Battle for the Ballot in New Jersey

Photograph of Suffragist Eva Ward from the June 3, 1915, Bridgeton Pioneer

The limited voting rights New Jersey women had been granted in the state’s 1776 constitution were revoked by the State legislators in 1807. The subsequent campaign for women’s suffrage in New Jersey was long and unsuccessful until the ratification of…

Clay & Frelinghuysen campaign flag, 1844

This flag contains 26 stars circling an image of 1844 Whig party presidential candidate, Henry Clay. Presidential campaign flags were popular in the nineteenth and early-twentieth century and were often designed to look like the American flag. Clay…

Margaret Haines and her Votes for Women Sash, circa 1914-1916

A sash, a long piece of fabric that drapes from one shoulder to the opposing hip, was the accessory of choice of women in suffrage movement. It enhanced the femininity of women activists and served to reassure detractors and critics who expressed…

New Jersey Democratic ticket, 1839

This small paper New Jersey Democratic ticket from the 1839 election shows the slate of candidates and the different offices in which the Democratic party was contesting. Tickets like this one listed the candidates endorsed by the party and since…

June Sicknick, “Future President,” with her mother, Edna Keller Sicknick

The fight for women’s suffrage engaged women from all walks of life. Sarah Evans Selover, a local physician, was one of the leaders of South River’s Equal Suffrage League. While many affluent women were often involved in suffrage groups, working…

Turn Out Green and Early Democrats Broadside, October 30, 1860

As the tension in the United States grew prior to the Civil War, the Democratic Party began to split. This 1860 broadside is an invitation for the Hightstown Zouaves Parade as well as "some good Democratic Talk." It is believed that the term "green"…

Liberty and Union Broadside, October 31, 1864

Somerset Messenger advertisement for a November 2, 1864 talk by prominent New Jersey Democrat Benjamin Williamson. This event was presented by the Bridgewater Club, one of many social clubs in the state that flourished as a space for political…

Election Cake Recipe, 1839

New Jersey’s first published cookbook, Economical Cookery: Designed to Assist the Housekeeper in Retrenching Her Expenses, by the Exclusion of Spiritous Liquors from Her Cookery (ca. 1839), was written by an anonymous author who urged women to take…

Ike Socks, ca. 1948

Grey knit socks with blue writing with the word “Ike” stitched in support of Dwight D. Eisenhower's 1948 campaign for U.S. president.

Ballot box, undated

This wooden ballot box was used in Piscataway, New Jersey. There are three key holes at the top as well as a small hole for paper to be slipped in. Ballot boxes like this one were often found around different local establishments as there were no…

Votes for Women Ball Program, November 30, 1914

Program for the Women's Political Union’s Votes for Women Ball held at the Palace Hall Room in Newark, New Jersey, on November 30, 1914. For more information about the Women's Political Union, please see "The Woman's Reason" broadside in this…

Shirley Chisholm Political Ephemera, 1972

Shirley Chisholm was the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress. In 1972, Chisholm became the first African American candidate for a major party's nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run…

Political Button

Political buttons and pins have a long history of use, with pins being worn by supporters of George Washington. Buttons can show support for a candidate or a movement. The mass production of buttons and pins began in 1896 with the patenting of…

Florio's Cereal Box, 1989

The race for Democratic Party nomination of New Jersey governor election heated up in 1989 when Assemblyman Alan J. Karcher devised a creative marketing plan. He custom-made and mailed fake cereal boxes called “Florio's, the Breakfast of Special…

The Enemy's of Votes for Women Advertisement, 1913

In early 20th century, different women’s groups in support of suffrage competed for membership. This broadside calls for women to join the Women’s Political Union, founded by Harriot Stanton Blatch, daughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Blatch extended…

Political Bumper Stickers

Much like political buttons, political bumper stickers are used to show support for a candidate or movement. Political bumper stickers date back to the 1950s. Futher reading about bumper stickers. Questions to consider: Do you believe that the rise…

Richard Nixon Cut Paper Party Eye Glasses, 1968

These paper "party glasses" were a promotional tool created by the Richard Nixon campaign for the 1968 U.S. presidential election. They were found in the papers of former New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt.

New Jersey Churches for Woman Suffrage

The women’s suffrage movement needed support from different groups in order to achieve its goal. This broadside published by the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association during the campaign for a state suffrage amendment in October 1915, expresses…

Letter, Lillian Feickert to Florence Eagleton

This letter from New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association (NJWSA) President Lillian Feickert to the organization's Vice President Florence P. Eagleton shows that New Jersey women were astute lobbyists during the suffrage campaign. In September 1918, the…

Battles for the Ballot in New Jersey

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