On this day in 1871, Nannette Gardner became the first Michigan woman to vote in a general election. As a wealthy widow, she convinced Detroit City Officials to allow her to vote since she had no husband to represent her interests. Her story gained fame, and she expressed surprise at the attention, noting that many men vote without comment.
TRANSCRIPT
Today in 1871, Nannette Gardner became the first Michigan woman to vote in a general election. At the time, voting was a privilege given to men. Nannette, however, was a wealthy widow that convinced the Detroit City Officials to allow her to vote because she didn’t have a husband to represent her interests.
After her story became famous, she wrote a letter for the Detroit Post saying “It is difficult for me to appreciate that so simple an event as a woman expressing a choice among a few candidates for office should have caused such a commotion and made me ‘suddenly famous.’ Tens of thousands of vicious, ignorant and worthless men do the same thing yearly without a word of comment.”