by the bridge, there are further checks. long hours of waiting before being called to board one of the buses. because the israelis process only two dozen buses each day, some have to return time after time hoping that tomorrow they will get their chance. on the other side of the river, there will be more security, body searches, customs duties which sometimes make it necessary to abandon gifts or purchases behind. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. all weekend, american history tv is joining our comcast cable partners to showcase the history of tacoma, washington.

to learn more about the cities on our current tour, visit c-span.org/citiestour. we continue with our look at the history of tacoma. >> washington's importance in the national suffrage effort comes by the fact that we were the first state in the 20th century and followed almost a 20 adoptingbetween state their own suffrage amendment. it takes a certain number of states to pass a national amendment to the constitution. we were the fifth estate -- state. about six were located in the west. washington became a pivotal state making that leap into the 20th century. after we passed it in 1910, there was a domino effect throughout the country.

immediately, oregon passed in 1911, followed by california, and then moved to the dakotas, montana, nebraska. and progressed across to new york in 1919 and then of course the national amendment passes in 1920. you could call us a big turning point in the effort to gain suffrage for women in the united states. event thate big began the suffrage movement did happen in new york. that was the women's convention in seneca falls, led by susan b. anthony, among other leaders. interestingly enough, right after that, susan b. anthony toan a whirlwind trip territorial areas of the united states and states to advocate for women's rights and to vote.

one of the early leaders in the 20th century in washington state saw her in 1848 as an eight-year-old. barnstorming through illinois. .hat was emma smith devoe becoming a leader of the washington state suffrage unit, and lived and worked into,. she saw susan b. anthony in central illinois when she was eight years old. susan b. anthony asked, who in the audience believes women should have the right to vote? as an eight-year-old, she stood up. that was a memorable experience that definitely has a connection to our state from 1848 breakthrough to 1910. aboutabout the same -- the same time as the women's convention in seneca falls, families were traveling west. these were hearty people.

at that time, about 1850, congress passed the oregon donation land claim laws. anybody who came to the oregon territory before 1849 got out right 640 acres of land. after 1850, they cut that in half to 320 acres. but the interesting thing is that amount of land, half of it, was in the woman's name. 320 acres were given to a couple. if you were a single man, you got half of that. if you were a single woman, you got half of that. but half of that acreage was always in the woman's name. right away, women have land claim ownership. that was an important part of the oregon trail era. 1850 three, washington becomes a separate territory from oregon. in the first territorial

legislative meeting in olympia, which becomes our capital city eventually, the early parties, the early delegates wanted to pass women's suffrage. in washington, that was part of the platform for the first legislative session in that territorial congress for washington. and it got voted down. but it was brought up right away. there were very early men in the legislature who advocated for women's suffrage. and-forward to the 1880's, washington is working very hard at the effort to become a state, which is achieved in 1889. but in the 1880's, women in the territory win the right to vote in 1883. immediately, they start to vote for a more progressive agenda in the territorial legislature.

and they also unseat some of the more corrupt leaders in communities, like the seattle mayor who was known to have influence with the saloons, prostitution, and gambling. they vote him out of office, so you can imagine suffrage is not proving that popular with a lot of people. while the legislature in those days before we were a state could vote to pass suffrage, it did not take an amendment to the constitution. and women argued the first territorial constitution said "male" in a lot of places and it should be he or she or women or men. they voted for it in 1883. it passed.

but who got it rescinded in 1888? the territorial supreme court who was opposed to women voting. one particular justice really opposed it. opposition came because men did not want women serving on juries. and that is where the division came up. the territorial supreme court voted to rescind --not voted -- they passed a decision that removed women's right to vote. by 1906, emma smith devoe, that little girl that stood up in 1848, has relocated here with her husband. she has in the interim years been a paid staffer working on behalf of suffrage and temperance throughout the midwest. thinkd, she was paid i

$100 a month by the national american women's suffrage association. so she comes out here to become the leader of the washington state suffrage movement. by 1906, her husband works for so great northern railroad, she has a salary and he gets her railroad passes so she can travel all over on a free railroad ticket which was a great advantage. they moved to tacoma. she along with others establishes the washington equal suffrage association, which she is president of. i thought it was interesting her message becomes the most powerful, to counteract this view that washington women don't want suffrage, they really work hard organizing through 1905,, 1906, 1907, 1908.

and we know that we want to get this suffrage bill passed, so we have to get an amendment to the voters. and it has to be passed by 2/3, by majority of voters, male voters in the state of washington, passed. so we have a combination of important women coming together. our smith devoe, tacoma-based leader of the washington state suffrage group, joins up with this very colorful may hutton. she was a camp cook in the silver mines in northern idaho. she married a railroad engineer by the name of hutton and they buy an interest in the hercules mine. the hercules mine becomes the most profitable silver mine of that era in idaho, and they

become millionaires almost overnight. she is a very colorful figure. so you have emma who is kind of comes out of the temperance movement and may who comes to this from a colorful past. together, they do send -- descend on olympia and the legislature which is all men, and they work together in different ways to get the legislature to approve an amendment for the ballot. 1909, the house votes for the amendment and it 10-20 votes.hink and then in february, the washington state senate passes

it by a bigger majority. in february of 1909, the governor signs the bill to create the opportunity for washingtonians to vote for suffrage for women in washington state. vote is going to come up before washington men in november of 1910. and so, the suffrage amendment passes on november 8, 1910. in washington becomes the fifth state in the union to pass suffrage. the people coming west were people who were probably risk-takers, looking to break out of some conventional life they might have experienced in the east. a lot of suffragettes came out here from the east and work hard

because they saw the opportunity. our staff recently traveled to tacoma, washington, to learn about its rich history. learn more about it, and other stops on our tour at c-span.org/citiestour. you are watching american history >> up next on american history tv, david clark talks about former president harry s truman's relationship with celebrity athletes, politicians and entertainers using letters, photos, and old film footage. the presidential library in independence, missouri posted this event. it is about 45 minutes. >> we would like to welcome you all to the truman library. i am a archivist europe the truman library. -- here