"Strewn Knee Deep in Literature": A Material Analysis of Print Propaganda and Woman Suffrage

During the nineteenth century printing costs decreased with new technological innovations, and in the United States, the use of written propaganda skyrocketed as a means to share ideas. By the early twentieth century, producing and disseminating this literature had become a strategic move for political activists like woman suffragists. In the American Midwest, vast spaces and difficult travel conditions hindered frequent face-to-face conversations, and advocates for woman suffrage recognized the power of paper as an inexpensive means to reach isolated rural voters. An analysis focused on the material culture of the thousands of pamphlets, leaflets, and flyers used by suffragists exposes the practical decisions that shaped political campaign strategies. It also reveals that suffrage activists placed tremendous importance on propaganda; they planned their political campaigns around small papers with big messages.