Sailing Against The Tide: Women of Cape Cod & The Islands

Exhibit Opening October 26th, 2023

Cape Cod Maritime Museum

In 1886, Alice B. Stockham first published a collection of recipes sourced from other members of the women’s suffrage movement. One contributor was Anna Howard Shaw, who started her career as a minister in Dennis on Cape Cod!

These cookbooks were an important way of both raising funds and awareness of the movement. While it might seem unusual for these women to be embracing the role of a homemaker at work in the kitchen, this was done intentionally. Many suffragists wanted to emphasize to the public that gaining the vote would not cause women to abandon their homes and families. They also believed a woman’s work in the kitchen proved she was worldly, intelligent, and aware of political issues like economics, and thus deserved to participate in politics. These books helped humanize the suffrage movement to men and other women.

You can learn more about Anna Howard Shaw in our upcoming exhibit “Sailing Against the Tide,” opening later this month!