New Zealand is the first country to allow women to vote

Historical Context Essay

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In the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington, in a special room for historical documents, one can view a large roll of paper. Unrolled, it would constitute a strip over 270 metres (about 300 yards) long, made up of 546 sheets pasted together which bear the signatures of nearly 24,000 women, and at least twenty men (

The Women’s Suffrage Petition

8). It is the main roll for the petition presented to the House of Representatives, the Lower House of the Parliament, in 1893, appealing for the passage of a bill granting universal suffrage to all adult New Zealand women. Twelve smaller rolls, that have not survived, brought the total up to 31,872 women (almost a quarter of the female population at the time). Unlike previous attempts at legislation, this bill was passed by both houses…

2440 words

Citation: Ross, John C.. "New Zealand is the first country to allow women to vote". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 June 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5389, accessed 28 March 2024.]

5389 New Zealand is the first country to allow women to vote 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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