As COVID-19 deaths spiked in 2020, Suzanne Firstenberg’s public art installation "In America: How could this happen…"
Woman Suffrage
Examine collections of the Museum's key resources on major themes in American history and social studies teaching. Additional resources can be found in the main search areas of the website.
Explore the Women's Suffrage Movement with your students through primary sources, books, and videos.
Image: Women Suffrage Wagon used to disseminate the Woman's Journal.
Call for Change
This historical investigation is aligned with the C3 Framework and is from C3teachers.org.
This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the women’s suffrage movement in New York State as an example of how different groups of people have gained equal rights and freedoms over time. Through examining the role women played in society before the 20th century and the efforts made by women to gain the right to vote, students will be prepared to develop arguments supported by evidence that answer the compelling question “What did it take for women to be considered ‘equal’ to men in New York?” Subsequent inquiries could be developed around other groups who have struggled to gain rights and freedoms, including, but not limited to, Native Americans and African Americans.
National Youth Summit - Woman Suffrage: The Ballot and Beyond
Are the tactics used by suffragists to fight for political power still effective?
Suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment marked an important moment in the progression of women’s participation in our democracy and civic life. Yet it was an imperfect victory, and one that stands neither as a beginning nor an end, but as an important milestone in the fight for equality, justice and representation. The 2019 National Youth Summit looked at woman suffrage as an example of how groups with limited political power have and continue to shape our democracy using strategies and tools, like the vote and public protest, to give voice to issues and galvanize fellow Americans into communal movements for change.
Speakers included: Caty Borum Chattoo, Dolores Huerta, Naomi Wadler, and Page Harrington.
Watch the recorded event here. After, guide a discussion with your students and tackle the essential question by using the conversation kit. For additional resources, watch four short videos on Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of political and military history, explaining the objects suffragists used in their cause.
Objects of History: Woman Suffrage
The videos support the 2019 National Youth Summit where the following question was discussed: Are the tactics used by suffragists to fight for political power still effective?
To play all of the videos on YouTube, visit the playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bksxsSc1TmQ&list=PLZxSSLX6InCQ7mEDqnwVfy...
Woman suffrage marked an important moment in the progression of women's participation in our democracy and civic life. Yet it was an imperfect victory, and one that stands neither as a beginning nor an end, but as an important milestone in the fight for equality, justice, and representation. The 2019 National Youth Summit looked at woman suffrage as an example of how groups with limited political power have and continue to shape our democracy using strategies and tools, like the vote and public protest, to give voice to issues and galvanize fellow Americans into communal movements for change. Watch the full conversation here: https://americanhistory.si.edu/national-youth-summit-woman-suffrage
After watching the videos with your students, lead a discussion using the 2019 National Youth Summit conversation kit.
Reading Mama Went to Jail for the Vote
Mama Went to Jail for the Vote is a work of historical fiction about a girl whose mother joins the suffragists in working to win the vote for women during the early 1900s. Part of an OurStory module entitled Winning the Vote for Women, this activity includes strategies that will help adults and children actively read Mama Went to Jail for the Vote together. OurStory is designed to help children and adults enjoy exploring history together through the use of children's literature, everyday objects, and hands-on activities.
The Suffragist
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History presents a filmed version of its on-the-floor program, The Suffragist.
This set of three classroom videos examines the actions taken by suffragists in 1917 as they fought to win the right to vote. Students meet Rebecca, a historical character from Takoma Park, Maryland, who is grappling with the decision of whether, and if so how, she will join the movement. Through this, students analyze and discuss the suffragists’ arguments and strategies, and investigate the guiding question: What did it take for women to win the vote?
The educators' guide for these videos, which can be downloaded here, contains critical thinking questions, discussion prompts, and links to a collection of primary sources at Smithsonian’s Learning Lab. These resources guide students to explore how the suffragists used the first amendment freedoms provided for citizens within the Constitution to take action, affect change, and reshape their democracy.
Film Segments:
Joining the Movement: https://vimeo.com/258091287 In this video, Rebecca examines the history of the woman suffrage movement and decides whether or not to join the Silent Sentinels in their picket of the White House.
Votes for Women: https://vimeo.com/258089443 In this video, Rebecca speaks at an open air meeting to argue why women should have the right to vote.
Silent Sentinels: https://vimeo.com/258090364 In this video, Rebecca discusses the Silent Sentinels' picket at the White House and the public reaction to their protest.
All segments: https://vimeo.com/258816882
The Suffragist Educators' Guide for the Classroom Videos
Through a set of three classroom videos, examine the actions taken by suffragists in 1917 as they fought to win the right to vote. Students will meet Rebecca, a historical character from Takoma Park, Maryland, who is grappling with the decision of whether, and if so how, she will join the movement. Using primary source analysis and class discussions, students will assess the suffragists’ arguments and strategies, and investigate the guiding question: What did it take for women to win the vote?
This educators’ guide contains critical thinking questions, discussion prompts, and links to a collection of primary sources at Smithsonian’s Learning Lab. These resources guide students to explore how the suffragists used the First Amendment freedoms provided for citizens within the Constitution to take action, affect change, and reshape their democracy.
Winning the Vote for Women
For more than a century, women in the United States struggled to obtain the right to vote. In 1920, the suffrage movement finally achieved victory with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. By using this OurStory module, children and adults can enjoy exploring the history of the women's suffrage movement and women's role in civic life today. Focused on actively reading Mama Went to Jail for the Vote, a historical fiction picture book about the women's suffrage movement, this module also includes links to a hands-on activity, field trip, object-based learning experience, and technology exploration.
Women's Rights
This historical investigation is aligned with the C3 Framework and from C3teachers.org.
This inquiry examines the emergence of the women’s suffrage movement in the 19th century as an effort to expand women’s political and economic rights, and it extends that investigation into the present. The compelling question “What does it mean to be equal?” provides students with an opportunity to examine the nature of equality and the changing conditions for women in American society from the 19th century to today. Each supporting question begins by asking about 19th-century women’s rights and then asks about contemporary gender equality. The relationship between women’s rights and gender equality is a central focus of this inquiry. Students begin the inquiry by exploring the legal limits placed on women in the 19th century and how efforts to gain rights were undertaken by women at the Seneca Falls Convention.
Women's Voting History You May Not Know
Winning voting rights was a job so big that no woman could do it alone. The Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative explores stories of diverse communities and their early contributions to the fight for women’s suffrage. Learn more women’s history with the Smithsonian: https://womenshistory.si.edu Drawing on the Smithsonian’s unique and vast resources, Because of Her Story creates, disseminates, and amplifies the historical record of the accomplishments of American women.
