The periodical press and western woman's suffrage movements in Canada and the United States: A comparative study

The early achievement of woman suffrage in the North American West is commonly explained in ways that elide the struggle involved. Building on recent historical work that recovers the decades of struggle and debate that preceded woman suffrage in the West, this article examines woman suffrage discourse in two prominent regional publications: The New Northwest of Oregon, and The Grain Growers' Guide of western Canada. Against explanatory narratives of western suffrage as a gift or as a recognition of women's pioneering contributions, we offer comparative studies of how these periodicals advanced strategic representations; how they were determined by the conditions of their emergence and engagement; and how they negotiated specific interventions. By drawing these analyses together, we hope to contribute to a broader re-evaluation of similarities and differences in women's suffrage organizing across national and regional borders and to a growing body of work on the specific contexts and interventions of women's print culture. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.