24 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
24 lines
3.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Anti-suffragism"
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chunk: 1/7
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source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-suffragism"
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category: "reference"
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tags: "science, encyclopedia"
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date_saved: "2026-05-05T14:56:22.846092+00:00"
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instance: "kb-cron"
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---
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Anti-suffragism was a political movement composed of both men and women that began in the late 19th century in order to campaign against women's suffrage in countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. To some extent, Anti-suffragism was a classical conservative movement that sought to keep the status quo for women. More American women organized against their own right to vote than in favor of it, until 1916. Anti-suffragism was associated with "domestic feminism," the belief that women had the right to complete freedom within the home. In the United States, these activists were often referred to as "remonstrants" or "antis."
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== Background ==
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The anti-suffrage movement was a counter movement opposing the social movement of women's suffrage in various countries. It could also be considered a counter public that espoused a democratic defense of the status quo for women and men in society.
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Countries in the Western World began to explore giving women the equal right to vote around the mid 19th century, beginning with the Wyoming Territory in 1869. Areas with the most visible women's suffrage movements were Great Britain and in the United States, although women's suffrage movements took place in many Western countries. Anti-suffrage activities began to emerge in many countries as women publicly advocated for suffrage.
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== Australia ==
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Anti-suffrage movements were present in Australia through the 1880s and 1890s. Anti-suffrage organizations in Australia were "closely associated with the Conservative Party, manufacturing interests and anti-socialist forces." The Australian media took part in the anti-suffrage movement, and depicted women as being "weak and unintelligent," emotional and too involved in domestic and trivial matters.
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The Australian anti-suffragist movement was founded on a platform of patriotism. Australia stood out as one of the few members of the British Empire where women held the right to vote at the turn of the twentieth century. Consequently, they were held accountable when the 1916 referendum on compulsory overseas military service was defeated. Publications advocating anti-suffragism utilized the emotions and politics surrounding forced enlistment for men to argue against women's enfranchisement in other parts of the empire. In the lead-up to the 1917 referendum, feminine emotionalism was cited as evidence that women had no place in politics. Newspaper coverage of the referendum placed blame on women's belief that "they would be condemning men to death if they voted 'yes'." Anti-suffragists consistently pointed to the defeat of Australia's referendums as evidence to support their assertion of the universal unreliability of women voters. Even in the face of loyal efforts by Australian women, such as those within the Australian Women's National League (AWNL), opponents of suffrage persisted in characterizing Australian women's participation in the referendums as a failure to fulfill their responsibilities.
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== Canada ==
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Canadian men and women both became involved in debating the women's suffrage movement in the late 19th century. Women's suffrage was debated in the Legislative Assembly in New Brunswick starting in 1885, and anti-suffrage "testimonies" began to appear in the newspapers around that time.
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== Great Britain == |