Parade Banner for the Eleventh Ward of the Just Government League, c. 1907-1920

Maryland, 1919. Cloth banner measuring 32 x 50 inches, with 4 ½ inch lettering. The text reads "Eleventh Ward - J.G.L. of MD." Back is blank. Fading to lettering, stitched at top to facilitate hanging. Very good condition overall. The Just Government League was one of several major Suffrage groups in Maryland during the years preceding the 19th Amendment. Edith Houghton Hooker, a former medical student at Johns Hopkins, with help from her husband Donald Hooker and her Hopkins classmate Mabel Glover Mall and Florence Sabin, the first female senior faculty member. The group, compared to other Maryland suffrage groups, was more militant, taking action in open air marches and other public realms not traditionally accessed by women. The group staged a series of suffrage hikes beginning in 1914: "the first [suffrage hike] was held in January 1914, where the "Army of the Severn" marched from Baltimore to Annapolis to deliver a suffrage petition to the Maryland General Assembly. Hikes continued into 1915, visiting all corners of the state, including a Western Maryland hike in Allegany and Garrett Counties, a "pilgrimage" from Baltimore to St. Mary's County to visit the homesite of Margaret Brent, considered Maryland's first suffragist, and shorter hikes in Harford, Howard, and Montgomery Counties. Not only did these hikes garner much publicity through widespread newspaper coverage, they also boosted membership in local and statewide suffrage organizations, which was key to growing a broad base of support for women's suffrage." - Diehlmann, Nicole "Women's Suffrage in Maryland," Maryland Historical Trust. (accessed 10/22).

Offered here is a banner from one such event, perhaps from one of the self-organized suffrage hikes or perhaps from the group's participation in a larger march. The banner provides material evidence of the occupation of public space that helped build support for the suffrage movement.