Suffrajests [handbill]

Files

Beth Ahabah Museum_Wallerstein colllection Suffrajests rsz.jpg

Title

Suffrajests [handbill]

Description

Anti-suffrage broadside poking fun at the woman suffrage movement. Filled with puns and inside jokes, the source and precise meaning of this publication are uncertain. 

Notes: The Square Deal was President Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program. 

The "hatchet" refers to Carrie Nation, the radical temperance activist. The "wets" (and "drys") were the two sides on the issue of prohibition. 

Some of the puns refer to foods made from corn: grits and hominy. Postum is a coffee substitute made from roasted wheat and molasses. 

Paradise Lost is an epic poem written by John Milton. The poem is divided into twelve sections known as "books." A "canto" is another word for the sections into which some long poems are divided. The History of Woman Suffrage quotes a line from Paradise Lost, "All is not lost: the unconquerable will is ours."

The Masses was a richly illustrated socialist magazine, published monthly from 1911 until 1917. 

Excerpts: 
SUFFRAJESTS 
If our husbands' socks are full of holes, 
Our holier duty is at the polls....

We didn't need the "hatchet"--we've got the "Club." Hurrah! 

Put your bets on the suffragettes. If you'll back them up they'll uphold the "wets." That's a stand off.  

We don't believe in "force"--it isn't what its "cracked up" to be. "Hominy" is better, and somes "grit" is necessary. You see, we "acknowledge the corn." (This isn't a cereal story.); if it were we'd "postum" up and raise some electioneering dough. Our road isn't all "peaches and cream," but we hope to get our desserts some day.... 

We are truly yours by a large majority,
THE SUFFRAJESTS

Source

Henry S. Wallerstein and Clara Ullman Wallerstein Collection, Beth Ahabah Museum & Archives

Contributor

Beth Ahabah Museum & Archives

Rights

NO KNOWN COPYRIGHT

The organization that has made the Item available reasonably believes that the Item is not restricted by copyright or related rights, but a conclusive determination could not be made. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. 

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/

Notes

Learn more: 

Anti-suffrage materials, Social Welfare History Image Portal

Citation

“Suffrajests [handbill],” Social Welfare History Image Portal, accessed December 8, 2024, https://images.socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/items/show/513.