Bluebirds for Suffrage - on display in the Library!

For Women's History Month, our featured Audubon for March is plate 393, which shows the Townsend Warbler, Arctic Blue-bird, and Western Blue-bird. At first glance, the connection to women's history might not be obvious, did you know that suffragettes in Massachusetts used the bluebird as a symbol of their movement? The bluebird symbolizes cheer and hope, and was adopted by the Massachusetts Woman Suffrage Association in 1915. 

A referendum on women's suffrage was on the Massachusetts ballot in 1915, and July 17, 1915 (listed in some sources as July 19) was "Suffrage Blue Bird Day." On this mid-July date, over 100,000 tin bluebirds were pinned throughout the state to show support of the referendum granting women the right to vote. Though actual bluebirds are only six to eight inches long, these colorful blue and yellow tin bluebird signs were twelve inches long by 4 inches wide - a vibrant sign of solidarity for the women's movement! You can see an image of these bluebirds here. The date "Nov 2" at the bottom of the sign references when voters would head to the polls, where unfortunately the referendum failed. Women in Massachusetts did not receive the right to vote until five years later, when the 19th Amendment was passed in 1920. 

Visit us from March 8 to April 4 to see these hopeful and cheerful birds on display, and happy Women's History Month!

Elizabeth Roscio

Preservation Librarian