Susanna M. Salter, born March 2, 1860, was the first ever woman to be a mayor — and perhaps one of the only people to have accidentally become a mayor! Born in Lamira, Ohio, USA, she moved to Kansas at the age of twelve. There, she attended university and met her husband, Lewis Allison Salter. They later moved to Argonia, Kansas, where she would eventually end up serving as mayor.
In her twenties, Salter was an active advocate of women’s suffrage, and was a member of the WCTU — or Women’s Christian Temperance Union, which was a nonprofit organization aimed at women’s suffrage and social reform. At the time of her election, women had gained the right to vote in Kansas municipal elections only months prior, and women’s suffrage on a federal level was still at least thirty years away.
Though she was an active advocate, Salter had no intentions of running for office. However, a group of men, who were opposed to women’s involvement in politics, put her name on the ballots. It was intended as a prank — a way to humiliate Salter and demonstrate that women had no place in government. They certainly never intended for it to work out the way it did.
At the time, names on ballots did not have to be revealed until election day. When election day rolled around and people discovered her name on the ballots, shock and even outrage rippled through the small community. However, the men had underestimated the women of Argonia and the sense of community surrounding Salter. To their shock and horror, the community banded together and elected Salter by a huge landslide — 60%!
Despite never having wanted nor asked for it, Salter took this in stride and accepted the role as mayor. Though her time in office was only a year long, she made history and national headlines with her unexpected position as the world’s first woman to be mayor. Reportedly, she was a strict and efficient leader who got things done quickly and satisfactorily. She refused to run for reelection after her one–year tenure as mayor.
To think that the first woman to be mayor got there because the ministrations of a group of petty men backfired on them is both amusing and irritating. Their own misogyny working against them and the community of Argonia rallying behind Salter is a testament to the women’s suffrage movement and the resilience of the people—the women—involved. However, it also speaks to the ridiculous lengths that people have gone to hinder people fighting for equal rights. Now, more than ever, it is essential to remember these stories of success, the unfortunate truth that progress isn’t linear, and the fact that the people who opposed these movements ultimately went down in history as the laughingstocks at best, and the villains at worst.
Thank you for reading!