Lesson 2: Equal Protection: Gender

 To what extent have women been denied equal rights during the early history of the U.S.?

 While the United States took some important strides towards attaining the lofty goals enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution during its early history, women were justified in feeling aggrieved. In many ways they were treated as second-class citizens. Even before the U.S. reached its 75th birthday, feminists began organizing to demand social, political, and economic equality.

Probably no event was more important in the early struggle for women’s rights than the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, the delegates who gathered at Seneca Falls crafted a document based on the Declaration of Independence. It set forth a list of demands that feminists believed were necessary to create a more just society. These demands give us some idea of the degree to which women were denied basic rights and privileges enjoyed by most white males.

Women received little solace or support from the courts in their quest for equality. An example of this is the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bradwell v. Illinois (1873). In Bradwell, a woman attempted to gain admission to the Illinois bar, despite the state’s prohibition against it. The decision of the Supreme Court held for Illinois. According to the Court, the 14th Amendment’s equal protection and privileges and immunities clauses did not guarantee women the right to practice law.

 Students will be able to:

• Draw conclusions about the rights denied women in early U.S. history, after considering the list of demands drafted at the Seneca Falls Convention (1848).
• Analyze the arguments for denying equal status to women, presented in Bradwell v. Illinois (1873).

Handout 2A, "Seneca Falls Convention (1848)"

Handout 2B, "Bradwell v. Illinois (1873)"

1 class period

 Distribute Handout 2A, "Seneca Falls Convention (1848)." Have students complete the exercise on the handout, then have them explain/ answer the following:

• What do we learn about the conditions women faced in the middle of the 19th century from reading this petition?
• How can you explain the unequal treatment between men and women in so many areas of American life?
• Which conditions have changed most since the Seneca Falls convention?
• Which conditions have changed least since the Seneca Falls convention?
• If you were an advisor to the group that met in Seneca Falls in 1848, what would you suggest as the best tactic for bringing about greater equality between the sexes?

Do you think that the tactics mentioned in the Seneca Falls document went too far or not far enough?

Distribute Handout 2B,"Bradwell v. Illinois (1873)." Have students complete the exercise on the handout. Then, as part of the whole class discussion, have them explain/answer the following:

• What is this case about?
• What was the major constitutional issue in this case?
• Discuss the major arguments raised by Illinois?
• How would you react to these arguments?
• Using the 14th Amendment, if you were Bradwell’s lawyers what arguments would you make in response to those made by Illinois?
• How do you think the Court decided this case?

Ask students to assume that a group of feminists gathered today in Seneca Falls to write a new declaration of rights for women. Have each student develop a Declaration of Women’s Rights for the current year. Students should be prepared to present their declaration to the class, justifying the demands that each has included in his or her declaration.

Have students participate in a simulation of Bradwell v. Illinois, dividing students into teams of Bradwell’s attorneys and researchers, Illinois’ attorneys and researchers, and Supreme Court justices.

Based on multiple intelligence theory.

Linguistic: Have students pretend that they are newspaper journalists. Based on Handout 2A, have students write an "attention grabbing" headline and a newspaper article about the Seneca Falls Convention. Students should select which headline they believe will attract the most readers.

Research Bradwell v. Illinois. Have students compare the arguments they developed to support Mrs. Bradwell, with the actual arguments made by Bradwell's attorneys. Ask students whether or not they agree with the reasons supporting the decision reached by the majority in the case.

Logical/Mathematical: Invite a speaker to discuss the controversy over which sex will do better in mathematics. Have the speaker review early beliefs and recent studies. Students should then determine what view they agree with and cite specific examples from their own education and family life to support their view.

Kinesthetic: Ask students to assume that a pro-feminist group has gathered in Seneca Falls today to write a Declaration of Rights for Women. Have each student develop their own Declaration of Women's Rights. Students should be prepared to present their declaration to the class justifying the demands that they have included in their document.

Spatial: Have students create a visual flow chart or timeline using various colors to demonstrate how women have obtained rights in the U.S. Students will need to research numerous laws and constitutional amendments to show how women have achieved the right to own property, the right to vote, and equal rights in the workplace etc.

Intrapersonal: Have students explain their feelings about the role of women in the nineteenth century. Ask students if they were living at that time, would they have attempted to change the role of women and would they have participated in the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. Have the class discuss the differences in the responses of both male and female students.

Interpersonal: Divide the class into groups of four students each. Have each group recreate the Seneca Falls Convention with three members of the group assuming the role of a key figure at the meeting such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton or Lucretia Mott etc. The group will then design a bill of rights for women at that time. The fourth member of the group will be an observer. The observer will concentrate on the following: Did the group accomplish its goals? What were the formal and informal roles in the group, such as someone who supported others, someone who dominated, someone who summarized etc.

Musical: Play the song "I Am Woman" sung by Helen Reddy and have students discuss the meaning of the song.

Students should be divided into groups of approximately four each. Each group should examine how each of its members completed Handout 2.A. They should select the two conditions about which group members are most unsure whether or not there has been change since 1848. Using the library, the Internet, and personal interviews, the group should determine whether or not these conditions have changed for women since 1848. Each group should be assigned to present their findings to the class, using specific examples found in their research to support their conclusions.

Research the Bradwell v. Illinois case. Have students compare the arguments they developed to support Mrs. Bradwell with the actual arguments made by Bradwell’s attorneys. Ask students whether or not they agree with the reasons supporting the decision reached by the majority in the case.

Instructions: Read the petition below and the conditions about which women were demanding change. For each condition listed, indicate whether you believe it has changed since 1848, not changed since 1848, or you’re not sure whether it has changed since 1848, by placing a check in the appropriate box.

We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal. Therefore, both sexes should have equal rights. When a government doesn’t protect these rights, the party which has suffered no longer owes loyalty to their government and may insist on a new government.

The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries on the part of men toward women.

WE DEMAND THAT WOMEN BE GIVEN ALL THE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF OTHER U.S. CITIZENS. WE SHALL ARGUE, WRITE ABOUT OUR PROBLEMS, PETITION THE GOVERNMENT AND THE CLERGY TO DO ALL IN THEIR POWER TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE.

Read the summary of Bradwell v. Illinois below. You will notice that only the arguments presented by Illinois appear. Assume you are the lawyer for Mrs. Bradwell. Using the 14th Amendment, write the arguments you would make to counter those of Illinois, supporting Mrs. Bradwell’s contention that she was entitled to admission to the Illinois bar.

Myra Bradwell had studied law with her attorney husband James. She applied for admission to the Illinois bar, citing an Illinois statute that said, any adult "person" of good character and having the requisite training, was eligible for admission to the bar. The Illinois Supreme Court denied her admission because she was a woman. Bradwell countered by claiming the right to practice law was one of the privileges of the Fourteenth Amendment.