Saturday, April 27, 2013

35. Granny's Choice: "I'm an Anti"



Granny's Choice by Dustin Cecil 
 
   
Many women were opposed to female suffrage, perceiving the political arena as unladylike and viewing women who were interested in organizing, persuading politicians and venturing into public life as "unsexed."


In a contradictory move, however, women opposed to the vote organized their own political groups. In America the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (NAOWS) was founded to consolidate state organizations in 1911.

 NAOWS Headquarters in either New York or Washington

Founder Josephine Jewell Dodge fit the stereotype of the woman who chose to be anti-suffrage. She was rich and well-bred. Her 1875 wedding was described as "the most brilliant and important social event of the season" in the New York Times. Yet this New York socialite was active in the area of children's welfare and early childhood education.


It's difficult to find a photo of Josephine Dodge (ladies' pictures were not in newspapers) but the Library of Congress has this 1913 picture of some fellow members of the NAOWS.


Like the pro-suffrage organizations the "Anti's" used the power of the press, publishing newspapers and pamphlets.



There were pledge cards and lapel ribbons, speeches and rallies. But their arguments had none of the flair of their pro-vote sisters. Mottoes like "Why waste time, energy and money, without result?" hasn't the punch of the simple "Votes for Women."


The media battle raged through the early 20th century. The Anti's may have won the hearts of the cartoonists.
 But anti-anti cartoons were also widely printed.


Socialite anti's (the woman above) were classed with these villains:  "White slavers" on the left  [the common euphemism for pimps and vice lords], business owners who wanted to exploit workers [women might want to effect change in the workplace] and the alcohol manufacturers who feared votes for prohibition.

Cartoon from Puck humor magazine



 "We Don't Vote for Women"; "We All Vote For Women". An enterprising postcard publisher made the most of the pro's and anti's in these glitter cards that were printed with various city locations.


Remember the Anti-Suffrage movement with Granny's Choice.


Granny's Choice by Georgann Eglinski

Granny's Choice by Becky Brown

BlockBase #2309

The pattern was published in the Kansas City Star in 1948.


Cutting an 8" Finished Block

The red measurements are a little larger---when the BlockBase measurements are set to 1/16" default.

A - Cut 1 square 7-1/4". (7-3/16")

Cut with 2 diagonal cuts to make 4 triangles.
You need 4 triangles.
B - Cut 4 rectangles 1-7/8" (1-15/16") x 5-1/4". You'll trim these later.

C - Cut 4 squares 1-7/8" (1-15/16")


Piece the C squares to the B rectangles.
Add the A triangles to make larger triangles.
Piece those together and trim the B rectangles.

Granny's Choice by Becky Brown

Cutting a 12" Block

A - Cut 1 square 10-3/16"

Cut with 2 diagonal cuts to make 4 triangles. You need 4.

B -  Cut 4 rectangles 2-5/8 x 7-1/4". Trim these as shown above.

- Cut 4 squares 2-5/8".



Read an account of Nebraska's anti-suffrage movement in Laura McKee Hickman's, “Thou Shalt Not Vote: Anti-Suffrage in Nebraska, 1914-1920,” Nebraska History 80 (1999): 55-65.
Click here:


See more about this English image contrasting "authentic" women and suffragettes by clicking here:


2 comments:

  1. That's a great block, no matter what colors. Thanks! So odd to think of *women* being anti-vote!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's funny, really... "women should not have a say, unless I'm the woman and I agree with "the say""

    ReplyDelete