Brown v. Phillips
71 Wis 239 (1888)
Olympia Brown led the Wisconsin Women’s Suffrage Association
from 1884 to 1912. Beginning in 1886, women had been granted a limited right to vote in “any
election pertaining to school matters.” The law headed for a test with the
spring election of 1887. Olympia Brown, along with many other women, voted in her
local municipal election for the offices of mayor, city clerk, comptroller,
alderman, and supervisor. Brown argued that these offices were pertinent to “school
matters” and were therefore permissible for her to vote on. When she was not
allowed to vote, Brown sued the city.
While the circuit court agreed with Brown’s position, the
Wisconsin Supreme Court ultimately ruled against Olympia Brown. You can learn
more about this case on the Wisconsin Court System’s summary of famous cases: Brown v.
Phillips and others.
We have the Supreme Court briefs for this famous case in our
library, and you can read them online in two parts: Brown v. Phillips Part One,
Brown v. Phillips Part Two.