Browse Items (28 total)
Bicycle Cartoon and Advertisements, Puck Magazine, 1897
By the 1870s, bicycles and tricycles using wire-spoked wheels were common, particularly in England. Albert A. Pope became the first American bicycle manufacturer under the trade name “Columbia” in Connecticut in 1878.The popularity of bicycles in…
Appeal of the Women of Staunton, Broadside, c. 1910
Circulated in Staunton, Virginia, the broadside dates to sometime between 1900 and 1919. In it, the women of Staunton asked the men in their community to vote in favor of prohibition or the legal elimination of alcohol consumption and sale. The…
Virginia Association Opposed to Woman's Suffrage, Broadside, c. 1910's
For a significant portion of American history, women were not allowed to vote. Although they were considered citizens, voting was considered a privilege and not a right and thus not extended to women. In the the 19th century, a small number of women…
Anti-Suffrage Arguments, Broadside, circa 1912
The Equal Suffrage League of Virginia was founded in 1909 in Richmond. Members of the league sought to win the right to vote for women. A this time, many men—and women—believed that voting women were a threat to marriage and families because…
Card Advertising a Lila Meade Valentine Suffrage Lecture, 1914
Richmond native Lila Meade Valentine (1865-1921) devoted much of her life to advocating reforms in public education and health care. She also supported voting rights for women and she co-founded the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia in 1909. Serving…
Women Do Want the Vote, Broadside, 1916
This broadside was one of many produced by the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia (ESL) to advocate voting rights for women during the 1910s. About twenty women met in Richmond in 1909 to establish the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. Many of the…
Boys and Girls! You can help your Uncle Sam, World War I Poster, 1918
World War I brought about great shifts in American society. As the nation was gripped by war, the entire population mobilized to produce weapons and supplies for the troops. One way in which they supported the war effort was through the purchasing of…
For Every Fighter a Woman Worker, World War I Poster, 1918
World War I brought about great shifts in American society. As the war began, women were not allowed to vote or serve in military combat roles. As the nation was gripped by war, the entire population mobilized to produce weapons and supplies for the…
League of Women Voters Poster, 1920
At the National American Woman Suffrage Association convention in 1919, President Carrie Chapman Catt proposed the creation of a “league of women voters to finish the fight and aid in the reconstruction of the nation.” Even before the ratification in…
Maggie Lena Walker, Letter, c. 1920s
Like many “race leaders” in the early 20th century, Maggie L. Walker rose to prominence from modest beginnings as a result of her intellect, education, and business acumen. Her mother was a formerly enslaved woman and her father had served in the…