The 19th Amendment and Social Media: The Trending of #Repealthe19th

In October 2016, during the heated run-up to the presidential election, statistician Nate Silver of the blog FiveThirtyEight.com published a map predicting voting patterns by gender. His analysis showed that if only men voted in the upcoming election, Donald Trump would win by a landslide, and, conversely, if only women voted, Hillary Clinton would undoubtedly be president. Following this article, Trump supporters started tweeting #Repealthe19th, referring to the notion that if women hadn’t gained the right to vote through the passage of the 19th Amendment, Trump would easily win the election.

#Repealthe19th was used by Trump backers, as this LA Times article reports, but the hashtag was also seized upon by others, especially women, who used #rRepealthe19th and the negative commentary around it to urge women to go vote (see this Washington Post article for more).

To read about the historical context of the influence of media on suffrage, see #Repealthe19th: Women’s Suffrage Throughout Time and Media.

Suffrage Teaching Resources From the National Archives

DocsTeach, a National Archives-sponsored website of resources for teaching history, is designed to provide information and lesson plans for teachers. It may also be useful for students and others looking for primary sources on women’s rights and suffrage, however.

Likely the most useful resources for teachers are two teaching activities specifically related to suffrage. These include learning objectives, detailed lesson instructions, and extension activities. There is one lesson for high school students and one for middle schoolers. Note: There are nine more suffrage teaching activities available to those who register with the site. Registration is free and open even to those who aren’t teachers.

Additionally, the site contains:

Nearly all the documents include thorough citations and are copyright-free/public domain (although it’s worth looking at the Archives’ accessible and straightforward legal page before you use material from the site).

Some of the highlights include:

  • A petition—sponsored by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony—asking Congress to enact a law giving US women the right to vote
  • An 1888 joint Congressional resolution proposing a constitutional amendment extending voting rights to property-holding widows and spinsters—whom Elizabeth Cady Stanton half-jokingly described to Congress as “industrious, common-sense women … who love their country (having no husbands to love) better than themselves.”
  • A 1917 letter in which National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage President Alice Wadsworth urges Congressman Charles E. Fuller to vote against the proposed 19th Amendment, which ultimately granted US women the right to vote. (You can view a NAOWS pamphlet opposing women’s voting rights here.)

Video: The Oratory of Women’s Suffrage

The Oratory of Women’s Suffrage is a video documentary that recreates the speeches of leading suffragists whose impassioned words shaped the women’s movement during its inception in the late 19th century. It includes speeches by well-known suffragists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Sojourner Truth.

It is available to purchase as a DVD or for streaming from the Films Media Group website. This link also provides a free two-minute preview of the documentary. You can also find the documentary at academic libraries (see WorldCat to check for a copy near you).

ISBN: 978-1-62290-345-0

With Hillary’s Nomination, Lots of Interest in Suffrage Movement, But Did Media Get the Facts Right?

In this essay from the Women’s Media Center, Louise Bernikow fact-checks suffrage-related claims made in the media during the 2016 election campaign. One common misconception she points out is that suffragists did not always wear white and that the media disproportionately focuses on images of suffragists wearing white; other colors and types of clothing, such as military-style outfits, were also part of branding efforts by suffragists. Bernikow argues for the need to properly contextualize complex historical movements such as the suffrage campaign.

How Were Suffragettes Treated by the Media?

In this Bustle article, J.R. Thorpe dissects how suffragettes were treated by the media of their time. Using primary sources from the era, Thorpe argues that suffragettes were depicted as neglectful, violent, and disgusting, and further were accused of war-mongering and inciting the downfall of society.

For more primary materials, such as postcards and posters, depicting suffragettes see The Suffrage Postcard Project and American Women Suffrage Postcards.

‘Women, Their Rights, and Nothing Less’: Literary Activists of the Woman’s Suffrage Movement

In this Book Riot article, Margaret Kingsbury writes about how suffragists were “literary activists” who used a variety of written forms—including newspapers, pamphlets, poetry, and novels—to fight for women’s voting rights. Kingsbury compiles a list of suffragists, providing a profile of each woman and an excerpt of her writing, as well as links to further reading. The list includes abolitionist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who was the first black woman to publish a short story, and Lillie Devereux Blake, a journalist and novelist who led the New York Suffrage Association.

#Repealthe19th: Women’s Suffrage Throughout Time and Media

This Feminist Wednesday article by Taylor Ciambra delves into the history of the suffrage movement and the importance of the media in the 2016 election.

Ciambra links the history of the 19th Amendment with the recent trending of the hashtag #repealthe19th. #Repealthe19th surged in popularity on Twitter in early October 2016, when statistician Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight.com posted a map of projections showing very different results if only men or only women voted in the 2016 election. His analysis suggested that if only men voted, Donald Trump would win the election by a landslide, and conversely, that Hillary Clinton would undoubtedly be president if only women voted. The hashtag was used by Trump supporters to show support for repealing the 19th Amendment. However, many others used the hashtag to express outrage at its use and to rally women to go out and vote, as this Washington Post article explains.

The Difference Suffrage Has Made

Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett was an eminent English suffragist and president of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, or NUWSS, from 1897 until 1919. In her article “The Difference Suffrage Has Made,” published in the January, 1920 issue of The Englishwoman, Fawcett writes of the accomplishments of the suffrage movement in the 20th century. She describes in detail the various acts of Parliament that have contributed to improved political and legal standing for women, with a particular focus on those made between 1918 and 1919.

This excerpt can be accessed at the website of Women’s Print Media in Interwar Britain, a research project focusing on feminism and media in interwar Britain.

A Gallery of Suffrage, for Your Voting Pleasure: Political Cartoons From Before Women Could Vote

This small digital gallery from The Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum and The Archive (published online on The Nib) showcases full-color political cartoons from the suffrage era.

If you’d like to see more suffrage-era cartoons, check out the Catherine H. Palczewski Suffrage Postcard Archive, Puck magazine’s suffrage issue, and Jill Lepore’s book The Secret History of Wonder Woman.

Elisabeth Freeman and Media Stunts for Suffrage (1911-1916)

Elisabeth Freeman was an English suffragette born in 1876. She told the story of her dedication to suffrage being piqued by this incident: “I saw a big burly policeman beating up on a woman, and I ran to help her, and we were both arrested. I found out in jail what cause we were fighting for.” This rich interactive scrapbook of Freeman’s life tells the story of her struggles as a Suffragette, Civil Rights Worker, and Militant Pacifist.

Of particular relevance to those interested in suffrage and the media is the section on Freeman’s media stunts for suffrage. Freeman, adept at using the media to her advantage, became known for “finding some activity that would capture media attention and guarantee press.” She was often personally involved in protests and even got arrested a number of times. She also used other newsworthy events to “piggy back” onto another story, for instance, speaking between rounds of prize fights.

Some highlights from this fascinating repository of “stunts” include Freeman pictured with a bear and Freeman arrested at a strike.