The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Motivation:

Distribute the broadside that reports that hundreds of women marchers were injured by a large crowd of bystanders at the March on Washington in 1913. Discuss how people may have reacted to the news at the time.

Day 1:

1. Students will examine and explain the significance of the political cartoons and photos concerning women’s suffrage.


2. Using the timeline that identifies important events associated with women’s suffrage from 1776 to 1920, students will highlight selected events and explain how they contributed to the success of the women’s suffrage movement.


3. Ask students to discuss women’s suffrage in light of the following questions, which will provide background for Day 2 activities:

   A. Why couldn't women vote in the United States until 1920?
   B. Who opposed women's right to vote?
   C. Who were some of the women who worked to get women the right to vote?
   D. What activities were used to help promote women's suffrage?
   E. What government action finally gave women the right to vote?
   F. How has that right to vote affected the American political system?

Day 2:

1. Divide students into groups of two. If the technology is available, each pair should create a PowerPoint storyboard that responds to the questions above. Ask students to incorporate photos, graphics, and/or cartoons into the storyboards. An alternative is to have students write individual, well-developed essays that respond to the questions.
   
2. Have student pairs present PowerPoint presentations (or critical essays) to the class.
   

Discussion:

The class will discuss the political and other reasons why women were barred from the political process until 1920. Students should be able to understand that both traditional cultural mores and institutionalized gender discrimination have historically prevented women from exercising equal economic, political, and social decision-making power in our country.

Follow-up:

Using library resources and the electronic media, students will research individual women who made significant contributions to the women’s suffrage movement. These could include: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Tubman, and Helen Keller.


Application:

The teacher will distribute the Nineteenth Amendment (Pdf version) and discuss how the decision to enact it changed women’s roles in the United States.