Justice Bell Foundation
Reclaiming Women's History~ Highlighting Women's Contributions~ Promoting Voter Participation.

The Justice Bell: Tracing the Journey of a Forgotten Symbol tells the story of a band of intrepid women and their one-ton bronze bell that became an icon of the American women's suffrage movement. With its clapper chained and muted to represent the silencing of women’s voices, the Justice Bell rallied support for the cause in the years leading up to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.

More than a century ago, the Justice Bell was a media darling. Seen by more than a million people during a months-long tour through Pennsylvania and later to other states, it drew crowds, headlines, and widespread curiosity. Today, few people know about the once-famous bell, although it remains one of the rare surviving artifacts of the suffrage era.

Drawing on new research and historical photographs, Amanda Owen illustrates how suffragists' clever use of a bell as a branding tool for voting rights created an attention-getting campaign. Along the way, they confronted a well-funded liquor industry terrified that women voters would ban alcohol, manufacturers convinced women would limit child labor, and men who believed women weren’t smart enough to vote.