5 old posters warn about the dangers of letting women vote

There have always been those who have been against progress and equality for women. It’s just better hidden today. For the true odiousness of this particular opinion, delivered in full form, you need to look to late 19th and early 20th century propaganda campaigns meant to keep women from getting the right to vote.

In these atrocious posters, rounded up by the blog Messy Nessy Chic, the idea that women fighting for equality are ruining families and messing up America isn’t just hinted at. It’s expressed outright, with fears of what might happen to the children or husbands of America if women are given the right to vote.

“Between the 1890s and early 1900s, thousands of illustrations like this were produced and distributed around the United States and England, on postcards, in magazines and on public billboards,” the blog writes. “The message was that women’s rights were dangerous and letting women think for themselves could only end in a nightmarish society.”

Here are a few of the images she found: