When Women Lost the Vote Unit 4: Founding Feminists? In Their Own Words

This unit allows students the opportunity to examine how the people in the new nation considered various rights and roles for women after the Revolutionary War. Students will explore the diverse groups of women and men who fought for the right for women to vote and the ways that they advanced the cause.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES

The modular activities and extensions in this unit provide opportunities for students to:

• Discover a variety of perspectives on women’s rights and roles held by Americans after the Revolutionary War.

• Explore examples of how the legacies of the American Revolution and early New Jersey female voters influence the movement for women’s suffrage.

• Examine primary source documents that highlight the memory of early New Jersey voters.

• Investigate how individuals and organizations advocated for women’s suffrage leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment.

MATERIALS

When Women Lost the Vote Sources

• Big Idea 4: The Next Generation Remembers the Revolution

• Online Exhibit: When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807 (Museum of the American Revolution)

Primary Sources

• Image: Keep Within Compass, by Robert Dighton, engraving, England, Aug. 16, 1785 (Colonial Williamsburg)

• Image: Keep Within Compass, by Robert Dighton, engraving, England, Nov. 9, 1784 (Colonial Williamsburg)

• Object: Globe Sampler, by Hannah Deacon, Chester County, Pennsylvania, 1815 –1817 (Monmouth County Historical Association. Gift of Mrs. Stuart A. Young, Jr., 1975)

• Object: Sampler by Rebecca Gratz, Hebrew Sunday School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1838 - 1864 (National Museum of American Jewish History)

• Object: “Votes for Women” Stamp, New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association, 1913 (Collection of Ann Lewis and Mike Sponder)

• Object: Centennial Dress, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1876 (Jeff Bridgman Collection)

• Object: Women’s Ballot Box, Vineland, New Jersey, 1868 (Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society)

• Photograph: Alice Paul Sewing a Suffrage Flag, ca. 1912 - 1920 (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, [reproduction number, e.g., [LC-F82-1234]) 

• Engraving: “Women at the Polls in New Jersey in the Good Old Times” by Howard Pyle, New York: Harper’s Weekly, 1880 (Collection of Ann Lewis and Mike Sponder)

• Transcription: Declaration of Independence (National Archives and Records Administration, America’s Founding Documents)

• Transcription: Declaration of Sentiments by Elizabeth Cady Stanton (National Park Service) 

• Transcription: Letter from John Adams to Abigail Adams, 14 April 1776 (National Archives, Founders Online)

• Transcription: Letter from Abigail Adams to Mercy Otis Warren, 27 April 1776 (National Archives, Founders Online)

• Transcription: Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 7 May 1776 (National Archives, Founders Online)

Other Sources 

• Video: Object Highlight: Neoclassical Gown (Museum of the American Revolution) 

• Video: Object Highlight: Abigail Adams’s “Remember the Ladies” Letter (Museum of the American Revolution)

• Video: In 1868 Portia K. Gage Voted in Protest (Smithsonian Youtube Channel)

• Worksheet: Founding Feminists? in Their Own Words

PROCEDURES

Engagement Activities

These activities can be used as hook activities, introductions to concepts, or shorter lessons.

The Good Old Times
Objective: Examine primary sources that highlight the memory of early New Jersey voters. 

Time: 10-15 minutes

Teacher Preparation: Prepare to project, display, or distribute the Women at the Polls in New Jersey in the Good Old Times engraving by Howard Pyle, the second image in the “New Jersey in the Good Old Times” set. 

Teacher Note: Just one week after Elizabeth Cady Stanton published her account of her attempt to vote in Tenafly, New Jersey, renowned illustrator Howard Pyle published this engraving in Harper’s Weekly, a widely popular American political magazine. The image depicts women standing in line to cast their ballots in New Jersey in the Early Republic. Pyle, perhaps inspired by Stanton’s actions, appeared supportive of women voting, as did the article that accompanied the engraving.

Ask students to begin looking at the image closely for a few moments. Then ask the students to describe what they are looking at. The follow up question “What do you see that makes you say that?” is useful for encouraging students to support their responses with visual evidence. Use the following questions as guides for student looking:

• Who is in this image?

• What is the setting of this image?

• What is happening in this image?

• In what time period does this image seem to be set? 

After students have arrived at the basic description of the image, inform students that this image was created by artist Howard Pyle and published in a popular American magazine called Harper’s Weekly in November 1880, just one week after Elizabeth Cady Stanton published an account of her unsuccessful attempt to vote in Tenafly, New Jersey. 

Ask the students:

• What message do you think Pyle was trying to send about women’s suffrage in this image? What do you see that makes you say that?

From this image, what can you infer about the role that New Jersey’s early women voters played in inspiring women’s suffrage supporters after the Revolutionary Era?

Patriotic Dress
Objective: Explore examples of how the legacies of the American Revolution and early New Jersey voters influence the movement for women’s suffrage. 

Time: 10 minutes

Teacher Preparation: Prepare to display the Centennial Dress image series which starts on the fifth thumbnail in The 1876 Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia set.

Teacher Note: The 1876 Centennial Exposition was the first World’s Fair to be held in the United States and commemorated the 100th Anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The exposition was designed to help lift the spirits of Americans after the Civil War and showcase the United States as a world power. On the actual Centennial, July 4, 1876, members of the National Women’s Suffrage Association (NWSA) presented the Declaration of Rights for Women to Acting Vice President Thomas W. Ferry in Independence Hall before Susan B. Anthony read the document outside in front of a crowd. 

Allow students time to examine the image(s) of the Centennial Dress. Explain to them that this dress was likely worn to the 1876 Centennial Exposition and is made from handkerchiefs designed for the event. 

Then, engage students in conversation around the following questions.

• What words and symbols do you see on the dress?

  • Answer: Examples: Eagles, Sheilds, Stars, Stripes, E Pluribus Unum, 1776, Government Buildings (Specifically Memorial Hall in Philadelphia built for the Centennial)

• What emotions might the person who wore this dress have felt while wearing it?

Explain that on the Centennial, July 4, 1876, Susan B. Anthony read the Declaration of Rights of Women to a crowd in front of Independence Hall. The document demanded “justice,” “equality,” and equal rights for women, especially the right to vote. 

• How might the person who wore this dress have felt hearing the Declaration of Rights of Women and about women’s suffrage?

• Why do you think Susan B. Anthony decided to read the Declaration of Rights on the 100th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in front of Independence Hall? 

Conclude by saying that though historians do not know the original owner of this dress, it is likely that the owner was present at or heard of Susan B. Anthony’s presentation of the Declaration of Rights of Women. This presentation at the Centennial was an important moment connecting the fight for women’s suffrage to the ideals of the American Revolution. 

Development Activities

These activities can be used for an entire class period.

Sampling Education 
Objective: Discover a variety of perspectives on women’s rights and roles held by Americans after the Revolutionary War. 

Time: 25-30 minutes

Teacher Preparation: Prepare to display the Sampler made by Rebecca Gratz and Hannah Deacon’s Globe Sampler. Review the Big Idea 4 section Pushing for Rights and Education. 

Project or display the image of Rebecca Gratz’s sampler and explain this was made by Gratz and one of her nieces. Explain to students that female students in the 19th century and earlier often made needlepoints, samplers, and other artistic works as part of their formal education. Ask the class to spend several minutes silently examining the sampler, noting as many of the objects portrayed as possible. Then ask them to share their observations. What items do they see? Repeat the process with Hannah Deacon’s globe sampler, asking students what they see. 

Afterward, engage students in conversation around the following questions:

• What do Gratz and Deacon’s samplers suggest about the topics young women were taught in the female academies of the late 18th and 19th centuries? 

  • Answer: That young women would have at least been taught geography and sewing. The items on Gratz’s sampler possibly suggest other topics, such as music and painting, but could also be things young women would have encountered in homes and communities. 

• What do the images on Gratz’s sampler suggest about what was important in young women’s lives? 

  • Answer: The images may connect to school subjects, topics in the news, family businesses, their town, items from entertainment, etc. 

• How do you think your school day would be similar or different to a female school in the early 1800s?

Ask students to sketch a sampler focusing on what they are learning about or experiencing in their world today.

Founding Feminists? In Their Own Words
Objective: Examine primary source documents that highlight the memory of early New Jersey voters. 

Time: 35-45 minutes, plus homework 

Teacher Preparation: Prepare copies of the Founding Feminists? in Their Own Words worksheet. Cut out paper strips for students to make bumper stickers. Assign students to read Big Idea 4 for homework. 

Teacher Note: One of the quotes included in the worksheet contains objectionable language, referring to people of African descent using the period term “negroes.”

After students have read Big Idea 4 for homework, engage students in conversation around the following questions:

• What do you think the word feminist means? 

• Do you think there were feminists in the period of the Revolutionary War? 

• What would have been their roles? 

• How might their roles be different from feminists today?

Then, hand out the worksheet Founding Feminists? In Their Own Words. Have students summarize the primary source excerpts in their own words. Then, engage students in conversation around the following question:

• What messages are similar across all of the primary sources?

• What issues were most important to the men and women who were quoted?  

Then ask them to create a bumper sticker for one of the quotes using a part of the quote and their interpretation of it. Display the bumper stickers around the room. 

EXTEND: Have students design or create a piece of patriotic clothing with an interpretation of a different quote on it. 

EXTEND: Have the students locate the original source of the quote. What was the context of the quote? Does the author expand their reasoning further? What does the original source tell you about the author? 

Keep Within Compass
Objective: Discover a variety of perspectives on women’s rights and roles held by Americans after the Revolutionary War. 

Time: 20-30 minutes 

Teacher Preparation: Review the two Keep within Compass images below and prepare to display or project them for the class. 

Keep within Compass for Women

Keep within Compass for Men

Teacher Note: Please note that these images contain partial nudity and adult language. 

Allow students time to examine the image. Explain that the metal compass is called a drawing compass and is used for drawing circles and arcs. Students may know it from math or art classes. Then, engage them in conversation around the following questions:

• In each image, what do you see outside of the circle? What do you see inside the circle? What stands out to you? 

• What message did the artist mean to send with the instruction “Keep within Compass?”

  • Answer: That women and men should avoid the behavior of the women and men on the outside of the compass and follow the behavior of the man and woman at the center of the compass.

• What do these images say about his understanding of ideal gender roles in the 18th Century? 

  • Answer: Both of these images expect men and women to show self-restraint and keep within the set standards to achieve an ideal life. Women are expected to focus on domestic happiness by being prudent, reading to educate themselves, and acting with decency. Men are expected to focus on honesty, diligence, and hard work to promote themselves. Both are expected to keep in mind how they are perceived by others. 

Conclude the discussion by explaining that the “Keep within Compass” images were popular at the turn of the 19th century. Some “Keep within Compass” art was also printed on pieces of pottery as decoration, and later artists created similar engravings during the 1820s. 

Have students create their own version of “Keep within Compass” for today’s society and explain their choices. They may want to think about laws, school rules, discussions with peers and family, statistics, etc. 

Culmination Activities, Research Projects, and Group Projects

Two Declarations
Objective: Explore the ways the American Revolution and early New Jersey voters impacted the movement for women’s suffrage. 

Time: 1-2 days, 50 minute classes

Teacher Preparation: Review the section The Next Generation Remembers the Revolution in Big Idea 4. Review and print copies of the Declaration of Independence and Declaration of Sentiments. Ensure students have access to computers, tablets, or other devices with working internet connections to read Big Idea 4 or print out enough copies for each student.

After students have read the section The Next Generation Remembers the Revolution in Big Idea 4, ask students why Elizabeth Cady Stanton modeled the Declaration of Sentiments after the Declaration of Independence. 

Hand out copies of both documents. Divide students into small groups and distribute copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of Sentiments to each. First, have them find as many differences between the two document’s introductions (the sections before the list of grievances) as possible and have a class discussion on their findings. How different were the introductions? 

Then ask the students to create a T-chart and list the big ideas from the “injuries and usurpations” listed in the Declaration of Independence on one side and the Declaration of Sentiments on the other. Have them compare the two lists and circle the big ideas that seem similar to each other. Discuss their findings with the class. 

Possible Big Ideas: 

Declaration of Independence: 

• Taking away ability to self-govern

• Courts under the control of the King, not the people

• Put colonists under the control of the army

• Trade cut-off

• Taxation without Representation

• King waging war and starting conflicts 

Declaration of Sentiments: 

• Do not have the right to vote

• No representation

• Lack of any power or property 

• Deprived of Liberty

• Taxation without representation

• Limited education and career opportunities 

• Controlled by men in all aspects of life 

Conclude by discussing the following question: How impactful do you think it was that women suffragists used the Declaration of Independence and the nation’s founding beliefs as inspiration? 

EXTEND: Have students research other movements or revolutions that used the Declaration of Independence for inspiration. 

Debating Republican Motherhood
Objective: Discover the ways people in the new nation considered rights and new roles for women after the Revolutionary War. 

Time: Multi-day research and debate activity 

Teacher Preparation: Review Big Idea 4. Ensure students have access to computers, tablets, or other devices with working internet connections to read Big Idea 4 or print out enough copies for each student. Have the students read Big Idea 4 for homework.

After students have read Big Idea 4 for homework, assign each student to one of the two positions:

1. The concept of ‘Republican Motherhood’ advanced women’s rights and roles within American society in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 

2. The concept of ‘Republican Motherhood’ limited women’s rights and roles within American society in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. 

Tell the students they will need to argue their point and counter arguments from the other side. They must use Big Idea 4 and period quotes and date to support their arguments. 

Schedule a time for students to hold a debate. Larger classes may benefit from having two groups for each position and two separate debates. At the conclusion of the debate, ask students which argument they found persuasive and why, regardless of which side they were assigned to.  

EXTEND: Ask students if they see any similarities to discussions about women’s rights and roles in society today. Why or why not?

Assembly of Advocates
Research Project

Objective: Explore the ways the American Revolution and early New Jersey voters impacted the movement for women’s suffrage.

Time: Multiple days research and presentation project

Teacher Preparation: Assign individually or in pairs one of the following individuals:

• Abigail Adams 

• Eleanor Parke Custis 

• Mercy Otis Warren

• Judith Sargent Murray

• Annis Boudinot Stockton

• Elias Boudinot 

• Susanna Rowson

• Jarena Lee

• Sarah Louisa Forten Purvis

• Charles Brockden Brown 

• Mary Wollstonecraft

• Hannah Lee Corbin

• Benjamin Rush

• Eliza Harriet O’Connor

• Sara Pierce

Students will research how their assigned historical figure pushed for women’s rights during the Revolutionary and/or Early National eras and how their contributions impacted the Women’s Suffrage Movement. 

Have students create a presentation of their choice (PowerPoint, Prezi, Canva, poem, tri-fold, performance) answering the following questions:

• What were the background and life experiences of your historical figure? Think about their jobs or roles in society, their education, their family status, their involvement in other movements, or anything that seems unique to them. 

• What were their motivations or possible motivations for advocating for women’s rights?

  • Answer: Teacher Note: The availability of this information may vary from figure to figure, and students may need to speculate (with justification) based on what is known about the figure. 

• How did they push for more rights for women? What arguments did they use?

• How are their contributions felt today?

Schedule a day where students can present their individuals. At the end of class, have students consider how their figure could have worked with at least one person from the rest of the list. For homework or an exit ticket, have students explain why they feel these two people would have worked together and the benefit of their hypothetical collaboration. 

Suffrage in Your State
Group Project

Objective: Investigate how individuals and organizations advocated for women’s suffrage leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment.

Time: Multiple day research and timeline project 

In small groups, have students research the history of women’s suffrage in your state. Have them guide their research with the following questions:

• What organizations or movements were created in support of women’s suffrage leading up to the 19th Amendment? Did they host any specific events?

• Were there any organizations or movements against women’s suffrage? 

• Who were some key figures in the movement for and against women’s suffrage in your state? 

• Did your state give women the right to vote before the passage of the 19th Amendment? 

  • Why did it do so? 

  • If women couldn’t vote at all levels, which levels could they vote in? 

• When were women allowed to vote fully (local, state, and federal)? 

Have the students create a digital or physical timeline of your state’s history of women’s suffrage. Their timelines should include information boxes that provide information and explanations on key figures, organizations, and events that played a part in your state’s history of women’s suffrage. Encourage them to include visuals and audio (if digital) to enhance their timeline. 

EXTEND: Assign each group another state to research the history of women’s suffrage in that state. Have them share the history or another timeline with the class. 

EXTEND: Instruct students to calculate a variety of statistics that help contextualize the progress of women’s suffrage over the years.  Some possibilities include: the percentage of states or percentage of population that enfranchised women at various points in time, the mean, median, and mode for years in which women gained the right to vote, etc.  Students can present their findings with charts, graphs, or tables.

Extension Activities

Blueberry Box Ballots
Objective: Explore the ways the American Revolution and early New Jersey voters impacted the movement for women’s suffrage.

Time: 35-45 minutes 

Teacher Preparation: Prepare to display the image of the Women’s Ballot Box, the second image in The Vineland Suffrage Demonstration image set. 

Have students examine the Women’s Ballot Box for a few moments. Afterwards, ask students what they think the box was used for. Then explain that suffragists used this makeshift ballot box, made out of blueberry crates, to stage a suffrage demonstration in Vineland in 1868. Then, show the students the video “In 1868 Portia K. Gage Voted in Protest” from the Smithsonian’s Because of Her Story collection. Remind students that the women who voted in Vineland knew women were able to vote between 1776 and 1807. 

Engage students in conversation around the following questions:

• What was the purpose of creating the blueberry ballot box?

  • Answer: To provide the Vineland women a place to cast their ballots at the local polling location.

• How was this symbolic?

  • Answer: While these women couldn’t cast real votes, their actions made visible that they wanted to vote but were not allowed to. 

• Do you believe this form of protest was successful?

  • Answer: Students may comment on the ways the protest inspired others, suggest that it may have shaped private opinion, or note that the 19th Amendment wasn't ratified until 1920, over 50 years after this protest, among other responses.

• How do you think other members of the Vineland community, New Jersey, and the nation viewed their protest? What factors may have shaped how people responded?

  • Answer: Students may reference the men who said that the women were “playing vote," that other women also decided to start voting with makeshift ballot boxes, among other responses. Factors students may brainstorm include: religious beliefs, cultural upbringing, familial gender norms, gender, personal philosophy, etc. 

Assign students in groups to find an everyday object and figure out a creative way to use it to protest the lack of women’s suffrage during the 19th century. Have students present their objects to the class and explain their reasons for using that object. 

No Taxation without Representation
Objective: Explore the ways the American Revolution and early New Jersey voters impacted the movement for women’s suffrage. 

Time: 10-15 minutes

Begin by engaging students in conversation around the following questions:

• Why do governments levy taxes against individuals and businesses?

  • Answer: To raise money for a variety of public works and governmental projects. 

• Ask students to give examples of taxes they are familiar with, as well as things they know are funded by local or national taxes.

  • Answer: Examples may include sales taxes, income taxes, beverage taxes at the grocery store, or property taxes. Examples of things funded by taxes might include local schools, recreation centers, road improvements, Social Security, and/or the military. 

• Who decides how much people will pay in taxes and what the taxes will be used for?

  • Answer: Examples may include government levels (federal, state, local), Congress, the President, a Governor (clarify that they may propose, approve, or veto taxes made by the legislature), and/or citizens.

Then, have students read the section The Next Generation Remembers the Revolution in the Big Idea 4 unit. Have the students recall how the slogan “No Taxation without Representation” was used before the Revolutionary War. Discuss why suffragists used this slogan and if the students feel it was a successful argument. Can this argument be used for any issues today?

EXTEND: Have students research if all Americans who pay taxes and live in the United States territories are represented in government today.

Standing Up with Stamps 
Objective: Explore the ways the American Revolution and early New Jersey voters impacted the movement for women’s suffrage. 

Examine primary source documents that highlight the memory of early New Jersey voters. 

Time: 15-20 minutes

Teacher Preparation: Prepare to project or display the Votes for Women Stamp. 

Display the stamp and engage students in conservation around the following questions:

• What message did the creator of the stamp hope to get across?

  • Answer: Women were able to vote in New Jersey between 1776 and 1807, so why can women not vote now? 

• Do you think it was successful in changing people's minds? Why or why not?

  • Answer: Answers may vary. Additional Discussion: Remind students that doing one thing, like making a stamp, is not likely to change people’s minds. Instead people engage in multiple forms of protest and support for a cause. Discuss how this stamp was accompanied by many other forms of support to help change people’s minds. 

Afterward, assign students to design a stamp or poster that celebrates the early New Jersey voters influencing the abolitionist and/or suffrage movements. Another activity could be to design a stamp focusing on a movement today that resonates with your students.

Patriotic Pictures
Objective: Explore the ways the American Revolution and early New Jersey voters impacted the movement for women’s suffrage. 

Time: 5-10 minutes 

Teacher Preparation: Prepare to display the image Alice Paul sewing a Suffrage Flag. 

Display the image in front of the class. Ask the students, what memory of the American Revolution do you think Alice Paul is evoking? Explain to students that this picture was taken to help counteract criticisms of Alice Paul and the National Woman’s Party (NWP) that they were too radical and unpatriotic. How might this tactic show that Alice Paul and the NWP were patriotic?  

Abigail Adams Pushes Back
Objective: Discover the ways people in the new nation considered rights and new roles for women after the Revolutionary War. 

Time: 1-2 days, 50 minute classes

Teacher Preparation: Prepare to project the video “Object Highlight: Abigail Adams’s ‘Remember the Ladies.’” Print out each of the following letters or ensure students have access to computers, tablets, or other devices with working internet connections to read them online. 

Begin by showing the “Remember the Ladies” video. Afterward, assign students to read the three letters referenced in the video and listed below. Then have students create either a comic strip or a text chain to summarize the three letters in their own words.

Letters: 

1. John Adams to Abigail Adams - April 14, 1776

2. Abigail Adams to Mercy Otis Warren - April 27, 1776

3. Abigail Adams to John Adams - May 7-9, 1776

Express Yourself with Clothes 
Objective: Discover the ways people in the new nation considered rights and new roles for women after the Revolutionary War. 

Time: 10 minutes

Teacher Preparation: Prepare to show the video entitled “Object Highlight: NeoClassical Gown.”

Have students watch the video. Engage students in conversation around the following questions:

• How did women use clothing to express themselves in the decades after the Revolutionary War? 

• How do people express themselves through their clothing today? 

• Do you have a piece of clothing that makes a statement about you? What is it and what does it say about you? When and why do you choose to wear it?