Men vote today as women watch
Only going back 100 years for this one. On Election Day in 1915 women’s suffrage was on the ballot in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York. It was voted down in all three states.
“Pre-election parade for suffrage in NYC, Oct. 23, 1915, in which 20,000 women marched ” (Library of Congress)
NY Times 11-2-1915
NY Times 11-3-1915
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I didn’t realize that some states took the lead in adopting women’s suffrage before the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. According to the map below from Wikipedia states in green had approved full suffrage before the federal amendment had been ratified. Here’s a bit about the process in New York.
green’s a go for female voting
By 1910 the suffragettes were committed to an aggressive campaign that was as spectacular as it was effective. The old methods were not abandoned, but many new ones were added. Suffragette societies were organized along the lines of political parties; huge parades were held in New York City; motorcades toured the state distributing literature; street-corner speakers urging the vote for women became a commonplace in large cities; a one-day strike of women was threatened; and almost any stunt that would attract publicity was used. These tactics and the long campaign of education that had been carried on by earlier suffragettes finally produced results. A bill for amending the state constitution was passed by the legislature in 1913 and repassed in 1915, but was rejected by the voters at the polls. The process was immediately repeated, and this time it proved successful. The legislature passed the bill in 1916 and 1917, and the voters approved it in the fall of 1917. …[New York ratified 19th amendment in 1919] [1]
“Suffragettes – U.S. – Margaret Vale (Mrs. George Howe), niece of Pres. Wilson in Suffrage parade, New York. Oct. 1915.” (Library of Congress)
“Photograph shows four women carrying ballot boxes on a stretcher during a suffrage parade in New York City, New York.” (October 1915, Library of Congress)
“Casting the Suffrage “Liberty Bell” at Troy ” (ca.1910-1915, Library of Congress)
The map is licensed by Creative Commons. From the Library of Congress: Pre-election parade, Ms. Alaska, four women, Suffrage Liberty Bell
- [1]Ellis, David M., James A. Frost, Harold C. Syrett, and Harry J. Carman. A Short History of New York State. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1957. Print. page 391.↩
