by Shawn Gilbert, LWVDV Vice President
Wilhelmina Kekelaokalaninui Widemann was born in Lihue, Kauai, on March 28, 1861. Her mother was a native Hawaiian chieftainess who was part of the Royal Hawaiian family, and her father was an immigrant from Germany who was a coffee planter and served as a cabinet minister to Queen Lili’uokalani. Widemann married Jack Dowsett in 1888. A few years later, she watched as the U.S. Marines landed in Hawaii and overthrew her Queen. In short order, the Republic of Hawaii was established and then, by 1893, annexed as a territory of the U.S.
The National American Woman’s Suffrage Association under Susan B. Anthony quickly seized on the opportunity to advocate to the U.S. Congress for Hawaiian women’s equal suffrage in their “Hawaiian Appeal” of 1899. Dowsett and other Hawaiian women criticized this appeal as misguided because they thought it was more appropriate to directly petition the local government for civil rights.
Dowsett established the National Women’s Equal Suffrage Association of Hawaii (WESAH) in 1912, while Carrie Chapman Catt was visiting. It was the first suffrage organization in Hawaii. The WESAH was inclusive of all women of the islands, regardless of heritage or race. The WESAH formally became affiliated with the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1913. Catt spoke highly about the Hawaiian women’s suffrage activism. She returned to the islands again in 1918, to encourage them to move forward.
The Hawaiian Senate approved the woman’s suffrage bill in 1919, but the House of Representatives resisted approval, even after Wilhelmina Dowsett had organized a parade of over 500 women of all ages and nationalities to march on the House floor demanding “Votes for Women.” White male legislators feared that Native Hawaiians would have more power to regain control of the legislature if women had the right to vote. After several demonstrations and a month of waiting for the House to vote, Dowsett began organizing and lobbying the U.S. Congress directly. Simultaneously, she and other suffrage activists organized groups of women across the islands to prepare them for the day when they won the vote.
Ultimately, Hawaiian women won the right to vote when the 19th Amendment was ratified. As a territory, however, Hawaii’s elected representation was not on par with mainland states. Full representation and full voting rights for both women and men of Hawaii would not occur for another 39 years, when the territory became the 50th state to join the Union. Sadly, Wilhelmina Dowsett, after years of political leadership, did not live to see full voting rights achieved in her homeland. She passed away December 10, 1929.
