A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO VOTE
AMENDMENT 14
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Clause
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
because of sex.
Clause
2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this
article by appropriate legislation.
We will be researching the issue of a woman’s right to vote as it relates to the Nineteenth Amendment. We will review the case of Minor v. Happersett as an example of how the government decides what is fair and right for its citizens.
The
complete Fourteenth Amendment and Nineteenth Amendment are printed above. At first glance, the Fourteenth Amendment
seems to grant all rights of citizenship to all citizens. However, as you will find out, Susan B.
Anthony lost her case that she based on the Fourteenth Amendment; and it was
not until fourteen years after her death that women were granted the right to
vote through the Nineteenth Amendment.
Your task will be to work as a group and review the events leading up to the case as well as review the case. You will review the woman’s suffrage movement and in a well-written position paper, be able to explain the meaning of the Nineteenth Amendment. You and your group will choose a position and present your position to the entire class. Do you agree with the court’s decision and analysis of the case? On the other hand, do you think that the court’s analysis and decisions were flawed? Why was the Nineteenth Amendment necessary? You must defend your position by answering questions from the audience.
Here are some questions to consider about the role of government and a woman’s right to vote.
1.
Does the government have the right to limit a citizen’s right regarding
participation in government based on the sex of that citizen?
2. How far should equality for women go? Is there anything that a woman should not be allowed to do? Consider including this point in your debate.
Background Work
Understanding Specialized Vocabulary
Legal Term Definition
Convene a grand jury
Draw up a bill of indictment
Set bail
Post a bond
Naturalized
Abridge
Immunities
Due process of law
Equal protection of the law
The
following will help you gather the information necessary for your research.
The
text of the constitution can be found at the following URL:
http://www.constitution.org/constit_.htm
Find
Law
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html
Historic
Supreme Court Cases
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/index.html
1.
You
will be placed in groups of 4 or 5 individuals
2.
Your
organization should be as follows:
a.
Facilitator
= responsible for setting up the team’s space
b.
Secretary
= responsible for maintaining all team paper work including attendance
c.
Team
Leader = coordinates the days work with the teacher and team members
d.
Alternate
Team Leader = substitutes for any of the above in case of absence.
3.
Responsibilities
a.
Using
the Internet your group will conduct a search of the steps leading up to the
case.
b.
All
team members will take an active role in the Quest and all will receive a Team
Grade as well as an Individual grade.
Each
student will be responsible for writing a 300 to 500-word essay taking a
position on the case and the Nineteenth Amendment. The due date for this part of the evaluation is
___________________.
Each
Team/group will present their Team Position to the entire class. The class will have an opportunity to ask
questions of the team presenting.
Your
grade will be based on the following:
1.
Team
participation = 25%
2.
Essay
= 40%
3.
Team
Presentation = 25%
4.
Attendance
= 10%
Total
______________________
100%
Aim: to understand and appreciate a biographical essay that explores one woman’s struggle to win the right to vote.
Motivation: In a few years you will be old enough to
vote in city, state and national elections.
We all take this right for granted.
As you now know from doing your web quest project, for almost a hundred
years after the United States won its independence, only white males had
suffrage – the right to vote. In 1873,
Susan B. Anthony attempted to force the courts to recognize that the language
of the 14th amendment could not exclude women from its guaranteed
rights. Even though Ms. Anthony lost
the case, this case set in motion the steps that led ultimately to the
Nineteenth Amendment. That amendment
gave women the right to vote. Let’s
read a biographical sketch of the time and the woman involved in this case.
“The
United States vs. Susan B. Anthony”
by
Margaret Truman
II.
Biography
A.
a
factual account of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject.
III.
Point
of View
A.
the
perspective from which events in a story or novel are told
1.
First
person Point of view
a.
the
narrator uses the pronouns I and me
b.
narrator
is usually a character in the narrative
2.
Third
person Point of View
a.
narrator
uses the pronouns he, she and they
b.
narrator
is usually outside the narrative
Discussion:
1.
What
prompted Anthony to register to vote?
2.
What
was the legal justification for trying to vote?
3.
Why
was Anthony so insistent that the marshal arrests her properly?
4.
Why
do you think Anthony refuses to post a bond?
5.
Why
does District Attorney Crowley not want Anthony to testify?
6.
What
do you think was wrong about the trial?
Consider:
·
What
does the 14th Amendment say
·
What
does the Sixth Amendment say
·
How
was the verdict decided
·
How
was Anthony treated in the courtroom
Critical
Thinking:
7. Give me your opinions on the directed verdict of guilty. You have perused the constitution while doing your research, can you provide specific reasons based on your understanding of constitutional rights.
8. From which point of view is this story told?
HOMEWORK: what did you think of the way Susan B.
Anthony behaved before, during and after her trial? Make a list of words and phrases that describe her behavior. In other words, characterize Susan B. Anthony.