Symbols of Suffrage: The Sash, the Banner and the Fight for the 36th State

National Woman's Party members picket the Republican convention in Chicago, June 1920. International Film Service Co.; National Woman's Party collection, Library of Congress

In June 1920, women of the National Woman's Party picketed outside the Republican National Convention in Chicago. The banner at the front asked: "Republicans, We Are Here. Where is the 36th State?"

Why the 36th state

In June 1919, Congress passed a constitutional amendment declaring that the right of U.S. citizens to vote "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

An amendment takes effect only when three-quarters of the states ratify it. In 1920 there were 48 states — Alaska and Hawaii weren't yet states — so 36 were needed. When the picketers stood outside the convention, 35 had ratified. One more was needed.

Dressed for the cause

Suffragists wore items that marked them as supporters of the movement — not only while protesting and picketing, but at meetings and out in public.

A purple, white and gold suffrage sash at the Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument. NPS / R. Mendoza

The most recognizable was the sash, striped purple, white and gold. It carried no words or images: by the early 1900s the public knew those colors so well as the symbol of woman suffrage that slogans like "Votes for Women" weren't needed. Banners were different — protesters used them to carry specific messages, like the one in Chicago.

Key words

More from the National Park Service: The 19th Amendment: A Crash Course and Symbols of the Woman Suffrage Movement.

Sources

Based on "Teaching Suffrage: Symbols of Suffrage," a classroom activity created with the Hard History Project, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain; rewritten in hubnx's own words.