Glass Hatchet, "Carrie Nation Wyer", 1913

Glass Hatchet, "Carrie Nation Wyer", 1913

Usage conditions apply
Downloads
Description
By her own account, temperance reformer Carry A. Nation used rocks, a sledgehammer borrowed from a blacksmith, and a bar room billiard ball to destroy five Kansas saloons—before she took up a hatchet to destroy a Wichita, Kansas, saloon on December 27, 1900. Saloons were illegal under Kansas state law, but tolerated by officials. Explaining her choice of weapon, Nation recalled that the state’s “liquor interests” had nothing to fear from the usual temperance advocates, “but they were not prepared for a furious woman and a hatchet.” Her saloon smashings became known as “hatchetations”—a play on words coined by the publicity-savvy Nation.
Object Name
Hatchet
Date made
1913
associated date
1913
Physical Description
colorless (overall color)
glass, transparent (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 3 1/4 in x 6 1/4 in x 3/8 in; 8.255 cm x 15.875 cm x.9525 cm
ID Number
1979.0520.02
accession number
1979.0520
catalog number
1979.0520.02
subject
Women's History
See more items in
Political and Military History: Political History, Womens History/Reform Movements Collection
Government, Politics, and Reform
American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith
Exhibition
American Democracy
Exhibition Location
National Museum of American History
Data Source
National Museum of American History
Nominate this object for photography.   

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.

Comments

The 1913 date on this glass hatchet is interesting, because Carrie A. Nation died in 1911. Carrie Nation souvenirs must have been made and sold even after her death.

Gary Cooper

Fri, 2021-08-20 16:36

My grandmother also had a glass hatchet, now in my procession, it very much like the one pictured but, it is inscribed, " Panama Pacific International Exposition San Francisco 1915. I've always wondered if it was a Carrie Nation souvenir.

Charles Mead

Mon, 2021-01-25 13:13

My grandmother who married in 1900 and lived in north central KS had a small glass hatchet among her possessions when she moved to mid-Missouri when I was a child. I always thought it had something to do with Carrie Nation but had no proof. Her's is just like the photo but it is not engraved with the name and date. Are these rare now? I would like to pass this information on to my kids and grandkids generation. Thanks

Kathleen Boswell

Fri, 2020-09-18 09:38

Note: Comment submission is temporarily unavailable while we make improvements to the site. We apologize for the interruption. If you have a question relating to the museum's collections, please first check our Collections FAQ. If you require a personal response, please use our Contact page.