League of Women Voters Poster, 1920

Although the U.S. Constitution stated that all men were created equal, it left out the rights of women who, therefore, did not have the right to vote and partiicpate in the development of laws. In 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York, women declared that they too deserved the right to vote. For the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, women and their supporters argued for woman suffrage. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified granting women the right to vote.

Citation: League of Women Voters. 1920. Erie: Erie Litho & Ptg Co. Poster. Equal Suffrage League of Virginia Papers, Acc. 22002. Library of Virginia

Social Studies: VS.1, USI.8, USII.1, US11.3, CE.1, CE.3, CE.5, GOVT.1, GOVT.6
Art: 4.18, 4.19, 5.18, 5.19
English: 4.7, 5.7

In Their Shoes: Pretend you are a suffragist. Write a letter expressing your viewpoint in the hopes of persuading someone to join you in this movement. Who would you send it to?

Current Connections: How might images like this one from the poster have affected the League of Women Voters? To what extent is this group and its work still relevant today?

Analyze: In regards to the poster, what is the message? How do you know? Who is the target audience? 

Artistic Exploration: Look at the poster encouraging women to vote. What do you see regarding the three figures (and who they are) and the objects and background? In your opinion, to what extent is this poster effective in its advocacy for voting? Be specific.