THIS DAY IN VIRGINIA HISTORY
Click image for larger view.
October 21, 1844
Democratic Party Political Rally Was Held in Wytheville
This political meeting was called to encourage voters to choose James Knox Polk (1795–1849) and George Mifflin Dallas (1792–1864) for the presidency and vice presidency of the United States in the 1844 election. This advertisement especially invited women to the rally. By the 1840s women were increasingly attending political events. After this function, Wytheville Whigs complained that the Democrats had insulted the women present by serving alcohol. Women did not gain the right to vote in Virginia until the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
