Representative Women of Deseret

This poster of prominent female leaders in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was intended to counter derogatory stereotypes of Mormon women. Through their grassroots activism, they helped achieve women’s voting rights in local elections in Utah Territory in 1870. But their equally vigorous campaign to defend polygamy prompted newspapers across the country to publish scurrilous attacks and demeaning caricatures while representatives in Congress threatened legislation to revoke the franchise.