In the spirit of suffrage

Given that today is the anniversary of Tennessee's ratification of the 19th Amendment, I thought it would be of value to look at some of the arguments against the suffrage movement. I say this not only because, at least to me, it is interesting to see what people (mainly men) used in their arguments against women gaining the right to vote, but also because comparatively, I believe that one may see these same arguments in present day.

I thought I might start with a piece that demonstrates the overt quality of the suffrage opposition during the time. Note the language used: Danger? Irresponsible? Menace? I also find it a bit ironic that the author of this ad thought it necessary to provide the intended audience with such explicit instructions, given that they were presumably among the "responsible" voters.

 

While this ad is no more subtle than the previous example, the message is slightly different. While the advertisement above questioned women's ability or competence, the intent behind this example is recruitment. The author of this advertisement wanted to demonstrate that a woman's place is in the home and that by trying to achieve equality, a woman couldn't possibly manage to do "her job". Note the way in which the author tries to garner support from the intended male audience by catering to their perceived efforts at work. It's kind of like saying "You deserve better than this".

This one is among my favorites because I think the underlying argument is one that resurfaces in different variations from time to time. The basic premise is the same, "What are we gonna do...?" It's about power, those that have it, and the measures they are willing to take in order to preserve the fact that they have it.

There are many more examples you can find online of advertisements, posters, and photos of the anti-suffrage movement. From time to time, some of the finer points of history are overlooked. Many people today take the fact that there is a 19th Amendment to the Constitution for granted. Some have forgotten, or perhaps never heard, about the opposition to women's suffrage movement and how narrow of a margin it was that the 19th Amendment came to be.