Photograph of Suffragist Eva Ward from the June 3, 1915, Bridgeton Pioneer

The limited voting rights New Jersey women had been granted in the state’s 1776 constitution were revoked by the State legislators in 1807. The subsequent campaign for women’s suffrage in New Jersey was long and unsuccessful until the ratification of the 19^th Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920. New Jersey’s newspapers covered and reflected changing attitudes towards suffrage, featuring stories and editorials on the efforts to win the vote for women. Some newspapers, such as the October 29, 1912, Newark Evening Star and Newark Advertiser published special suffrage editions featuring women writers and editors. With a 1915 referendum on voting rights for women on the ballot in New Jersey, newspapers carried daily stories demonstrating efforts of suffrage advocates and the ultimate defeat of the measure. Eva Ward, a field worker for the New Jersey Men's League, whose photograph appears in the June 3, 1915, Bridgeton Pioneer and the August 13, 1915, Newark Evening Star and Newark Advertiser further challenged attitudes about women’s abilities by using a relatively new innovation, a yellow automobile named “The Voter” as her peripatetic office in her campaign. In this June 3, 1915 article, Ward announced her intention to stop at factory gates and speak to working men during their lunch breaks.

Bridgeton Pioneer, Chronicling America

6/3/1915

Caryn Radick

Photograph from Bridgeton Pioneer featuring Eva Ward, a British suffragist who became active in New Jersey’s efforts for suffrage, June 3, 1915.