Activists Leaving National Woman's Party Headquarters to Take Petition to Senator Jones of New Mexico, 1918

Four women in dresses and hats proudly stand in front of a building with a sign that reads “National Women’s Party.” Between the two women in the center is a very large roll of paper that the women are holding up. These National Women’s Party leaders had been working to collect signatures of support on a “mile long” paper to present to members of Congress.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Harris & Ewing, "Deputation Leaving Headquarters to Take Petition to Senator Jones of New Mexico [Annie Fraher, Bertha Moller, Berthe Arnold, Anita Pollitzer]," September 1918

Description

This photograph shows Annie Fraher, Bertha Moller, Berthe Arnold and Anita Pollitzer standing outside the National Woman's Party headquarters with a large-rolled suffrage petition. After a multi-state journey, the petition was delivered to Senator Andrieus Jones of New Mexico, who was chairman of the Suffrage Committee in September 1918. An earlier movement resulted in an 18,000 foot-long petition with half a million signatures in support of women’s suffrage. That petition was delivered on several huge spools to President Woodrow Wilson in December 1915, but he remained committed that suffrage was a state issue, not a federal one.

Source-Dependent Questions

How does a petition, one form of "grassroots activism," show lawmakers what the general public thinks?
Using what you’ve learned about suffrage movements, analyze the effectiveness of this strategy to ensure rights. What motivates lawmakers to "listen" to petitions?

Citation Information

Harris & Ewing, "Deputation Leaving Headquarters to Take Petition to Senator Jones of New Mexico [Annie Fraher, Bertha Moller, Berthe Arnold, Anita Pollitzer]," September 1918. Courtesy of Library of Congress