Traveling for Suffrage

For an insightful and exciting look at different transportation methods used by suffragists, log on to Traveling for Suffrage, at the American History blog of the Smithsonian. http://blog.americanhistory.si.edu. The series of four articles offers some wonderful photographs, as well as a small trove of information on how the suffragists spread their message using the transportation tools of the day – automobiles, planes and trains.

1776

Our own suffragists on Long Island also spent time and effort traveling all over the Island, bringing the message of political equality to the small villages and rural towns that dotted the Long Island landscape. Edna Buckman Kearns took her wagon, the Spirit of 1776 (photo above) throughout the area, loaded with suffrage leaflets and her young daughter, Serena. Rosalie Gardiner Jones and Elisabeth Freeman hitched up a horse to their wagon and also traveled up and down our bucolic Island, bringing the information and news to those who would otherwise be uninformed of the issues. In the days before any advanced forms of communication theirs was a priceless service that saved the movement well. Photo of Elisabeth Smith (below) courtesy of the Library of Congress. Photo of the Spirit of 176 Wagon courtesy of Marguerite Kearns,  The Suffrage Wagon News Channel.

freeman

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