A Society of Patriotic Ladies

This is an image of a satircal cartoon from 1775 called "A Society of Patriotic Ladies, at Edenton, North Carolina." It shows the patriotic Edenton women in a very unflattering way and makes them look foolish, as they pledge to boycott English goods in support of the resolutions of the Continental congress and the North Carolina Provincial Assembly. The ugly depiction of them likely is drawn from both their allegiance to the revolutionary cause and their gender. At the time, it would have been virtually unknown for women to organize politically or sign their names to a petition or political statement, and the action of the 51 women from Edenton was a ground-breaking event for American women.

Creation of the cartoon has been attributed to Philip Dawe (or Dawes). Dawe was an engraver and cartoonist in London and he created many well-known cartoons during that era. The cartoon was printed by R. Sayer and J. Bennett around March 25, 1775.  This image of the original cartoon was published in the Catalog of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, Volume V. The original mezzotint print was richly colored and can be seen at this link in the collections of the British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=965125001&objectId=3350271&partId=1