There were a lot of unknowns in the political world 103 years ago.
Women were about to get the right to vote in federal elections and the political commentators of the day didn’t know what that would mean in the upcoming presidential race.
Some thought it wouldn’t mean anything. The women would vote the way their husbands or fathers told them. Those pundits thought women’s suffrage wouldn’t change the result of any election but would only increase the number of votes to be counted on election night.
The Jamestown Alert editorialized that women would vote their own minds.
“It is predicted that women generally will vote as they please in the presidential election,” the editorial said. “…women can vote their own secret ballot and still keep political peace in their homes.”
This quote would seem to indicate peace in the home relied on the husband or father not knowing how their women voted. Differing political opinions might result in a disruption to the peace in the home if expressed.
The same is probably true today in some homes.
The Jamestown Alert wondered if the women of the country were ready to deal with the unpleasantness of the political world.
“It is a great misfortune for the new woman voter that she has heard and read so much to the detriment of ‘politics,’” the editorial continued. “…Women who are worried by this situation should try to keep a sane temper and an investigating eye.”
Not a bad recommendation for voters of either gender today.
Warren Harding won the 1920 election. Harding carried every northern and western state including North Dakota by a considerable majority.
The votes cast increased from 18.5 million in the 1916 election to 26.8 million in 1920.
We are still more than a year from the next presidential election.
Plenty of time for both men and women to keep a sane temper and an investigating eye before going to the polling booth.
Author Keith Norman can be reached at
www.KeithNormanBooks.com
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