Was the Vote Enough? ARKANSAS C3 TEACHERS HUB. 11 th Grade US History Inquiry. Supporting Questions

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1 11 th Grade US History Inquiry Was the Vote Enough? Supporting Questions 1. Why did Americans oppose granting suffrage to women? 2. What were the primary arguments used by supporters and opponents? 3. Were some rights not gained in the 19 th Amendment? 4. What was the Equal Rights Amendment?

2 U.S. History Inquiry Was the Vote Enough? Arkansas Social Studies Standards Staging the Compelling Question STANDARD - Era7.1.USH.4 Investigate social, economic, and technological effects of World War I on American society (e.g., women s right to vote, new weapons, isolationism, nativism, Dawe s Plan, buying on credit). View clips from Iron Jawed Angels (2004) to open the discussion. Supporting Question 1 Supporting Question 2 Supporting Question 3 Supporting Question 4 Why did Americans oppose granting suffrage to women? What were the primary arguments used by suffragettes and the opposition? Were some rights not gained in the 19th Amendment? What was the Equal Rights Amendment? Write a letter to an imaginary daughter explaining why she is not allowed to vote. Prepare a broadside illustrating the arguments for or against suffrage. Create a T chart to determine who could and could not vote after the 19 th Amendment. Debate whether the ERA would have improved equality for women. Featured Sources Featured Sources Featured Sources Featured Sources Source A: October 5, 1875 Letter from AG Bell to Mabel Hubbard Bell Source B: Excerpt by Rev. John Todd Excerpt by Rev. John Todd Source C: Information about the Texas Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage Source A: National Association Woman Suffrage Association Broadside Source B: New York State Woman Suffrage Party Brochure Source C: The Oberlin Women s Suffrage Debate Source A: US Constitution, 19 th Amendment Source B: 19th Amendment Did Not Affect All Women Source A: Text of the ERA Source B: Blog from the Arkansas Times Source C: Is the Equal Rights Amendment Relevant in the 21st Century? Summative Performance Taking Informed Action ARGUMENT: Was the vote enough? Construct an argument (e.g., detailed outline, poster, essay or debate) that discusses the compelling question using specific claims and relevant evidence from both historical and current sources while acknowledging competing views. EXTENSION: Students can debate why the ERA failed and what chances it has in the future. UNDERSTAND: Investigate a current threat to civil rights focused specifically on a particular portion of the population. ASSESS: Determine the motivations for the current threat and the expected outcome of the actions for a given population. ACT: Create a series of posters that illustrate the struggle for civil rights, especially in marginalized populations.

3 Overview Inquiry Description This inquiry leads students through an investigation of voting rights in America. By investigating the compelling question Was the vote enough? students evaluate both sides of the early twentieth century quest to expand suffrage to women. The formative performance tasks build on knowledge and skills through the course of the inquiry and help students determine if getting the vote was enough to give women full social and political equality. Students create an evidence-based argument about whether or not the vote is enough. In addition to the Key Idea listed previously, this inquiry highlights the following Conceptual Understanding: D2.His Analyze complex and interacting factors that influenced the perspectives of people during historical eras. It is important to note that this inquiry requires prerequisite knowledge of historical events and ideas. Thus, students should have already studied the growing civil rights movement of the early 19 th century, with specific attention to the women s movement. Note: This inquiry is expected to take six to eight 40-minute class periods. The inquiry time frame could expand if teachers think their students need additional instructional experiences (i.e., supporting questions, formative performance tasks, and featured sources). Teachers are encouraged to adapt the inquiries in order to meet the needs and interests of their particular students. Resources can also be modified as necessary to meet individualized education programs (IEPs) or Section 504 Plans for students with disabilities. Structure of the Inquiry In addressing the compelling question Was the Vote Enough? students work through a series of supporting questions, formative performance tasks, and featured sources in order to construct an argument supported by evidence while acknowledging competing perspectives. Staging the Compelling Question In staging the compelling question, Was the Vote Enough? teachers may prompt students with the viewing of either of the recommended YouTube portions of the movie Iron Jawed Angels. This should illicit many questions and comments that will help introduce the ideas. The video are available online here - (Clip 1 Interrogation ) (Clip 2

4 Parade) Supporting Question 1 The first supporting question Why did Americans oppose granting suffrage to women? has students learning about the reasons that people were against women being able to vote. The formative performance task asks students to write a letter to an imaginary daughter explaining why she is not allowed to vote. The featured sources for this question includes a letter from Alexander Graham Bell to his wife and his feelings on the suffrage argument, Reverend John Todd s religious argument, and one state s organized effort to oppose the expansion of slavery. Supporting Question 2 For the second supporting question What were the primary arguments used by suffragettes? students explore the language and tone of the support for women gaining the right to vote. The formative performance task asks students to create a broadside illustrating those arguments. The students are given a number of sources to look at both sides of the issue. Students in their formative performance task select to argue for or against suffrage in their broadside based on what they have learned thus far in the inquiry. Evidence may also come from other outside sources such as political cartoons and articles found at the Library of Congress. Supporting Question 3 The third supporting question Who was given the right to vote in the 19th Amendment?? alerts students that while the 19 th Amendment was to provide the vote to all regardless of sex, all American citizens did not yet have access to the ballot box. This set of sources may also begin to illustrate to students that not only all women could not vote yet, but that other conditions and circumstances kept others from voting and other rights well after the Amendment passed. Supporting Question 4 For the fourth supporting question What was the ERA?? ask students to identify the Equal Rights Amendments and determine what additional rights women (and possibly others) would have had under that proposed amendment that was never ratified. A special feature source from Arkansas illustrates the difficulty of passing the ERA. In creating the format for the debate, students should present their outlines prior to the debates and each group should be given time to present and give rebuttal.

5 Summative Performance At this point in the inquiry, students have examined numerous documents concerning the 19 th Amendment and the ERA from the multiple perspectives of supporters and opposition. Students should be expected to demonstrate the breadth of their understandings and their abilities to use evidence from multiple sources to support their claims. In this task, students construct an evidence-based argument using multiple sources to answer the compelling question Was the Vote Enough? It is important to note that students arguments could take a variety of forms, including an essay, a detailed outline, poster, or essay. Students arguments will likely vary, but could include any of the following: The right to vote gave women political equality with men and was adequate. White women may have gotten the right to vote with the 19 th Amendment, but others didn t for many years. Women probably didn t achieve full equality with the right to vote, but the process of gaining it through the vote was a constitutional accomplishment. To extend their arguments, teachers may have students debate why the ERA failed and what chances it has in the future. Students have the opportunity to Take Informed Action. To understand, students can investigate a current threat to civil rights focused specifically on a particular portion of the population. To assess the issue, students can determine the motivations for the current threat and the expected outcome of the actions for a given population. To act, students can create a series of posters that illustrate the struggle for civil rights, especially in marginalized populations.