Men looking at material in the window of the National Anti-Suffrage Association headquarters, New York City.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Antis Organize at Old Barracks
In 1911, Josephine Jewell Dodge founded the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage in New York City. State organizations soon followed suit, and on April 15, 1912, the New Jersey Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NJAOWS) formed at the Old Barracks. Miss Anna Dayton was appointed president and Mrs. Eliza Warren Hook vice president.
During this time, Hook was also president of the Old Barracks Association.
Trenton was designated as the state headquarters for the NJAOWS, and by 1914, it was located around the corner from the Old Barracks at 32 West State Street.
Above: Eliza Warren Hook posts notice of having “invited a few friends to be her guests” at the Old Barracks to discuss anti-suffrage. This meeting would see the NJAOWS formally organized.
Trenton Sunday Advertiser, April 14, 1912.
Left: Article covering the formation of the NJAOWS at the Old Barracks.
Trenton Evening Times, April 15, 1912.
A flyer put out by the NJAOWS in their campaign against suffrage ahead of the vote in 1915.
The Battle Begins In May 1915, the NJAOWS held its statewide meeting at the Masonic Temple in Trenton, New Jersey – directly across the street from the Old Barracks.
During the event, the organization planned their approach for the upcoming vote on women’s suffrage scheduled to take place on October 19, 1915. The group designed an offensive campaign to promote their cause in all counties of the state. At the meeting Mrs. Josephine Dodge, president of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, was in attendance and spoke to the crowd.
Above: Leaders of the New York and New Jersey anti-suffrage movement posing at the meeting.
Left: Headline summarizing anti-suffrage mass meeting.
The Chatham Press, May 29, 1915
