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|Historical Question: |

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|Did the suffragettes help women get the right to vote? |

Author: Lisa Kingston

School: Bear Path School

District: Hamden

Overview:

The struggle for women to gain acceptance, recognition and equal rights in society has been a long process. The 19th Amendment finally gave women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a long and difficult struggle; victory took many years. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.

Between 1878, when the Amendment was first introduced in Congress, and August 18, 1920, when it was finally ratified, supporters worked tirelessly. There were a variety of strategies used to achieve their goal. Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state--nine western states adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912. Others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts, while others used tactics such as parades, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. Often supporters met fierce resistance. Opponents heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically abused them. 

 On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and two weeks later, the Senate followed. On August 18, 1920 Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment and it passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states.  

Document Summary:

Document 1 shows that women are doing the same things to gain their right to vote as the men that started a revolution for independence. By comparing the Suffragettes to the Son’s of Liberty this article is showing that the women have rights too and they should have equal say.

Document 2 shows…A half-crazed woman screaming at a well-dressed woman. The well-dressed woman is upset with the stereo-typed suffragette because she feels that she is hurting their cause by acting crazed instead of helping it.

Document 3 shows that politicians painted a picture of women as being mentally and emotionally unstable and therefore unfit to vote for the welfare of the people.

Document 4: This newspaper article shows that the amendment is gaining acceptance in some states. It also shows that the nation is becoming sympathetic to the suffragette cause because women have been treated badly.

Document 5: A speech by a traditional suffragette. She speaks out in favor of the “new” movement. She says that they have done a lot for the cause and have helped it along.

Document 6: This is an excerpt of a letter from a supporter of women’s rights. In it he states that talking with a suffragette is like talking with a crazy person. He illustrates the point that women are unstable in this letter.

Procedure (80 minutes):

1. Introduction of lesson, objectives, overview of SAC procedure (15 minutes)

2. SAC group assignments (30 minutes)

a. Assign groups of four and assign arguments to each team of two.

b. In each group, teams read and examine the Document Packet

c. Each student completes the Preparation part of the Capture Sheet (#2), and works with their partner to prepare their argument using supporting evidence.

d. Students should summarize your argument in #3.

3. Position Presentation (10 minutes)

a. Team 1 presents their position using supporting evidence recorded and summarized on the Preparation part of the Capture Sheet (#2 & #3) on the Preparation matrix. Team 2 records Team 1’s argument in #4.

b. Team 2 restates Team 1’s position to their satisfaction.

c. Team 2 asks clarifying questions and records Team 1’s answers.

d. Team 2 presents their position using supporting evidence recorded and summarized on the Preparation part of the Capture Sheet (#2 & #3) on the Preparation matrix. Team 1 records Team 2’s argument in #4.

e. Team 1 restates Team 2’s position to their satisfaction.

f. Team 1 asks clarifying questions and records Team 2’s answers.

4. Consensus Building (10 minutes)

a. Team 1 and 2 put their roles aside.

b. Teams discuss ideas that have been presented, and figure out where they can agree or where they have differences about the historical question

5. Closing the lesson (15 minutes)

a. Whole-group Discussion

b. Make connection to unit

c. Assessment (suggested writing activity addressing the question)

DOCUMENT PACKET

Document 1

The Son’s of Liberty and other founding fathers of our nation acted like rebels to get the rights that they believed in. Why shouldn’t women do the same thing?

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|By what means, but screaming, knocking, and rioting, did men themselves ever gain what they were pleased to call their rights? |

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|The Daily News said: ‘No class has ever got the vote except at the risk of something like revolution’ |

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|Vocabulary |

|Riot: a noisy, violent public disorder caused by a group or crowd of persons, as by a crowd protesting against another group, a government policy, etc., in the |

|streets. |

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|Source: Daily Mirror, 24 October 1906 |

Document 2

A cartoon shows a wild, half-mad woman (stereotyping a Suffragette) screaming at a well-dressed, respectable women, who is replying: ‘Help our cause? You’re its worst enemy!’

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|Vocabulary: |

|Suffrage: the right to vote |

|Suffragette: a female supporter of |

|the cause of women’s voting rights |

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|Source: Bernard Partridge. Published in Punch Magazine 17 January 1906. |

Document 3

This speech was given in the House of Commons. Viscount Helmsley argued that women were unfit to have the vote. They were not mentally stable enough to make choices that would affect the public. He illustrated that suffragette violence played into the hands of those that argued that women were unfit to have the vote.

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|The way in which certain types of women, easily recognised, have acted in the last year or two, especially in the last few weeks, lends a great deal of colour to |

|the argument that the mental equilibrium of the female sex is not as stable as the mental equilibrium of the male sex… It seems to me that this House should |

|remember that if the vote is given to women those who will take the greatest part in politics will not be the quiet, retiring, constitutional women… but those very|

|militant women who have brought so much disgrace and discredit upon their sex. It would introduce a disastrous element into our public life… One feels that it |

|is not cricket for women to use force… It is little short of nauseating and disgusting to the whole sex… |

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|Vocabulary |

|Equilibrium: mental of emotional balance |

|Militant: active and aggressive, especially in support of a cause |

|Disastrous: causing great disaster or distress |

|Cricket: not fair play |

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|Source: An excerpt of a speech given by Viscount Helmsley to the House of Commons on March 28, 1912. In the 1912 debate on women’s suffrage, every MP who spoke |

|against women’s suffrage gave Suffragette violence as one of the reasons for their opinion. |

Document 4

There has been some violence and insults towards women. A parade organized by suffragettes has helped to gain sympathies. Congress has taken note of this and is looking to investigate further. This newspaper article shows that the amendment is gaining acceptance in some states. It also shows that the nation is becoming sympathetic to the suffragette cause because women have been treated badly.

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|Vocabulary |

|Aroused: to stir to action |

|Campaign: a series of coordinated events, such as public speaking, to achieve a social or political goal. |

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|Source: Women’s Journal and Suffrage News Saturday March 8, 1913 |

Document 5

Millicent Fawcett was a traditional suffragette that spoke out in favor of the movement.

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|“I hope the more old-fashioned suffragists will stand by them. |

|In my opinion, far from having injured the movement, [the Suffragettes] have done more during the last 12 months to bring it within the region of practical |

|politics than we have been able to accomplish in the same number of years.” |

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|Vocabulary |

|Region: a realm or sphere of |

|activity or interest |

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|Source: Mrs Millicent Fawcett, leader of the NUWSS, writing in 1906 |

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Document 6

Lloyd George was a supporter of women’s suffrage but confided in this letter to CP Scott that talking to one was like talking to a crazy person.

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|“The action of the Militants is ruinous. The feeling amongst sympathizers of the cause in the House [of Commons] is one of panic. I am frankly not very hopeful|

|of success if these tactics are persisted in.” |

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|Lloyd George was, generally, a supporter of women’s suffrage but, over breakfast a couple of days later, he confided to Scott that talking to Christabel Pankhurst |

|was ‘like going to a lunatic asylum and talking to a man who thinks he is God’ |

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|Vocabulary: |

|Militant: a person engaged in a fight |

|Sympathizer: a person who feels or |

|expresses compassion |

|Tactics: any mode of procedures for |

|gaining advantage or success |

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|Source: Letter from Lloyd George to CP Scott, 29 November 1909 . |

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Some of the language and phrasing in these documents have been modified from the originals.

CAPTURE SHEET

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|Did the suffragettes help women get the right to vote? |

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Preparation:

1. Highlight your assigned position.

Yes: The Suffragettes helped women gain the right to vote.

No: The Suffragettes held women back from getting the right to vote for many years.

2. Read through each document searching for support for your side’s argument. Use the documents to fill in the chart (Hint: Not all documents support your side, find those that do):

|Document # |What is the main idea of this document? |What details support your position? |

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3. Work with your partner to summarize your arguments for your position using the supporting documents you found above:

Position Presentation:

4. You and your partner will present your position to your opposing group members. When you are done, you will then listen to your opponents’ position.

While you are listening to your opponents’ presentation, write down the main details that they present here:

Clarifying questions I have for the opposing partners:

How they answered the questions:

Consensus Building:

5. Put your assigned roles aside. Where does your group stand on the question? Where does your group agree? Where does your group disagree? Your consensus answer does not have to be strictly yes, or no.

We agree:

We disagree:

Our final consensus:

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Don’t forget the rules of a successful academic controversy!

1. Practice active listening.

2. Challenge ideas, not each other

3. Try your best to understand the other positions

4. Share the floor: each person in a pair MUST have an opportunity to speak

5. No disagreeing until consensus-building as a group of four

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