Listen to Episode 6: Why is Wyoming called the equality state?
Equality: The state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities.
Nellie Tayloe Ross: She was the 14th governor of Wyoming from 1925-1927 and director of the United States Mint from 1933-1953. Ross was the first woman to be governor of a U.S. state.
Notoriety: Being famous or well known for a bad quality or deed.
Suffrage: The right to vote in political elections.
Telegraph operator: An individual who used the telegraph key to send and receive Morse code in order to communicate with land lines or radio waves. This code was transcribed into telegrams allowing individuals to communicate faster than mail in the 19th and 20th Centuries. One of the first “high-tech” professions of the modern era.
Underrepresented: People with low, insufficient, or inadequate representation.
United States Mint: The United States Mint is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury responsible for producing coins for the United States to conduct its trade and commerce, as well as controlling the movement of bullion (gold and silver). The Mint does not produce paper money.
Wyoming Territory: Wyoming became a territory of the United States in 1868 and remained a territory until 1890 when it was admitted as the 44th state of the United States.
Bill: A piece of legislation created by a representative or senator prior to being a law.
Discrimination: The unjust or prejudicial treatment of people, on the grounds of race, age, sex, religion, etc.
Esther Hobart Morris: The Justice of the Peace in South Pass, Wyoming in 1870, and the first woman Justice of the Peace in the United States. Morris if often given credit for playing a large role in women’s suffrage in Wyoming, however recent studies discovered her role in territory suffrage was exaggerated.
Martin Luther King Day: A federal holiday in the United States marking the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King and honoring Dr. King’s legacy in the Civil Rights Movement.
Minority: The smaller number or group; a group in society less dominant than the more numerous majority.
Segregation: The enforced separation of different racial groups in a country or community.
Speaker of the House of Representatives: The presiding officer in the House of Representatives.
State House of Representatives: The lower house of the state legislature comprised of representatives from the districts of a state.