2020/10/01 by Laurie A. Rofini · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Canadian Identity and History #Criminal Law and Evidence #Economic Justice #Law #Law in Society and Culture #Newspaper #Political science #Politics #Referendum #Suffrage
paper · doi:10.5325/pennhistory.87.4.0591
openalex publication_date 2020/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
ABSTRACT This article traces the origin, creation, and use of the Justice Bell, a replica of the Liberty Bell that was cast for a statewide tour in support of the 1915 Pennsylvania referendum on woman’s suffrage. Suffragists used the image of the Liberty Bell well before 1915, connecting its symbolism of freedom to the suffrage cause. After the unsuccessful 1915 campaign, the bell was used for national suffrage events, patriotic fundraising, and get-out-the-vote campaigns. Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger commissioned and paid for the bell and retained ownership of it until her death. The post-1915 use of the bell reflects the shift in her suffrage affiliation from the more traditional National American Woman Suffrage Association to the radical National Woman’s Party.