Introduction

Before the United States became an independent state, only selected individuals in the colonies had the right to participate in the political process through voting. Historians estimate that around 10-20% of the population in the colonies could vote. After the United States gained independence, some states decided to expand voting rights but only in one state, New Jersey, could women, who owned significant property, vote. But even that changed. In 1807, New Jersey changed its laws and banned all women from voting. Across the United States, all women were excluded from what is today the most fundamental right of every U.S. citizen: voting. 

In the 1800s and especially in the second half of the 19th century, many politically active women engaged in the fight for women’s right to vote. Those women were known as suffragists because they fought for equal suffrage, which is the right to vote in political elections. They created suffrage clubs and other organizations. They published newspapers, books, and pamphlets that promoted the message of suffrage. They organized marches, parades, and public lectures. They sent petitions to state and national legislatures demanding voting rights for women. All these efforts aimed to convince everyone in the society, from powerful politicians to ordinary Americans, that men and women were equal and therefore women should have had the same political rights as men.

In this activity, you will examine a popular holiday postcard that suffragists sent to promote the message of women’s voting rights. It is an example of one creative idea used to fight for the political equality of men and women.