Give Mother the Vote
Item
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Title
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Give Mother the Vote
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Description
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At the top of the poster are the words “GIVE MOTHER THE VOTE”, in a large blue font, and below that, it reads “WE NEED IT”. Under the words there's a drawing of four fully visible cartoon-like, light-skinned babies, wearing yellow clothes, marching. It looks like there's another baby in line with them, all the way to the left of the others. The baby on the right side of the line is wearing a bonnet, and the rest are not. There's another baby in front, wearing a bonnet, who is waving a yellow flag that says “VOTES FOR OUR MOTHERS.” Below them are the words “OUR FOOD OUR HEALTH OUR PLAY OUR HOMES OUR SCHOOLS OUR WORK ARE RULED BY MEN’S VOTES.". Then it reads “Isn’t it a funny thing That Father cannot see Why Mother ought to have a vote On how these things should be?" At the very bottom are the words “THINK IT OVER”, in a large blue font. The edges of the beige-colored poster are torn. There's a yellow border (which is the same color as the babies' clothes) within a dark blue border (which is the same color as the text), outlining the poster.
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Rose O'Neill, the artist of "Give Mother the Vote," was a cartoonist and activist, who became famous through her Kewpie doll creations, which are depicted in this poster as the marching babies. She marched regularly for women's rights and used her status and the popularity of Kewpie dolls to gain support for the suffrage movement. In fact, at a 1914 rally in Nashville, Kewpie dolls wearing suffrage sashes were raised into the air. These cute drawings helped combat the stereotype of the feminist as masculine, old and ugly, by relating suffrage to a doll that is nurturing and motherly. Although the Kewpie doll related to the domestic woman, these dolls brought joy and further attention to the suffrage movement, calling all girls and women to support the cause.
Source:
Solomon, Adina. “The Prolific Illustrator Behind Kewpies Used Her Cartoons for Women's Rights.” Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, March 15, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/prolific-illustrator-behind-kewpies-used-her-cartoons-womens-rights-180968497/.
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Source
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Alice Park Posters. Gr-1. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.
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Publisher
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National Woman Suffrage Publishing Company, New York
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Rights
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https://library.harvard.edu/privacy-terms-use-copyright-information#visuals
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Identifier
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Poster depicting babies marching for their mothers' right to vote.
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Format
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Material: paper
Technique: Lithography
Dimensions: 46.25 x 30.125 inches
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Language
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English
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Date
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1915
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Creator
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Rose O'Neill
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Subject
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women, suffrage, women's rights, children
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Type
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Postcard
