Lesson 3: Equal Protection: Gender

 How important was the Nineteenth Amendment in the Struggle for Equality by American Women?

 Women’s suffrage was an issue that Americans grappled with for many years before the turn of the 20th Century. World War I brought the issue to a head as many women took the jobs of males who went off to fight for their country in Europe. Eventually, President Woodrow Wilson endorsed suffrage for women declaring that it was a "vitally necessary war measure."

The proposed Nineteenth Amendment was one of the most succinct of all the additions to the original Constitution. It consisted of two parts: the first part was modeled after the 15th Amendment (which gave African-Americans the right to vote), while the second part gave Congress the right to pass enabling legislation.

Ironically, there was significant dissent among women over the suffrage issue. While most believed that the ballot box held the key to their struggle for equal rights, some opposed the Nineteenth Amendment. Those who contested the amendment believed that given the right to vote, men would regard their struggle for equality as a partisan issue rather than an issue dealing with the fundamental rights of Americans. Other arguments reflected the view that women and men had distinct roles in society and voting was not a right that should be shared.

 Students will be able to:

• Discuss the significant parts of the Nineteenth Amendment.
• Analyze the arguments raised by women for and against the Nineteenth Amendment.
• Examine the significance of the Nineteenth Amendment in the struggle for women’s equality.

 Handout 3A "XIX Amendment"

Handout 3B "Suffrage: For and Against"

Handout 3C "Suffrage Cartoon"

1 class period

 Distribute Handout 3A, "XIX Amendment." Have students explain/ answer the following:

• What did the Nineteenth Amendment say?
• How can you explain why the Nineteenth Amendment required a second part which gave Congress the power to pass the appropriate legislation to enforce the Amendment.
• Assume you favored this Amendment. What are some of the arguments you would have made to convince others to support the Amendment?
• Assume you were against this Amendment. What are some of the arguments you would have made to convince others to oppose the Amendment?
• Suppose the Nineteenth Amendment was defeated. How would women’s lives be different today?

Distribute Handout 3B,"Suffrage: For and Against." Have students complete the exercise on the handout. Then, as part of the whole class discussion, have them explain/answer the following:

• In your words, discuss what those women who favored the Nineteenth Amendment were saying?
• Which were the strongest arguments presented here?
• In your words, discuss what those women who opposed the Nineteenth Amendment were saying?
• Which were the strongest arguments?
• Which side presented the strongest case for its side?

Distribute Handout 3C, "Suffrage Cartoon." As part of the whole class discussion, have students explain/answer the following:

• What do you see in this cartoon?
• What was the cartoonist saying about the importance of gaining the right to vote in the struggle for women’s equality?
• How might this cartoon have been used in a magazine supporting the cause of woman suffrage?
• Do you agree with cartoonist’s opinion that gaining the right to vote was a critical step in struggle for women’s equality?

Divide students into groups of approximately four each. Ask the class to direct its attention to the second part of the Nineteenth Amendment. Have each group prepare two bills that they think would have been necessary to carry out the 19th Amendment. Along with each bill, have the group draft a summary statement explaining the bill and its importance in enforcing the provisions of the Nineteenth Amendment.

After studying the cartoon on Handout 3C, ask students to create their own editorial cartoons, expressing their opinion about the issue of woman suffrage.

Based on multiple intelligence theory.

Linguistic: Have students prepare two position papers that will be used at hearings conducted over the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. One should support the right to vote for women and the other should present arguments to advocate the belief that a woman's place is in the home and not in the voting booth.

Have each student gather research on actual legislation passed by either the federal or a state government to enforce the provisions of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Ask students to read a biography of one of the women who played an important role in the suffrage movement (e.g. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Anna Howard Shaw, Lucy Stone etc.)

Logical/Mathematical: After completing Handout 3B, have students list all of the arguments that are presented both for and against giving women the right to vote. Then rank the arguments in order from strongest to the weakest. Ask students which side had most of the strong arguments when the amendment was proposed and which arguments would not be made today?

Have students divide a page into two columns. Using the handouts, students should place all of the important information supporting or opposing the Nineteenth Amendment in the left-hand column and all of the unimportant information in the right hand column. Students should also explain why they think information is important or unimportant.

Kinesthetic: Have the class plan a rally in support of the Nineteenth Amendment. Students should decide where the rally should be held and what actions to take to have the greatest impact.

Intrapersonal: Students should assume they are women who have just received the right to vote. Have them write a letter to a friend explaining their feelings about this achievement.

Interpersonal: Tell students to use the position papers prepared for the linguistic activity to conduct hearings about the Nineteenth Amendment. Students should form their own groups and lobby either for or against the amendment.

Have students assemble in pairs and interview each other about the need for and importance of the Nineteenth Amendment. At the conclusion of the interviews, each pair of students will share opinions and discuss similarities and differences in their viewpoints.

Musical: Have students write lyrics to a song about women gaining equality. The song could be similar to songs used during the civil rights movement in the 1960's e.g. "We Shall Overcome."

Have each student gather research on actual legislation passed by either the federal or a state government to enforce the provisions of the Nineteenth Amendment.

Ask students to read a biography of one of the women who played an important role in the suffrage movement (e.g. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Anna Howard Shaw, Lucy Stone etc.

1) "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

2) The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."

Women compose half the human race. Over seven million women are employed, most of whom receive a smaller wage and work under harder conditions, than men performing the same jobs. If giving women the vote would improve the conditions under which they work, that alone would be a worthwhile reason for supporting the Amendment, but there are many others. Firstly, they are of equal intelligence to men. In states like Colorado, giving women that right to vote has led to many good things. For example, it has resulted in better wages for women for equal work and more laws protecting abnormal, delinquent, sick and poor children. It has led to the improvement of the school system. Candidates have been less corrupt. The polling places and political headquarters are cleaner.

Giving women in Colorado and other states the right to vote has not made women more mannish, they still care for their homes and children. They have not become office-seekers. They still teach good manners to men. They have developed greater understanding of the community-at-large. It has raised the educational qualifications and moral standards of the average voter. Finally, the great doctrine of the American Republic that "all governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed" justifies the plea of one-half of the people, to exercise the right to vote.

We don’t need the ballot to improve our lives, provided we are willing to work hard to have the necessary laws passed. Men will listen to us more, knowing that what we ask for has nothing to do with party politics. Patriotism for a woman does not begin at the ballot box. It begins when she takes pains to instruct her young son concerning the dignity and sacredness of the ballot. By training the future voters, we will eventually hold more power than if we were voting ourselves. The best and highest patriotism consists in doing our work as teachers. Women are the world’s educators, men the world’s lawmakers. We have failed in our roles as educators, if we can no longer trust men to make goods laws and must now sweep them aside and take the reins of government in our own hands.

There are other reasons for opposing this Amendment. First, women would bring too much emotion to the ballot box. Second, women are already overburdened in the home. One can easily see how family quarrels over politics will increase the divorce rate, as men will no longer view us as something special. Third, who knows where this will end. If allowed to vote, women will soon be serving on juries and will be forced to hear "indecent testimony."

American Spirit, Thomas Bailey pp. 219-23, (DC Heath, Lexington, Mass: 1994)

This cartoon was published in a 1916 newsletter by an organization favoring woman suffrage. Decide how might a cartoon such as the one below have been used to promote the cause of giving women the right to vote.

P.359, Idea and Action in American History, Howard and Marion Brady, Prentice Hall: Englewood Cliffs, NJ: 1977.