Remembering the Contributions of Pioneer Martha Hughes Cannon

Martha bested her husband, Angus Cannon, in a race for the Utah State Senate in 1896, and it was the talk of Salt Lake City.

But according to published reports, it didn’t upset her relationship with Angus. “As Mr. and Mrs. Cannon are not at all worried over the latter’s election to the state senate,” observed an article in the Salt Lake Herald, “it is needless for anyone else to be apprehensive over the effect of that fact upon their domestic affairs.” The article went on to state, “Nothing that has transpired in Utah shows greater advancement in civilization than the election of women to the legislature.”

Martha ran as the Democratic candidate and won by “a neat little majority of 4,000 votes.” She became America’s first female state senator on November 3, 1896, and served one four-year term.

In an interview that appeared in the Salt Lake Herald, Martha declared: “I do seem to be a sort of milestone, don’t I? Well, I will have to try to live up to my privileges.” Her humility and hard work helped set a high standard and buoy other women, stretching to our day.

Martha lived in a society in which women rarely attended college, yet she earned four degrees by age 25. They included a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Deseret, a medical degree from the University of Michigan (one of the few schools that offered co-ed programs), a degree in pharmaceuticals from the University of Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in oratory from the National School of Elocution and Oratory in Philadelphia.

In 1878, Martha was called by Church leaders to serve as a medical practitioner and set apart for medical studies. She was the only woman in her medical school class and later became the youngest head surgeon at Deseret Hospital, where she also taught nursing classes. While there, she met Angus Cannon, a hospital board member and brother of Elder George Q. Cannon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. She became one of Angus’s wives in 1884.

As a state senator, Martha worked on several health-related measures, including a pure food law and the founding of Utah’s state board of health. These pursuits helped motivate further change in accessibility, women’s rights, and public health.

A National Suffragist

Dr. Cannon worked with influential women suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Emmeline B. Wells, and others. They traveled nationwide for various conferences, including the 50th anniversary of the Seneca Falls women’s rights convention in Washington, DC, and the Women’s Congress at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

In a statement before the US House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary in 1898, Martha said, “The story of the struggle for woman’s suffrage in Utah is the story of all efforts for the advancement and betterment of humanity, and which has been told over and over ever since the advent of civilization.”

Women in Utah had the right to vote beginning in 1870. But in 1887, female suffrage was revoked in Utah when the Edmunds-Tucker Act declared that plural marriage was outlawed. Nevertheless, Martha was an avid believer of polygamy and women’s rights.

In 1889, the Utah Woman Suffrage Association was created. Martha spoke at several meetings and gatherings over the years, preaching the equality of women and men. Martha was a strong advocate for women’s rights and helped female voting rights to be reinstated in Utah in 1896.

Martha accomplished many great things in her life with God’s help. She put Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ at the center of her life and defied expectations. “The things she was doing in her time probably seemed impossible, or nearly impossible, to achieve,” President Johnson said at the statue dedication at the US Capitol. She also shared this thought: “I hope that as people come to Emancipation Hall, they will feel inspired by Martha Hughes Cannon’s example of service, of loving and lifting those around them, and that they’ll set their sights high.”