Woman Suffrage in the Progressive Era: Patterns of Opposition and Support in Referenda Voting, 1910-1918

Abstract

Sources of opposition and support for woman suffrage are analyzed with the use of the responses of male voters to constitutional referenda held in six key states during the Progressive era. Traditional axes of opposition and support for suffrage are examined, establishing that stable sources of suffrage support originate most often from Protestant and northern European constituencies (with the exception of Germans), whereas southern Europeans and Catholics (except for Germans) generally show no consistent patterns. Opposition to suffrage is most constant from Germans—both Catholic and Protestant—and from urban constituencies. A structural model indicating the greater importance of prohibition as an intervening variable compared to partisanship or turnout at the grass-roots level of voting behavior explicates the sources of direct and indirect support for suffrage while it also demonstrates the influence of educational commitment in determining suffrage voting patterns. Except in the West, opposition to suffrage was intense and greater at the grass-roots level than among legislative elites. The ultimate success of the federal amendment is discussed in the context of state referenda, the changed political climate after American entry into World War I, and the innovative efforts of state legislatures to grant “presidential” suffrage, thereby circumventing what proved to be the difficult referenda route.

Men, Women, and the Ballot - Woman Suffrage in the United States

“…There is some evidence for a positive effect of Italian immigrants on the success probability of the woman suffrage cause (Model 5). While this finding is surprising given our (and others') priors, it is consistent with results presented by McDonagh and Price (1985) who do not find Italians to be a major source of opposition in woman suffrage referenda. Our results furthermore show that the urbanization rate has a statistically significant positive effect on the hazard rate.…”

“…In Utah, for instance, the German-American Alliance representing brewers' interests actively fought against prohibition and the woman suffrage movement (Harper, 1922). In contrast, Mormons tended to be generally supportive of woman suffrage (McDonagh and Price, 1985). In particular, the very early adoption in 1870 of woman suffrage in Utah has been linked to the local dominance of Mormons.…”

“…We also include separate variables for the respective percentages of individuals that are born in Italy, in Ireland, and in Germany. Among Irish-and Italian-born Americans, the traditional view that a woman's appropriate place is in the domestic rather than in the public sphere was particularly pronounced, which made these groups on average less supportive of the woman suffrage cause (McDonagh and Price, 1985). 17 The percentage of Americans born in Germany in a jurisdiction has also been argued to have diminished the probability of a state to adopt woman suffrage.…”

“…Manufacturing interest are generally viewed as a main opponent of the woman suffrage movement. In particular, business interests feared that female voters would back more rigid labor legislation in general and child labor regulation in particular (Flexner, 1975;McDonagh and Price, 1985). A strong manufacturing sector in a jurisdiction should therefore decrease the hazard of adopting woman suffrage.…”

“…In others, a strong industrial base at times provided a potent source of opposition. Business interests were generally hostile to woman suffrage for fear that female voters would oppose child labor and more generally back more rigid labor standards (Flexner, 1975, McDonagh andPrice, 1985). Alleged potential opponents include also the foreign-born who are reported to often have voted against woman suffrage in public referendums (Anthony and Harper, 1902).…”