US History

The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)

Women

Law and Government

This collection uses primary sources to explore the campaign for women&#39;s suffrage through the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. 

“Votes for women,” a 1912 suffrage map showing the status of women’s suffrage in each state.

An anti-suffrage lithograph illustration. It reads: “The home or street corner for woman? Vote no on woman suffrage.”

An anti-suffrage postcard from a campaign to reach government officials, 1916.

Transcription:

*[front]*
 
Hon. Herman[?] P. Snyder  
37 Ann St.  
Little Falls  
N.Y.  
 
*[back]*
 
We have sent you many hundreds like this  
Anti-suffrage Association  
 
[...]
 
SIGNATURE Wallace Ellis  
New Hartford, N.Y.  

A 1914 poster for the International Woman Suffrage Alliance. It reads, “Men! Give women votes to protect the children!”

A flyer listing reasons for a constitutional amendment, printed by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, July 1918.

The House of Representatives’ joint resolution on the Nineteenth Amendment.

A 1915 postcard of Kewpie dolls titled “Votes for Women: The Spirit of ’76.”

A 1912 postcard from a suffragette discussing her work on state suffrage campaigns.

Transcription:

619 7 NW Washington DC. Dec. 22 '12. Dear Friend - I congratulate you in winning success in Arizona so easily. I worked 6 mos in the campaigns of Oregon, Kansas & Wis [Wisconsin]. My home is Portland, Ore. but I am at above address for the season. Secy of the Federal Women's Equality Assn. I am working for a Bill to enable women in all the states to vote for members of the H of R [House of Representatives]. Have been getting Hon. Vice Pres from the States where women vote & your member & senator Ashurst responded most heartily. Their names will be on our letter-heads. I wish you would join me soon & help us. The fee is $1.00 a year. I saw Laura Gregg at the Convention in Philadelphia with best wishes Sincerely yours, Clara Bewick Colby. 


A postcard of nurses marching in a suffrage parade, 1913.

A photo of a suffragette appealing to striking workers in Paterson, New Jersey in 1913.

A card “to a suffragette valentine.”

Part of a set of banners ridiculing objections to women’s suffrage; this one says, “It would make women less attractive to men.”

A photograph of a suffrage parade, 1913.

A National Woman’s Party woman suffrage banner, 1914-1917.

Suffragists from the National Woman’s Party made smaller versions of the banner used on the 1913 parade’s first float. These "Great Demand" banners were used in demonstrations and rallies and at suffrage headquarters. 

A photo portrait of Ida B. Wells, a social reformer who campaigned for the inclusion of black women in the national suffrage movement.

Questions

1. Examine the [postcard of nurses](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/women-s-suffrage-the-campaign-for-the-nineteenth-amendment/sources/363) and the [photo of a suffragette appealing to striking workers](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/women-s-suffrage-the-campaign-for-the-nineteenth-amendment/sources/364). Why do you think the suffrage movement aligned itself with professionals in fields like teaching, nursing, and other striking labor groups? What common causes did these different groups of people share? 

2. Compare and contrast the [anti-suffrage lithograph illustration](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/women-s-suffrage-the-campaign-for-the-nineteenth-amendment/sources/356), the [1914 poster for the International Woman Suffrage Alliance](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/women-s-suffrage-the-campaign-for-the-nineteenth-amendment/sources/358), and the [flyer listing reasons for a constitutional amendment](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/women-s-suffrage-the-campaign-for-the-nineteenth-amendment/sources/359). How does each address women’s roles in the family? 

3. Using the items in this collection, explain the specific arguments made by those who advocated for women’s suffrage and those who opposed it.

4. Many of the items in this set are postcards. Why was the postcard such a popular method of communication for both suffragists and anti-suffragists? What are its advantages? With the [1915 postcard of Kewpie dolls](http://dp.la/primary-source-sets/women-s-suffrage-the-campaign-for-the-nineteenth-amendment/sources/361), which strategies was the National Woman’s Party using to appeal to readers?


Activity

As this set shows, postcards were an important way that both suffragists and anti-suffragists recruited followers to their causes. Design a pro-suffrage postcard that uses symbols and illustrations to encourage readers to join this side of the debate. For a more modern twist, craft a pro-suffrage argument in the form of a 140-character tweet. 

Teaching Guide: Exploring the Campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment

Resources

1. [Woman Suffrage Postcard collection](http://dp.la/search?partner%5B%5D=Smithsonian+Institution&q=suffrage+postcard&utf8=%E2%9C%93), National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center, Smithsonian Institution, Digital Public Library of America. 

2. [*History of Woman Suffrage*](http://dp.la/item/c20072262cc89421d1325ef5fabb432d), edited by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Matilda Josyln Gage, Internet Archive, Digital Public Library of America. 

3. [Activism in the US: Women’s Activism](http://dp.la/exhibitions/exhibits/show/activism/women---s-activism), DPLA. 

4. [Women’s Suffrage](http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/womens-suffrage/), The Library of Congress.

5. [The Fight for Women’s Suffrage](http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/the-fight-for-womens-suffrage), History.com. 


Overview

On August 18, 1920, Congress ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, giving women across the country the right to vote. This historic moment was largely the result of the work of activists and organizations advocating for universal voting rights. While these efforts started earlier, work for the amendment was the culmination of a twentieth-century women’s suffrage movement. This movement faced formidable political and social opposition and delay in moments of national concern like World War I. This set of primary sources—photos, advertisements, maps, and other documents—sheds light on that struggle toward the Nineteenth Amendment. 

English

Women’s Suffrage: Campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment

womens-suffrage_08_62a52d372aff12514c83c96cc6a7fa9b.jpg

Courtesy of the Postal History Foundation via Mountain West Digital Library.

Colby, Clara Dorothy Bewick, “1912 Suffrage postcard,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/62a52d372aff12514c83c96cc6a7fa9b.

A 1912 postcard from a suffragette discussing her work on state suffrage campaigns.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 8 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Women’s Suffrage: Campaign for the Nineteenth Amendment