Interpreting Primary Sources

1. This political ad warns voters to be wary of foreigners, specifically Roman Catholic immigrants.
2. It is aimed at voters in Kingston, New York ahead of elections in the mid 19th century.
3. This author has an unforgiving nativist tone, imploring his fellow "Americans by birth" to vote for nativist policy and politicians.
4. America's 19th century nativist movement was largely a response to the instability in Europe following constant war and revolution.
5. Washington's Farewell Address, which urges Americans to "Beware Foreign Influence," is heavily alluded to in this document.

1. This document summarizes a prominent member of a women's club's beliefs as to why women wanted (and had earned) the right to vote.
2. "Why the W.C.T.U. Seeks the Ballot" is aimed at all members of the general American public, specifically those in power capable of helping their cause.
3. Willard asserts that women need the right to vote as a way of securing their own interests in a male-dominated world.
4. The beginnings of black suffrage and the "first civil rights movement" gave women a springboard upon which to launch their own campaign for suffrage.
5. This document calls to mind the Seneca Falls Convention, at which women formally declared their goals and desire for suffrage.

1. This document encourages blacks to vote for the State Democratic Party in order to secure a proper education.
2. It is very obviously aimed at "colored voters."
3. The author reminds voters of the benefits given to blacks under the State Democratic Party, and suggests that keeping them in power would be for the best.
4. This ad is clearly a product of the wide-sweeping educational reforms of Gilded Age America.
5. In order to fully understand this document, it would be useful to locate other statistics (incomes, voting records, land ownership, etc.) that give a clearer picture of the black-white disparity in the Gilded Age.