

Wyoming in 1890 sent Congress a telegram that has to be one of the most defiant messages in American political history: 'We will remain out of the Union a hundred years rather than come in without women.' Congress had just told Wyoming it couldn't become a state unless it removed women's suffrage. Wyoming refused. Congress backed down. Wyoming became a state with women's voting rights intact — and the rest of the country didn't give women the vote for another 30 years. Why did tiny Wyoming, with fewer people than almost any other state, lead on this? The answer might be simpler than you think. And here is a bonus Wyoming fact: pronghorn antelope actually outnumber people in Wyoming!

Difficulty 2 of 3

Steps

  1. Create a timeline with four events: Wyoming Territory grants women the right to vote (1869) → Wyoming refuses to remove women's suffrage to join the U.S. (1890) → Wyoming admitted as 44th state WITH women's suffrage (1890) → 19th Amendment gives ALL American women the vote (1920). Write one sentence under each. Note the 51-year gap.
  2. Research: Why might a frontier territory give women the vote in 1869? Historians point to one practical reason (frontier territories had very few women and wanted to attract families) and one principled reason (Justice Esther Hobart Morris advocated strongly for it). Write two sentences arguing which reason you find more convincing.
  3. Draw a Wyoming cowboy on horseback — but also draw a woman next to a ballot box. Both images are 1869 Wyoming. Write one sentence connecting them: 'In the same year Wyoming gave women the vote, it was also ___.'
  4. On a Wyoming map, label: Cheyenne (capital), Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton range, Wind River Range, and Wind River Reservation.
  5. Connection: Vermont declared freedom for all in 1777 before the United States did. Wyoming gave women the vote in 1869 before the United States required it. What pattern do you notice about small states and bold firsts?

Learning objectives

  • Explain Wyoming's 1869 women's suffrage as a 51-year precedent to the 19th Amendment
  • Analyze both practical and principled reasons why Wyoming led on women's voting rights
  • Sequence the four key events connecting Wyoming's suffrage to the national amendment
  • Connect Wyoming to a broader pattern of small states taking early principled stands

Upper elementary (ages 8–10)

Wyoming is the least populated state in America — roughly 580,000 people — yet it has arguably done more to shape American democracy than states ten times its size. It gave women the right to vote in 1869. When Congress tried to take that right away as a condition of statehood, Wyoming said no — and Congress backed down. Wyoming also gave the world its first national park (Yellowstone, 1872) and its first female governor (Nellie Tayloe Ross, 1925). Yet Wyoming is also America's biggest per-capita coal producer and has consistently supported fossil fuel development over environmental regulations. How do you hold these two Wyomings in your mind at once?

Difficulty 3 of 3

Steps

  1. The Dilemma: You are a Wyoming legislator in 1890. Congress is threatening to block statehood unless Wyoming removes women's suffrage. Some of your colleagues argue: 'We can always add women's suffrage back later once we're a state — just get us in.' Others say: 'If we give up principles to gain power, we've already lost.' Write one page arguing your position, with a specific counterargument addressed.
  2. Research Justice Esther Hobart Morris, who campaigned for Wyoming women's suffrage. Write a one-paragraph biography explaining specifically what she did and why she succeeded where others had failed.
  3. Create a Wyoming timeline from 1800 (Shoshone and Arapaho homelands) to 1990 (Wyoming's economy increasingly dependent on fossil fuels) with at least nine events. Include: at least two Shoshone/Arapaho events, women's suffrage, Yellowstone's founding, the Depression's impact on cattle ranching, and the energy boom.
  4. Write a two-paragraph essay: 'Wyoming was first to protect women's rights and first to protect wild land. Today it leads in fossil fuel production. Is this a contradiction, or can it be explained as a consistent set of values? What ARE Wyoming's values?'
  5. On a Wyoming map, label: Cheyenne, Casper, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Wind River Range, Wind River Reservation, and Devils Tower.
  6. Cross-state connection: The Wind River Reservation in Wyoming is home to both the Eastern Shoshone and the Northern Arapaho — two nations that were historical rivals, placed on the same reservation by the U.S. government without the full agreement of either. Research this history in one paragraph. How does it complicate Wyoming's story of democratic leadership?
  7. Yellowstone National Park receives about 4 million visitors per year. The standard park entry pass costs $35 per vehicle for 7 days. Estimate: if the average vehicle carries 3 people, roughly how much entry revenue does the park collect annually? The park's yearly operating budget is around $40 million. Does entry revenue cover operations, or does the park need other funding? What would you charge if you were running it like a business?
  8. A Wyoming windmill in 1885 pumped underground water into stock tanks for cattle ranches where no rivers ran. Draw a classic Aermotor-style ranch windmill and label: blades, tail fin, tower, pump rod, well, stock tank. Calculate: if one windmill lifts about 150 gallons per hour and a cow drinks 15 gallons per day, how many cattle can one windmill support? Sketch one improvement — maybe a solar panel — you would add today.

Learning objectives

  • Evaluate Wyoming's suffrage decision as a principled stand under political pressure — and analyze the argument for compromise
  • Examine the tension between Wyoming's democratic leadership and its fossil fuel economy
  • Construct an argument about whether a state can hold competing values simultaneously
  • Connect Wyoming's Indigenous history — specifically the placement of Shoshone and Arapaho on Wind River — to the complexity of Wyoming's democratic reputation

Safety and evidence note

Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.

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