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They Persisted

“We represent a majority of the women of Maine. We are simply asking a right, not a privilege.”Katharine Reed Balentine, 1917

Maine’s pro- and anti- suffrage groups persisted with the referendum campaign — and some national activity continued as well, including the National Woman’s Party protests at the White House. The measure lost by a nearly 2–1 margin.

Wiscasset Academy senior class members pose holding items that had meaning to them. The young woman at the left in the first row chose a “Votes for Women” banner.

ca. 1917 (Maine State Museum Collection)

January, 1917 (Special Collections, Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine

The National American Woman Suffrage Association sponsored suffrage schools to train women in various aspects of suffrage work. Portland was the site of the second school the group held in Maine in anticipation of the September 10, 1917 referendum. It was quite well attended by women from around the state.
Topics included suffrage history, press work, public speaking, money-raising, argument, and organizational studies.

ca. 1917 (Dr. Kenneth Florey Collection)

A group of women, led by a drummer, carry signs reading “Woman’s Suffrage,” “Sisters Arise,” and other slogans, march through Market Square in Houlton. It is unclear what the event for the parade was.

1917 (Maine State Archives)

Using the familiar “Votes for Women” slogan, along with trees and a rising sun, this pro-suffrage stamp was part of the campaign for the September 10, 1917 referendum to amend the state constitution to grant women voting rights. Women could vote in a number of Western states and the goal for the 1917 referendum was for Maine to be the first in the East to guarantee full suffrage to women.

Of the men who voted on the referendum on September 10, 1917, 65 percent voted “no” and 35 voted “yes, ” dealing a difficult blow to the campaign for women’s suffrage in Maine.

1916 (Maine Historical Society Collection)

Florence Brooks Whitehouse of Portland gave two speeches on “The Purpose of the Women’s Party” on October 26, 1916.
Whitehouse was the Maine head of the National Woman’s Party, a group that sought to pass a federal amendment granting women the right to vote, rather than working to gain passage in each
state, as had been the goal of the National American Woman Suffrage Association.

“Votes for Women” Buttons ca. 1916 (Maine State Museum Collections)

“Dirigo Votes for Women” Button ca. 1917 (Lois Galgay Reckitt Collection)

The two buttons with gold ribbons, “Votes for Women” and “Votes for Women Patriotism” with the eagle and flags, were distributed nationally. The “Patriotism” button was intended to assure people that women who supported suffrage were not shirking their duties to support the war effort during World War I.

The third button was created for Maine suffrage supporters. It features a pine tree and the words “Dirigo Votes for Women.” Other than some fliers and posters, little Maine-specific suffrage material was produced.

ca. 1917 (Maine Historical Society Collection)

Formed in May 1914, the Men’s Equal Suffrage League included men from across the state. This flyer noted, “At this date woman suffrage cannot possibly be called a radical or untried experiment …”

1917 (Maine Historical Society Collection)

Maine supporters of the National Woman’s Party formed the Suffrage Referendum League to support the 1917 Maine referendum on a constitutional amendment to allow women to vote in the state. The image on the calendar is a woman wearing an American Revolution-era hat and the words “The Spirit of ‘76.”

Brunswick Record, September 7, 1917

The Brunswick Record front page printed President Woodrow Wilson’s message in support of Maine’s equal suffrage referendum. It was addressed to Deborah Knox Livingston, who headed the campaign to secure passage of the measure. Wilson urged all Democrats to “support a cause in which we all believe.”
When World War I started, Wilson had not voiced support for women voting.

Next: Women Win the Vote