Covers of 20th Century Suffrage Related Sheet Music

20th century sheet music, unlike its 19th century counterpart, was both well illustrated and colorful. New printing techniques allowed artistic designs to be reproduced cheaply, and the covers themselves became powerful promotional tools not only in terms of sales but also of the advancement of the message inside. What was probably the most popular title of the time was “She’s Good Enough To Be Your Baby’s Mother and She’s Good Enough to Vote With You.” Both the cover and title of the song were an essential part of activist strategy. Women who wanted to vote were not the ugly, militant harridans portrayed in anti-propaganda, but an essential part of the American fabric. Who could deny the vote to mother?

Suffrage organizations, not having studio artists readily at hand, still produced sheet music in limited quantities such as “Hurrah! Votes for Women” and “Votes for Women” that lacked graphic illustration, Negative pieces were still plentiful, including the anti-immigrant “Since My Margarette Become-a-da Suffragette,” “Put Me On An Island Where The Girls Are Few,” and “The Anti-Suffrage Rose,” the latter published by a Massachusetts Anti-Suffrage Association.