29
unwholesome food, danger of infection” and other social evils. By “helping in the city
housekeeping”, the flier argues, she will bring her country up to the same high standards
she holds for her own home. Likewise, a poster entitled “The Suffrage Family—What
Bobby Says” (c. 1913) proposed that mothers will be better able to control food purity
than fathers and that children should “hope she’ll get the vote ‘cause then we’re sure to
have clean meat”.
War and Women:
World War I created another source of expediency appeals for woman suffrage.
By emphasizing the peaceful and compromising nature of women, the movement
suggested that women’s votes would bring a swifter end to the war. Broadsides often
contrasted men in continual battle with women negotiating and working together for
peace (“The Real Battlefield” August 7, 1915). Other appeals emphasized that women
contributed to the war effort just as men did and should receive recognition for their
work. The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia published a flyer entitled “Who Shares the
Cost of War” to illustrate that the war was the concern of women, for they maintained the
shops, schools, and farms while caring for their children and defending their homes
against the ravages of war. Because of their efforts, the League claims, women deserve a
voice in their government.
This form of appeal uses a combination of references to women’s ‘nature’ (calm,
peacemaking) and their willing contributions to the war effort to convince an audience
that the United States will come out of the war better if women are allowed to participate
in government. It also plays on the growing fears in the nation of the horrors of a war
with many fatalities and the loss of an entire generation of citizens on the battlefield. The
Convention