American Woman Suffrage Postcards

American women’s suffrage activists were fascinated with suffrage themed postcards. They collected them, exchanged them, wrote about them, used them as fundraisers and organized “postcard day” campaigns. The cards they produced were imaginative and ideological, advancing arguments for the enfranchisement of women and responding to antisuffrage broadsides. Commercial publishers were also interested in suffrage cards, recognizing their profit potential. Their products, though, were reactive rather than proactive, conveying stereotypes they assumed reflected public attitudes—often negative—towards the movement. Cataloging approximately 700 examples, this study examines the “visual rhetoric” of suffrage postcards in the context of the movement itself and as part of the general history of postcards.

While historians have long recognized the importance of memorabilia to the Woman Suffrage movement, the subject has not been explored apart from a few restricted, albeit excellent, studies. Part of the problem is that such objects are scattered about in various collections and museums and can be difficult to access. Another is that most scholars do not have ready knowledge 1of the general nature and history of the type of objects (postcards, badges, sashes, toys, ceramics, sheet music, etc.) that suffragists produced. Then-new techniques in both printing and manufacturing created numerous possibilities for supporters to develop campaigns of "visual rhetoric." This work analyzes 70 different categories of suffrage memorabilia, while providing numerous images of relevant objects along the way and discussing these innovative production methods. Most important, this study looks at period accounts, often fascinating, of how, why when, and where the memorabilia were used in both America and England.

"Marking the centenary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, Votes for Women celebrates past efforts while looking toward what actions we might take in the future to further support women's equality"--Introduction.

A beautifully illustrated and fact-filled history of American women's drive for political equality from the 1840s to 1920 and after. Top quality reproductions of rarely seen historical photographs, posters, leaflets, and color illustrations, with over 75 profiles of leaders of this early, nearly forgotten nonviolent civil rights movement. Collectable First Edition.

A look at how Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and American voters invoked ideas of gender and race in the fiercely contested 2016 US presidential election

Book of postcards from the collection of Carol N. Crossedat the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum