Women’s Suffrage in America Name: _______________________A. Background

After the passing of the 14th Amendment, women in American were frustrated that they had been left out of equal political participation. Women were now working, being active consumers, and contributing to society. The women’s suffrage movement began in 1848, when the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. For the next 50 years, women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked to educate the public about women’s suffrage, or right to vote. They lobbied congress, but were unsuccessful. In the 20th century, the movement was led by two organizations. The National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) undertook campaigns and lobbied congress to pass a constitutional amendment. The National Women’s Party (NWP) took radical actions such as picketing to spur government action.

B. Advocating for SuffrageDescribe/Summarize Question

“The Woman’s Reason” Why did women

believe they deserved political participation?

Susan B. Anthony

What obstacles stood in Susan B. Anthony’s way? How did she overcome them?

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

How did she contribute to the overall success of women’s suffrage?

Seneca Falls

ConventionWhy was the Seneca Falls Convention significant (crucial) to the women’s suffrage movement?

National Women’s Party (Alice Paul) How did activist

groups play an important role in women’s suffrage?

National American Women’s Suffrage Association (Carrie Chapman Catt)

How did activist groups play an important role in women’s suffrage?

19th Amendment

How did this important piece of legislation affect all American lives?

Exit Ticket: Was “progressive” reform was necessary? Take a position in your topic sentence

Explain 2 problems / issues that support your position Explain you answer with 4-5 sentences ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rubric 5: Excellent work. 4 3: Acceptable work. 2 1: Not Acceptable

TOPICSENTENCE

Topic sentence is complete and correct and clearly states a specific position

Topic sentence does not state a completely specific position.

Topic sentence is incompletely and does not state a correct position.

EVIDENCE Richly supports the theme with many 2-relevant facts, examples, and details.

Includes some (1-2) relevant facts, examples, and details; may include some inaccuracies.

Includes little or no relevant facts, examples, and/or has many inaccuracies.

ANALYSIS Clearly demonstrates analysis well beyond description. Rich Analysis: evaluates the impact, change, extent of effectiveness for all aspects of the task.

Demonstrates some analysis but is mostly description. Some Analysis: discusses the impact, change, extent of effectiveness for some of the task.

Demonstrates some description and lacks analysis. Lacks analysis of the impact, change, or extent of effectiveness for all aspects of the task.

Susan B. Anthony

Occupation: Civil Rights Leader

Born: February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts Died: March 13, 1906 in Rochester, New York Best known for: Fighting for women's right to vote

Biography:Susan B. Anthony was a women's rights leader in the late 1800's. She helped lead the way for women's suffrage in the United States, which is the right to vote. 

Where did Susan B. Anthony grow up? She was born on February 15, 1820 in Adams, Massachusetts. She had 6 brothers and sisters, some who were also very involved in the civil rights movement. At the age of 6, her family moved to Battenville, New York where she was homeschooled because her dad didn't think the local schools were good enough. Later things would get difficult for Susan and her family. Her dad lost almost everything when the economy collapsed in 1837. She started teaching to make money to help pay off her father's debts. 

What did Susan B. Anthony do? This may seem hard to believe in today's America, but women have not always had equal rights before the law as men. In particular they weren't allowed to even vote! 

Susan B. Anthony was a very intelligent woman who felt that women should have the same rights as men. She saw this in the work place first where she was making about one fourth what a man would make for the same job. This didn't seem right to her. She became involved in trying to get the government to let women vote and to enact laws that women should have equal rights with men. At first she would speak at conventions and meetings. Then she helped run a civil rights newspaper, with fellow women's activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, called The Revolution. 

To continue her fight for women's suffrage, Susan B. Anthony voted in the November 1872 elections. This was illegal at the time and she was fined $100 for voting. She refused to pay and never did pay the fine. It turned out to be great way to get the issue and spread the word that women should fight for the right to vote. 

Together with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan founded the National Women's Suffrage Association in 1869. It was through this organization that Anthony would work to get women the right to vote. She devoted the next 37 years and the rest of her life to this effort. She would make considerable progress, but it would take another 14 years after she died for women to get the right to vote. 

On August 26, 1920 the nineteenth amendment was officially added to the constitution. It said everyone had the right to vote regardless of gender. Susan had first introduced this amendment in 1878. 

Elizabeth Cady StantonWho was she???Born on November 12, 1815, in Johnstown, New York, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an abolitionist and leading figure of the early woman's movement. An

eloquent writer, her Declaration of Sentiments was a revolutionary call for women's rights across a variety of spectrums. Stanton was the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association for 20 years and worked closely with Susan B. Anthony.

Early LifeWomen's rights activist, feminist, editor, and writer. Born on November 12, 1815, in Johnstown, New York. The daughter of a lawyer who made no secret of his preference for another son, she early showed her desire to excel in intellectual and other "male" spheres. She graduated from the Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary in 1832 and then was drawn to the abolitionist, temperance, and women's rights movements through visits to the home of her cousin, the reformer Gerrit Smith.In 1840 Elizabeth Cady Stanton married a reformer Henry Stanton (omitting “obey” from the marriage oath), and they went at once to the World's Anti-Slavery Convention in London, where she joined other women in objecting to their exclusion from the assembly.

Women's Rights MovementWith Lucretia Mott and several other women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton held the famous Seneca Falls Convention in July 1848. At this meeting, the attendees drew up its “Declaration of Sentiments” and took the lead in proposing that women be granted the right to vote. She continued to write and lecture on women's rights and other reforms of the day. After meeting Susan B Anthony in the early 1850s, she was one of the leaders in promoting women's rights in general (such as divorce) and the right to vote in particular.

During the Civil War Elizabeth Cady Stanton concentrated her efforts on abolishing slavery, but afterwards she became even more outspoken in promoting women suffrage. In 1868, she worked with Susan B. Anthony on the Revolution, a militant weekly paper.

The two then formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869. Stanton was the NWSA’s first president - a position she held until 1890. At that time the organization merged with another suffrage group to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Stanton served as the president of the new organization for two years.

LegacyElizabeth Cady Stanton died on October 26, 1902. More so than many other women in that movement, she was able and willing to speak out on a wide spectrum of issues - from the primacy of legislatures over the courts and constitution, to women's right to ride bicycles - and she deserves to be recognized as one of the more remarkable individuals in American history.

The Seneca Falls ConventionStanton took the task of writing the document that would be debated and signed by the attendees. She based the Declaration of Sentiments on the Declaration of Independence, listing 18 grievances and 11 resolutions demanding the recognition of women as equal members of society. The ninth resolution, which argued for "elective franchise," proved to be the most radical, even to Mott. Stanton, the daughter of a lawyer and judge, had studied law in her father’s offices and often debated issues with his clerks; she "saw clearly that the power to make the laws was the right through which all other rights could be secured."

The Declaration Of Sentiments Is Debated And RatifiedOver the two days of the convention, presided over by Lucretia’s husband James Mott, the Declaration of Sentiments was read and its resolutions debated. The ninth resolution continued to be the most controversial, particularly because the attendees were predominantly Quaker, and Quaker men often declined to vote. Freed slave and newspaper editor Frederick Douglass argued for approval of the resolution and convinced the audience of its necessity. At the end of the convention, about 100 of the attendees signed the declaration, although some removed their names later due to criticism.

The Aftermath Of The Seneca Falls Convention And Women’s SuffrageThe convention and another meeting a few days later in Rochester drew ridicule and criticism from the press. Although Stanton was dismayed by the coverage, she recognized the value of any attention—"It will start women thinking, and men too; and when men and women think about a new question, the first step in progress is taken."

19th AmendmentThe movement to allow women the right to vote through the 19th amendment was the Suffrage movement. You may have heard of women such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who were key figures in the Suffrage movement. The Suffrage movement has been going on since the Civil War, but the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments did not cover the rights of women to vote. These women were the original authors of the 19th amendment although it took forty-one years before the government would even consider ratifying the 19th amendment. Many lawmakers feared that women would vote in large groups, which would affect the outcome of elections.

The 19th amendment unified suffrage laws across the United States. Before the 19h amendment, there were many states where women had full suffrage, including New York and most Western states. Other states had limited suffrage, only allowing women to vote in select elections. During this time, there were a number of efforts to get Congress to consider the 19th amendment, mostly successful, until 1919. Wisconsin was the first state to approve the amendment and the 36th and final approval needed to have the amendment passed was in Tennessee in 1920, by a slim margin. With that ratification complete the 19th amendment became part of the constitution on August 18, 1920.The Supreme Court would later defend the right of women to vote under the 19th amendment in Maryland, where one concerned citizen sued to stop women from voting. This man, Oscar Leser, believed that the 19th amendment interfered with the state’s electorate. The Supreme Court disagreed.

All states, even states that rejected the 19th amendment at first have ratified the amendment. The last state was Mississippi. This is a symbolic measure, since the 19th amendment became was with the 36th state ratifying it. Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states and therefore, cannot ratify the amendment.

What is the text of the 19th Amendment?

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged…(the US government may not stop a citizen from voting)

by the United States or by any State on account of sex.(neither the federal or state government can prevent the right to vote based on sex)

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

NAWSAWomen were not allowed to vote in the US before the early part of the 20th century. There were many organizations working to achieve voting rights for women. In 1890, National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) was formed with the intention to lead this movement and to unify the efforts of many organizations working in this direction. It was the entry of the United States into World War I that gave an opportunity to the chairman of NAWSA, Carrie Chapman Catt, to press hard for women suffrage. She made a link of suffrage with the efforts of women for the war service and created a public perception that all those who asked for the right to vote for women were actually patriots. NAWSA pushed for an amendment in the constitution to allow women suffrage, and it was because of the efforts of this organization that 19th amendment was carried out in 1920 that allowed women the right to vote. Once the objective was achieved, NAWSA was transformed into League of Women Voters.

What is the difference between NAWSA and NWP?• While there was animosity between the workers of NAWSA and NWP at that time, it is fair to see in retrospect that the tactics of the two women’s organizations complemented each other well and created the kind of pressure that was required to pass 19th amendment of the constitution to allow for women suffrage.• The efforts of NAWSA were moderate while those of NWP were radical in nature.• Alice Paul was the architect of NWP while Carrie Chapman Catt was the main personality in NAWSA.• NWP was an offshoot of NAWSA.• NAWSA was founded in 1890 while NWP got its name in 1917 as it parent organization was Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage formed by Alice Paul in 1913.• The 19th amendment to the constitution was passed in 1920 that resulted in right to vote for women in US. It is credited to the efforts of both NAWSA and NWP.

National Women’s PartyNWP was an organization that was formed to fight for the right of women to vote in US polity. It was headed by Alice Paul who was earlier a member of NAWSA. She was more radical in her views and organized picketing of the White House. She left NAWSA along with her supporters and formed the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage. This organization later evolved into National Woman’s Party in 1917. Alice worked to expose the duplicity of the government as it advocated democracy outside the country and rejected wo men’s’ right to vote.

What is the difference between NAWSA and NWP?NAWSA and NWP are organizations that are credited with working towards women’s suffrage in the USA. Women were denied the right to vote in US and by the turn of the last century the movement to ask for the right to vote for women had become a mass movement. The movement was spearheaded by two different organizations namely NAWSA and NWP, which is an offshoot of NAWSA. Many people remain confused between these two organizations that had the same objective. However, despite similarities, there were differences between NAWSA and NWP that will be highlighted in this article.