The Women’s Rights Movement in the

19th and Early 20th Century America

Mr. K. Powers

Whitesboro Senior High School

kpower@wboro.org

 

 

Introduction:

The history of women’s rights in the United States is one of toil, stress, hard work and tears. Steeped in social “tradition” and a male dominated society, women were treated as second class citizens by their family and neighbors. Women were denied simple rights: such as the right to own property, the right to sit on a jury and most famously women were denied the right to vote.

 

Pretend for a moment that you are a young teenager living in Utica, NY at the turn of the last century. Your family consists of your father and mother, yourself, a brother and two older sisters. The Presidential election in 1900 is just around the corner and your mother, a very active person in your community wishes she could take part in this election. You believe that your mother is more than informed about the issues and should be able to vote.  Alas, she is restricted from voting because she is a woman. You therefore are a witness to the discrimination of women and you want to work to get equal rights for your family members. The only way that can happen is a new amendment to the United States Constitution.

 

Recently, you read in your local newspaper “The Observer” (it won’t become the Observer-Dispatch until 1922) an article celebrating the 50th Anniversary of a meeting that took place in an upstate town called Seneca Falls in 1848. Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, this meeting was designed to draft a new document referred to as the “Declaration of Sentiments” calling for women’s rights – among them - the right to vote. Yet, here it is, 50 years past and women are still struggling for this basic right!

 

This webquest will help you to understand the struggles women went through in order to gain equal treatment and enjoy the same rights as other Americans - including the right to vote.

 

 

Task:

For this activity you will be working in groups of 3. You will need an “interviewer”, a “videographer” and a “guest” (this will be your “significant woman of “The Movement”.

 

You will be creating an original newscast “interview” with your chosen woman discussing her contributions to the Women’s Rights Movement. Your interview should be a minimum of 3 minutes. Your final product will be presented to the class.

 

 

The Process:

Once you are with your group, you will need to pick a number at random from the box which will coincide with one of the significant woman of “the movement” listed below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMPORTANT FIGURES OF THE

WOMEN’S RIGHTS MOVEMENT

 

1. Susan B. Anthony

2. Alice Stone Blackwell

3. Carrie Chapman Catt

4. Paulina Wright Davis

5. Matilda Joslyn Gage

6. Angelina & Sarah Grimke

7. Julia Ward Howe

8. Belva Ann Lockwood

9. Anna Howard Shaw

10. Elizabeth Cady Stanton

11. Lucy Stone

12. Mary Church Terrell

13. Sojourner Truth

14. Frances Elizabeth Willard

 

 

1. “The Interviewer” will be responsible for conducting the on camera interview with your famous guest. You will be responsible for research to learn about the Women’s Rights Movement, the formation of questions and the writing of the script being used by the interview participants.  You will also be responsible for completing the worksheets associated with the American History Public Policy Analyst or AHPPA steps described below.

 

2. “The Videographer” will be responsible for video recording the interview, will share in the responsibilities of research regarding the Women’s Rights Movement and creation of the script being used. You will also be responsible for completing the worksheets associated with the American History Public Policy Analyst or AHPPA steps described below.

 

3. “The Guest” will be responsible for researching your specific role in the Women’s Rights Movement and will share in the responsibility of the creation of the script being used. You will also be responsible for completing the worksheets associated with the American History Public Policy Analyst or AHPPA steps described below.

 

Use the American History Public Policy Analyst or AHPPA steps to help you understand the social problem and evaluate the policies used to deal with the Women’s Rights Movement  (you can follow the link or click here). Once you are on the home page of the AHPPA, click on the “standard version” and read the “Introduction” section. Once you have read through the AHPPA, you will need to complete the following worksheets.

 

1. Identify the PROBLEM

          - COMPLETE WORKSHEET 1 (MSWORD Version)

 

2. Gather your EVIDENCE

          - COMPLETE WORKSHEET 2 (MSWORD Version)

          - Explain why there was a need for a “Women’s Rights Movement”

 

3. Determine the CAUSES

          - COMPLETE WORKSHEET 3 (MSWORD Version)

- Explain how women were treated prior to “The Movement”

4. Evaluate the POLICY

          - COMPLETE WORKSHEET 4 (MSWORD Version)

          - Discuss the Political and Social impact of the Women’s Rights Movement.

 

 

Your Resources/Links:

Check these out before you do anything else!!

Is this a good website?

Copyright Issues

How do I cite my sources?

 

1. Susan B. Anthony

2. Alice Stone Blackwell

3. Carrie Chapman Catt

4. Paulina Wright Davis

5. Matilda Joslyn Gage

6. Angelina & Sarah Grimke

7. Julia Ward Howe

8. Belva Ann Lockwood

9. Anna Howard Shaw

10. Elizabeth Cady Stanton

11. Lucy Stone

12. Mary Church Terrell

13. Sojourner Truth

14. Frances Elizabeth Willard

 

Women’s Rights Movement in the U.S.

Living the Legacy: The WRM 1848-1998

Women’s Rights Movements

National Women’s Hall of Fame

Women’s Rights & Anti-Slavery

Google

 

 

 

Evaluation:

 

Your grade for this project will be based on the following rubric. Please make sure you review this rubric before the project due date to assure yourself the most possible points.

 

5

4

3

2

1

0

 

 

Content

The interview covers topics in depth w/ details & examples.  Subj. knowledge is EXCELLENT.

The interview includes the essential material. Subj. knowledge is GOOD.

The interview includes the basic questions. There are 1-2 factual errorsin the script bu the overall subj. knowledge is OK.

Content is minimal AND/OR there are several factual errors, Subj. knowledge is lacking

There is little or no content in the interview to speak of.

 

Project is not completed.

Writing

The script is well written, researched and is historically accurate. It contains no spelling/grammatical errors.

The script is well written, researched for the most part but contains 2 or less historical inaccuracies. It contains 2 or less spelling/grammatical errors.

The script is

OK and demonstrates an attempt at research but contains 3 or more historical inaccuracies. It also contains 3 or more spelling/grammatical errors.

The script is

OK and demonstrates an attempt at research but contains 4 or more historical inaccuracies. It also contains 5 or more spelling/grammatical errors.

The script is

Poorly written demonstrates no real attempt at research, is historically inaccurate. It made no attempt to check for spelling/grammatical issues.

Project is not completed.

Oral Presentation

This interview was interesting, well-rehearsed and smooth.  It held the attention of the audience

This interview was good, rehearsed but still "choppy". It held the attention of the audience

Just read the script. The delivery was not smooth, and you lost the audience a little.

Just read the script. You appeared confused by                              the presentation. The delivery was not smooth, and  the audience was lost.

No real effort was made to practice or be totally prepared to present this project.

Project is not completed.

Originality

Interview is GREAT.  VERY ORIGINAL and INVENTIVE.

Interview was GOOD. Pretty original.

Interview was OK. Lots of just cutting and pasting of information to form a script.                            Not a lot of creativity.

Material/information was just copied and pasted. No real creativity in the presentation of your material.

No original thought or creativity at all.

Project is not completed.

Overall Participation

ALL MEMBERS shared EQUALLY in the development of this project.

ALL  MEMBERS for the most part shared EQUALLY in the development           of this project

ONLY 1 MEMBER did MOST of the work, while the others did MINIMAL work

Only 1 MEMBER did ALL of the work, while the others did NO work

NO MEMBER did very much work at all - which caused this project to             be not ready for presentation.

Project is not completed.

 

 

Conclusion:

Upon completion of this webquest all participating students will:

1. Have a much better understanding of the struggles women went through

in order to gain equal treatment and enjoy the same rights as other Americans – including but not limited to the right to vote.

2. All students will also have a greater appreciation of the individual women

who sacrificed and worked so hard for their posterity so that they may enjoy a better life.

          3. Be able to evaluate the overall impact of the Women’s Rights Movement

on America’s women.

 

 

New York Learning Standards:

(Source: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/standards.html)

 

Social Studies

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

 

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

 

ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

 

Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression
Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a
variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

 

 

 

 

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

 

MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE, & TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION

 Standard 5: Technology
Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

Standard 6: Interconnectedness: Common Themes
Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply the themes to these and other areas of learning.

Standard 7: Interdisciplinary Problem Solving
Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.