Section 9: The Old Order of Things

As the Woman Suffrage Movement gained momentum, opposition mounted. In general, push back came from those who believed women:

• • Were mentally and emotionally unfit to vote;
  • Would abandon their “sacred place” in the home; and
  • Would, in the words of Josephine A. Pearson, “turn over the South to Negro domination!”

Opposition also came from well-funded groups of:

• • Politicians, who were uneasy about a new, unpredictable faction of voters; 
  • Businessmen, who feared a loss of profits;  
  • Industrialists, who worried women voters would call for child-labor laws; and
  • Liquor distributors, who felt women would bolster Prohibition efforts.