Private and Public Life
At the time of the suffrage movement, society operated under the idea of “separate spheres” for an individual’s role in life. The public sphere belonged to men, and included politics, paid work, and the law. Women, on the other hand, were responsible for the private sphere with the duties of domestic life, such as housekeeping and childcare.
Both spheres were considered vital to society, but this ideology could only exist if there was a strict separation between the spheres.
An illustration depicting a woman’s sphere and a young woman peaking from her box to see what is on the other side. It reads, “Woman devotes her time to gossip and clothes because she has nothing else to talk about. Give her broader interests and she will cease to be vain and frivolous”.
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
This postcard reads “Suffragette Madonna” and symbolizes a man gaining domestic duties if women gained the right to vote. Much of the propaganda created during the anti-suffrage movement focused on how the roles of men would alter when women no longer solely occupied the private sphere.
Palczewski, Catherine H. Postcard Archive. University of Northern Iowa. Cedar Falls, IA.
The Anti-Suffrage Movement
In response to the growing number of suffragettes, anti-suffrage organizations started to form throughout the country. Commonly referred to as antis, these groups were made up of both men and women who strongly felt women should not cast votes in government elections. Antis, generally from the middle and upper classes, felt the breaking down of “separate spheres” would also mean the breakdown of society.
A paper distributed by the New Jersey Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage explaining in detail the anti-suffrage reasons for Americans to be concerned about the suffrage movement. Amelia Berndt Moorfield Collection, New Jersey Historical Society
Above and Left: More propaganda depicting the chaos women’s suffrage would cause on the traditional roles of men in the household.
Palczewski, Catherin H. Postcard Archive.
University of Northern Iowa. Cedar Falls, IA.
