{"id":1420,"date":"2019-05-21T16:35:35","date_gmt":"2019-05-21T16:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?p=1420"},"modified":"2020-02-20T16:26:44","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T16:26:44","slug":"using-visual-sources-photographs-as-historical-documents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?p=1420","title":{"rendered":"Using Visual Sources: Photographs as historical documents"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hannah Moase, a second year History student at the University of Portsmouth, has written the following blog entry on a photograph of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage headquarters for the Introduction to Historical Research module. Hannah uses the photograph to discuss the benefits \u2013 and limitations \u2013 of these visual historical documents in helping us understand past societies. The module is co-ordinated by Dr Maria Cannon, Lecturer in Early Modern History at Portsmouth.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (hereafter NAOWS) was founded in 1911 and was a key organisation in America that fought against the women\u2019s suffrage campaign. [1] With so much history focused on the women\u2019s suffrage movement, it is important for historians to look at the other side of the argument and to look at those who were trying to stop women from being granted the right to vote. This blog will focus on a picture taken in 1911 of the outside of the NAOWS headquarters in New York and will argue how, when put into context, photographs such as this one can add to historians\u2019 understanding of a topic. [2] This blog will also look at how this photograph adds to historians\u2019 knowledge of the anti-suffrage movement as well as how it conveys ideas of masculinity and femininity during the early twentieth century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1421\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?attachment_id=1421\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/history.port.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blog-2-image-e1561134858159.jpg?fit=620%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"620,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"blog 2 image\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;https:\/\/www.routledgehistoricalresources.com\/feminism\/gallery\/men-looking-in-the-window-of-the-national-anti-suffrage-association-headquarters-national-association-opposed-to-woman-suffrage-was-active-at-the-state-and-national&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/history.port.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blog-2-image-e1561134858159.jpg?fit=620%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/history.port.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blog-2-image.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1421\"\/><figcaption>NAOWS headquarters, 1911. Courtesy of Routledge Historical Resources<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the ways that this photograph can be\nconsidered useful to historians is that it displays, through clothing, ideas of\nmasculinity and femininity during this period. In the photograph, all the men\nare dressed very similarly. [3] They all appear to be wearing suit trousers\nunder their long coats and are wearing similar styles of hat and shoes. [4]\nInterestingly, the coats that the men are wearing can be contrasted with the\ncoat that the woman on the periphery of the photograph is wearing. [5] Leora\nAuslander argues that during this period clothing was designed to \u201cobscure male\nsexual attributes\u201d and to \u201chighlight the feminine\u201d attributes on a woman. [6]\nThis can be seen in the photograph through the woman\u2019s coat fitting closely around\nher waist \u2013 her feminine body shape can still be made out from under her coat.\n[7] In comparison, the coats that the men are wearing are baggier, straighter,\nand hide the male physique. [8] This shows how the photograph is useful to\nhistorians as it displays a direct contrast between how ideas of masculinity\nand femininity were displayed through clothing during this period. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another interesting aspect of this photograph\nis that all the people looking directly into the window of the building are all\nmale. [9] Although the NAOWS was an all-female organisation, this photograph\nshows that the organisation still attracted male interest and support. Susan E.\nMarshall explains how many all-female anti-suffrage campaigns received male\nsupport, but that many men preferred to assist these campaigns from \u201cbehind the\nscenes through donations\u201d rather than being actively involved. [10] The men\nappear to be reading information that had been placed in the window for\npassers-by to read and learn more about the anti-suffrage campaign. [11] Kirsty\nMaddux explains how the NAOWS used many ways to advertise the anti-suffrage\ncampaign, even publishing their own official paper called <em>Woman\u2019s Protest<\/em>. [12] This photograph can be used as evidence to\nshow how the NAOWS\u2019s use of advertising in the headquarters\u2019 window was\nsuccessful in attracting attention and potential support from passers-by. [13]\nIt can be argued that this image is a good example of how photographs can give\nhistorians a different representation of a topic that they may not get from\nanother type of source. Being able to see the men crowded around the\nheadquarters\u2019 window, all trying to read the information on display, allows\nhistorians to see for themselves an exact moment in the past where NAOWS\u2019s use\nof advertising was successful. As Derek Sayer argues, this level of\nunderstanding, and being able to see an exact moment in the past, is something\nthat is unique to photographic sources. [14]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, without context, what a photograph is\nrepresenting can be misleading \u2013 as seen with this source. This photograph\ncould be used to argue that there was a high level of interest and support for\nanti-suffrage among men. [15] However, when looking at the historiography of\nanti-suffrage campaigns in America it becomes clear that the anti-suffrage\nmovement was highly supported by women and men. Many anti-suffrage campaigns,\nincluding the NAOWS, were run entirely by women. [16] Susan Goodier explains the\nNAOWS was set up to bring together other pre-existing female anti-suffrage\ncampaigns from all over America. [17] Joe C. Miller argues that a common\nmisconception about the suffrage movement is that it was a \u201cfight of women\nagainst men\u201d. [18] This was far from the truth. Many women were involved in the\nanti-suffrage movement, and at its peak in 1919 the NAOWS had 500,000 all-female\nmembers. [19] This shows that although the photograph suggests to the viewer\nthat the anti-suffrage campaign was heavily supported by men, the\nhistoriography shows that many women also supported the movement. This photograph,\nthen, could be potentially misleading as to who were the types of people\nsupporting the campaign. Sayer highlights how historians need to be careful\nwhen using photographs as primary sources because without them being put into\nthe correct context, they can be misinterpreted. [20]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Peter Burke argues that another issue with\nusing photographs as primary sources, one that can also be seen with this\nphotograph, is that the identity of the photographer \u201cis so often unknown\u201d. [21]\nIt is unclear who took this photograph and that leads to the question of why\nthis photograph was taken and its intended purpose. [22] Both Burke and Penny\nTinkler argue that photographers select what aspects of the world they want to\nportray. [23] Although it may appear that photographs are showing a true\nreflection of the past, this is not always the case, because photographs can\neasily be staged. These ideas can be applied to this photograph, and it must be\nconsidered why the photographer chose to capture the outside of the NAOWS\nheadquarters. It is also interesting why the photographer chose to take the\nphotograph when five men were looking into the window of the building. [24] The\nphotographer could have potentially been trying to gain more support for the\nNAOWS by showing it was already receiving a high level of interest.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In conclusion, many different aspects that can\nbe argued to be useful to historians can be drawn from this photograph. The image\nshows, through clothing, a direct contrast in how ideas of masculinity and\nfemininity were displayed during this period. It also gives an insight into how\nthe NAOWS successfully used advertising to promote the anti-suffrage campaign\nin its headquarters\u2019 window. Finally, the photograph shows how, by drawing in an\naudience, an all-female anti-suffrage organisation like the NAOWS could succeed\nin gaining male support.&nbsp; However, this\nphotograph is also a good example to show that historians need to be careful\nwhen using photographs as primary sources. Without context, what a photograph\nis displaying and what that represents can be misleading and misinterpreted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NOTES<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[1] Susan Goodier, <em>No\nVotes for Women: The York State Anti- Suffrage Movement<\/em> (Urbana: University\nof Illinois Press, 2013), 64.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[2] Routledge Historical Resources: History of\nFeminism \u201cMen looking into the National Anti-Suffrage Association headquarters\n1911,\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.routledgehistoricalresources.com\/feminism\/gallery\/men-looking-in-the-window-of-the-national-anti-suffrage-association-headquarters-national-association-opposed-to-woman-suffrage-was-active-at-the-state-and-national\">https:\/\/www.routledgehistoricalresources.com\/feminism\/gallery\/men-looking-in-the-window-of-the-national-anti-suffrage-association-headquarters-national-association-opposed-to-woman-suffrage-was-active-at-the-state-and-national<\/a>, last accessed 11 February 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[3] Photograph of men looking into the\nNational Anti-Suffrage Association headquarters 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[4] Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[5] Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[6] Leora Auslander,\n\u201cDeploying material culture to write the history of gender and sexuality: the\nexample of clothing and textiles,\u201d<em> Clio. Women, Gender, History <\/em>40\n(2014): 168.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[7] Photograph of men looking into the\nNational Anti-Suffrage Association headquarters 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[8] Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[9] Ibid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[10] Susan E. Marshall, <em>Splintered\nSisterhood: Gender and Class in the Campaign against Woman Suffrage<\/em>\n(Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1997), 72.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[11] Photograph of men looking into the\nNational Anti-Suffrage Association headquarters 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[12] Kirsty Maddux, \u201cWhen\nPatriots Protest: The Anti- Suffrage Discursive Transformation of 1917,\u201d <em>Rhetoric\nand Public Affairs<\/em> 7, no. 3 (2004): 284.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[13] Photograph of men looking into the\nNational Anti-Suffrage Association headquarters 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[14] Derek Sayer, \u201cThe\nPhotograph: the still image\u201d, in <em>History Beyond the Text: A Student\u2019s Guide\nto Approaching Alternative Sources<\/em> ed. Sarah Barber and Corinna M.\nPeniston-Bird (Oxfordshire: Routledge, 2009), 55.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[15] Photograph of men looking into the\nNational Anti-Suffrage Association headquarters 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[16] Goodier, <em>No Votes<\/em>,\n40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[17] Ibid., 64.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[18] Joe C. Miller, \u201cNever A\nFight of Woman Against Man: What Textbooks Don\u2019t Say about Women\u2018s Suffrage,\u201d <em>The\nHistory Teacher <\/em>48, no. 3 (2015): 437.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[19] Ibid., 440.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[20] Sayer, \u201cThe\nPhotograph,\u201d 59.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[21] Peter Burke,<em>\nEyewitnessing: The Uses of Images as Historical Evidence<\/em> (London: Reaktion\nBooks, 2001), 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[22] Photograph of men looking into the\nNational Anti-Suffrage Association headquarters 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[23] Burke, Eyewitnessing,\n23; Penny Tinkler, <em>Using Photographs in Social and Historical Research<\/em>\n(London: Sage, 2014), 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[24] Photograph of men looking into the National\nAnti-Suffrage Association headquarters 1911.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hannah Moase, a second year History student at the University of Portsmouth, has written the following blog entry on a photograph of the National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage headquarters for the Introduction to Historical Research module. Hannah uses the photograph to discuss the benefits \u2013 and limitations \u2013 of these visual historical documents in helping us understand past societies. The module is co-ordinated by Dr Maria Cannon, Lecturer in Early Modern History at Portsmouth. The National Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage (hereafter NAOWS) was founded in 1911 and was a key organisation in America that fought against the women\u2019s suffrage campaign. [1] With so much history focused on the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[420,452,425,14,282,451,15,98,13,415],"class_list":["post-1420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning_in_focus","tag-america","tag-clothing","tag-femininity","tag-history","tag-masculinity","tag-photographs","tag-primary-sources","tag-twentieth-century","tag-visual-sources","tag-womens-suffrage"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/history.port.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/blog-2-image-e1561134858159.jpg?fit=620%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p91PlX-mU","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1420"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1422,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1420\/revisions\/1422"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}