NPR Highlights Cookies that Boosted Women’s Suffrage Movement

The women’s suffrage movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries utilized innovative fundraising methods, including bake sales and cookbooks. These initiatives played a crucial role in advancing the cause for women’s voting rights.

Fundraising Through Baking

Suffragists organized bake sales to support their activities. Items like kiss cakes and ginger cookies were often featured in recipes published in suffragist newspapers and cookbooks. This approach, although it may seem unconventional, effectively fostered connections among women and promoted their cause.

Unique Recipes from the Past

• Early recipes measured ingredients by the pound, not the cup.
• Many recipes did not specify cooking times or temperatures, relying on ambiguous terms like “a quick oven.”
• Cooking technology of the 1880s, such as cast iron stoves, made precise baking difficult.

Despite challenges in recreating these historical treats, experimenting with an 1885 recipe for kiss cakes provided insight into the past. The resulting cookies lacked the sweetness commonly found in modern versions, but their charm remained intact. Such baked goods were sold at events across Salt Lake City and the western United States, helping raise funds for suffrage activism.

Cookbooks as Awareness Tools

Compiling recipes into cookbooks also helped to raise awareness for women’s suffrage. These cookbooks highlighted women’s roles in households while promoting their capabilities beyond domesticity. According to Juli McLoone, curator at the Janice Bluestein Longone Culinary Archive, these cookbooks were a strategic element of the movement.

The spirit of camaraderie among women was paramount in these initiatives. Women’s associations sought to uplift each other across various spheres, including childcare, housekeeping, and civic duties. Cookbooks served as a reminder that efficient home management allowed time for broader community involvement.

Ginger Cookies and Advocacy

In 1915, the Equal Franchise Federation of Western Pennsylvania published The Suffrage Cook Book, which featured a popular ginger cookie recipe. This cookbook not only included delicious recipes but also endorsements from governors of states that granted women the right to vote, predominantly in the West.

Amid ridicule, suffragists were often depicted as aggressive and neglectful of familial duties. However, the sale of baked goods and the publication of cookbooks helped reshape this narrative, reinforcing the idea that women could contribute significantly to society both at home and in the public sphere.