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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FORWARD 2
INTRODUCTION: WOMEN’S HISTORY IS HISTORY 3
WHAT IS NATIONAL HISTORY DAY
®
? 7
LESSON PLANS 8
ANNE MARBURY HUTCHINSON 8
MERCY OTIS WARREN 12
SOJOURNER TRUTH 17
DOROTHEA LYNDE DIX 20
HARRIET BEECHER STOWE 24
CLARA BARTON 28
ANNIE OAKLEY 32
JULIETTE GORDON LOW 36
IDA B. WELLS-BARNETT 41
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE 45
FRANCES PERKINS 50
JEANETTE RANKIN 56
ALICE PAUL 60
MARIAN ANDERSON 64
FANNIE LOU HAMER 69
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM 73
MARIA TALLCHIEF 78
PATSY TAKEMOTO MINK 81
DOLORES HUERTA 85
SALLY RIDE 89
1
FORWARD
What if everything you knew about
the world came only from one of the
history books I used in school?
It’s safe to say there would be substantial gaps in your
knowledge. There’s also a pretty good chance that you would
conclude that most everyone on earth—at least most everyone
worth remembering—was both white and male. Even at my
all-girls school, the stories we learned about our past almost
always centered on the accomplishments of men much older
than us. It wasn’t until later that I started to question whose
stories were being left out.
One of the most important lessons a history student should
learn is that our history books are not an objective collection of
facts and shouldn’t be treated that way. Historians are human
beings, which means that, like the rest of us, they’re capable of
making mistakes and allowing their interpretation of events to
be colored by their own biases.
Our understanding of the past is also constrained by the reality
that people who occupy positions of privilege in society often
leave behind more source material than the people who don’t.
For example, a historian studying Thomas Jeerson has a wide
range of sources to draw from—his writings, his home, the
many objects that survived him. Meanwhile, a historian studying
the life of a woman who lived her life as a slave probably has
less to go on. People who aren’t allowed to learn to read and
write don’t leave behind letters. People who arent allowed to
own things don’t leave behind homes full of objects.
For these reasons and many more, the same story repeats
itself again and again: The people who have the least power
and status get written out of history. The people who felt
invisible in their lifetimes remain invisible to future generations,
too—unless we decide to be the ones to shine a light on them.
That’s why National History Day is so important. As we
celebrate the 100th anniversary of women in the U.S. gaining
the legal right to vote, let’s inspire young historians to commit to
telling all of the stories that need to be told.
Let’s empower them to challenge old narratives and read
between the lines of primary documents. Let’s encourage them
to ask what—and who—is missing from the record. Let’s train
them to engage with the past in a more deeply thoughtful way.
This kind of examination of history is much harder than simply
accepting the version we were always told. But it’s absolutely
essential to understand the world we live in today—and to
shape a better future for all of us.
When there is no one who looks like you in your textbook, it
can send a student a harmful message. It tells them there are
people who make history—and there are people like you, who
just learn about it.
Every student deserves to know that they are capable of doing
things worth remembering. Every student needs to know that
they, too, can shape history.
Let’s make sure they learn that lesson, too.
MELINDA FRENCH GATES
Co-Chair
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
2
INTRODUCTION:
WOMEN’S HISTORY IS HISTORY
By Kate Clarke Lemay, Historian, Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery
Today the word “surage” is unfamiliar to many students.
Citizens of the United States nd it inconceivable that during
most of the nineteenth century, women could not marry, travel,
own property, or petition for a divorce without the permission
of a male household member. For years, women gained little
in their economic rights. Each state created a dierent set
of laws specic to property and earnings, and this meant
women agitated state by state for their rights—and had slow
success. For example, in 1861, women in New York state were
legally permitted to keep their wages. Not until the turn of the
twentieth century did most states grant women that right.
Although history books often cite 1848 as the birth of the
womens surage movement, its origins far precede the
Seneca Falls Convention. Womens activism grew in abolitionist
societies. By studying the plight of enslaved Americans,
abolitionist women became aware that their own citizenship
rights were severely limited. Through their experiences as
radical antislavery reformers, women rst gained experience in
activism, organizing, writing reforms, and advocating through
public speaking, which empowered them in all women’s
issues—including surage. Beginning in the 1840s, abolitionists
turned suragists such as Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906),
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), Lucy Stone (1818-1893), Lucretia
Con Mott (1793-1880), and Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902)
staged a bloodless revolution for woman’s right to vote.
PORTRAITS AS ACTIVIST RECRUITMENT
Suragists presented themselves on an equal plane to men in
lecturing, writing, and portraiture. For example, the portraits
of Elizabeth Cady Stanton rival and even surpass the best
portrait of the intellectual man of the time. The idea of Stanton
as an exemplary model certainly was not lost on her female
peers. She inspired other women to have their portraits made.
Formal portraits made in photographic form became a crucial
element of womens activism in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. Portraiture served as a recruiting method,
demonstrating that suragists were intelligent, attractive, and
respectable women. The published portrait helped convince
other women to join the struggle.
Lucretia Con Mott, Wenderoth, Taylor & Brown, c. 1860
(printed later), Albumen silver print, National Portrait Gallery,
Smithsonian Institution
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Napoleon Sarony, c. 1870, Albumen
silver print, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
3
Perhaps the most eective African American leader in the
early stages of the women’s movement, Sojourner Truth—
middle aged, illiterate, and utterly radical—achieved her power
precisely because she was a paradox. Formerly enslaved, she
spoke with a Dutch-American accent, which made her stand
out. In 1851, during the Ohio Women’s Convention, Truth claimed
womens rights were grounded in the premise that they were
equal to men in their labor, that the then-accepted dierences
in intellect did not justify the curtailing of equal rights, and that
men should follow the example of Jesus Christ and regard
women with respect. As Truth established her reputation, she
also presented herself as a gure of respectability through
portraiture. Dressed in distinguished clothing similar to that of
her contemporaries, including Lucretia Con Mott, there is little
in her portraits that would alienate other black activists.
THE FOURTEENTH AND
FIFTEENTH AMENDMENTS
In 1868, American women knew they faced a searing loss
when Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment specied “male”
in its language. This was the rst time in the Constitution
that gender was specied. In 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment
guaranteed that the right to vote could not be denied based
on race, color, or previous condition of servitude—eectively
enfranchising millions of formerly enslaved men. White
suragists especially felt outraged by the Fourteenth and
Fifteenth Amendments—which were ratied within two years
of each other. The Amendments created hierarchy of power
among American citizens, with women being last in line.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote, “If that word ‘male’ be inserted,
it will take us a century at least to get it out.” Suragists split
amongst themselves in opinion about action steps forward.
Almost immediately, white women became hyperconscious
that black mens citizenship rights were guaranteed over theirs.
As a result, the abolitionist roots of the women’s movement
unraveled. Its many associated concerns, all which had knit
together the radical women—north and south, black and white,
freed or formerly enslaved—broke into factions.
In the wake of debates over race and citizenship rights
regarding the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, two
points of view divided the group. On the one side, Lucy Stone
held that women needed to remain in solidarity with African
Americans and continue to work on equal rights for everyone.
She created the American Woman Surage Association in
1869. On the other side, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B.
Anthony felt that in order to progress, womens surage had to
be exclusive—only considering white women—and they formed
the National Woman Surage Association. Eventually in 1890,
Alice Stone Blackwell (1857-1950), daughter of Lucy Stone and
Henry Blackwell, led the reunication of the two groups to form
the National American Woman Surage Association (NAWSA)
in 1892.
Sojourner Truth, Randall Studio, c. 1870, Albumen silver print,
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Lucy Stone, Sumner Bradley Heald, c. 1866, Albumen silver print,
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
4
The contributions of African American women to the surage
movement are often overlooked. However, published writings
of African American women, including Frances Ellen Watkins
Harper (1825-1911), demonstrate how black women became
autonomous and seized power for themselves. Because white
women excluded African Americans from their organizations,
black women advocated separately for their citizenship rights
(including enfranchisement) by publishing their ideas, creating
groups, and founding national organizations. For example,
in 1892, Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (1858-1964) published
her rst book, A Voice from the South by a Black Woman of the
South, in which she gave testimony to radical ideas of inclusion
and equality. Cooper believed that black women would be
responsible for the transition of the black race from slavery into
American society; she felt that white women would be of little
help in that they resisted working with black women.
Other women created activist groups. In 1895, African
American women converged in Boston. Delegates from African
American women’s clubs in 25 states and the District of
Columbia gathered, 73 in total, for the First National Conference
of the Colored Women of America. Josephine St. Pierre Run
(1842-1924) organized the meeting. A vibrant member of the
American Woman Surage Association and the Massachusetts
School Surage Association, she edited a monthly magazine,
the Woman’s Era, the rst national newspaper published by and
for African American women.
African American women did not have the privilege of a single-
issue focus for their rights. Leaders such as Ida B. Wells (1862-
1931) and Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954), while concerned
with women’s rights, advocated against lynching. Additionally, Ida
Gibbs Hunt (1862-1957) and Margaret Murray Washington (1865-
1925) focused their attention to education rights for African
American women. Nation-wide organizations like the National
Association for Colored Women were the next step; Wells and
Terrell founded it in 1896.1 Later, in 1910, Wells founded a club
dedicated to surage, the Women’s Second Ward Republican
Club, in Chicago. African American women found their way into
public culture through a number of reform movements, including
antislavery, womens rights, and temperance.
COMPELLING TACTICS
Surage strategy during the 1910s courted the media through
compelling tactics like highly organized lobbying, marches,
protests, pageantry, and acts of civil disobedience. The surage
movement through the leadership of Carrie Chapman Catt
(1859-1947) of NAWSA and Alice Paul (1885-1977) of the
National Woman’s Party, placed visible pressure on the federal
government. Catt viewed winning elections in individual states
as a means of achieving an amendment to the Constitution.
Paul saw civil disobedience in the form of processions,
protests, and picketing as a more eective way to enact
change for a woman surage amendment. Suragists faced
a vehement anti-surage machine. The “antis” were a group
1 The other founders included Margaret Murray Washington, Fanny Jackson Coppin, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Charlotte Forten
Grimké,and Harriet Tubman.
that enacted violence in order to suppress suragists, most
famously against women participants of the 1913 Women’s
Surage Parade in Washington, D.C. Only when the National
Guard arrived were the women marchers safe from physical
assault and verbal antagonism.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Sallie E. Garrity, c. 1893, Albumen silver
print, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Like all national stories, the ght for
womens surage included women
active at the national, state, and local
level. Consider choosing a National
History Day topic, which connects
this national story with women who
have become elected ocials serving
your state or local community. State
and local historical societies often
contain remarkable resources. How
have womens political voice changed?
Has there been an increase in
representation of women in politics?
If yes, when?
5
In the early twentieth century, suragists continued to work
on 31 state campaigns. Although they were active nationally,
suragists always connected their political lobbying back
to the nations capital. After an intense drive for ratication
accompanied by a perceptive media campaign, the Nineteenth
Amendment passed in August 1920. With Tennessee casting
the deciding vote at the last minute, women barely won the
right to vote.
For nearly a century, women in the young nation fought for
their right to vote. Their crusade involved many tireless women
activists, and there are countless stories and hidden gures in
this history. In collective memory, the drama of the movement
has only surfaced recently in books and movies such as Iron
Jawed Angels (2004) and Suragette (2015) about the related
British surage movement. The popularity of such lms
demonstrates how much people are interested in this chapter
of women’s history.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.
The important question to ask about the Nineteenth
Amendment was how successful was it in guaranteeing
citizenship rights to women. American collective memory today
must work hard to recall the complex ght for the Nineteenth
Amendment, but it was the longest reform movement in
American history—and unfortunately, it did not resolve
inequality. The activism of Felisa Rincón de Gautier (1897-1944),
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977), Patsy Mink (1927-2002), and
other activists sparked a national discussion on voting rights in
the 1960s. The nation’s increasing awareness of discriminatory
voting laws led the federal government to intervene. Finally,
President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into
law in 1965, prohibiting racial discrimination. What realities do
American women continue to face, politically, and socially, that
their right to vote might inuence?
Teachers or students interested in
learning more about the history of
the womens surage movement can
check out these books:
Adele Logan Alexander, Princess of the Hither Isles:
Race, Family, and the Quest for Surage in the Jim
Crow South
Jean H. Baker, Sisters: The Lives of America’s
Suragists and Votes for Women: The Struggle for
Surage Revisited
Nikki Brown, Private Politics and Public Voices:
Black Women’s Activism from World War I to the
New Deal
Eleanor Clift, Founding Sisters and the
Nineteenth Amendment
Kenneth Florey, American Woman Surage
Postcards: A Study and Catalog and Women’s
Surage Memorabilia: An Illustrated Historical Study
J. Gallman, America’s Joan of Arc:
The Life of Anna Elizabeth Dickinson
Elna C. Green, Southern Strategies: Southern
Women and the Woman Surage Question
Joyce Ann Hanson, Mary McLeod Bethune and
Black Women’s Political Activism
Fannie Lou Hamer, The Speeches of Fannie Lou
Hamer: To Tell It Like It Is
Kate Clark Lemay, Votes for Women: A Portrait
of Persistence
Rebecca J. Mead, How the Vote Was Won: Woman
Surage in the Western United States, 1868–1914
Lisa Tetrault, The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory
and the Women’s Surage Movement, 1848–1898
Margaret Washington, Sojourner Truth’s America
Ida B. Wells, Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All
Its Phases
Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Michelle Duster,
Ida: In Her Own Words; The Timeless Writings
of Ida B. Wells from 1893
Marjorie Spruill Wheeler, Votes for Women!
The Woman Surage Movement in Tennessee,
the South, and the Nation
6
WHAT IS NATIONAL
HISTORY DAY
®
?
National History Day
®
(NHD) is a nonprot organization that
creates opportunities for teachers and students to engage in
historical research. NHD is not a predetermined, by-the-book
program but rather an innovative curriculum framework in
which students learn history by selecting topics of interest and
launching into year-long research projects. The mission of NHD
is to improve the teaching and learning of history in middle and
high school. The most visible vehicle is the NHD Contest.
When studying history through historical research, students
and teachers practice critical inquiry, asking questions
of signicance, time, and place. History students become
immersed in a detective story. Beginning in the fall, students
choose a topic related to the annual theme and conduct
extensive primary and secondary research. After analyzing
and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about
their topics’ signicance in history, students present their
work in original papers, exhibits, performances, websites, or
documentaries. These projects are entered into competitions
in the spring at local, aliate, and national levels, where they
are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The
program culminates at the national competition held each June
at the University of Maryland at College Park.
Each year National History Day uses a theme to provide a
lens through which students can examine history. The annual
theme frames the research for both students and teachers. It
is intentionally broad enough that students can select topics
from any place (local, national, or world) and any time period
in history. Once students choose their topics, they investigate
historical context, historical signicance, and the topic’s
relationship to the theme by conducting research in libraries,
archives, and museums; through oral history interviews; and by
visiting historic sites.
NHD benets both teachers and students. For the student, NHD
allows control of his or her own learning. Students select topics
that match their interests. Program expectations and guidelines
are explicitly provided for students, but the research journey is
driven by the process and is unique to the historical research.
Throughout the year, students develop essential life skills by
fostering intellectual curiosity and academic achievement. In
addition, students develop critical-thinking and problem-solving
skills that will help them manage and use information now and
in the future.
Students’ greatest ally in the research process is the classroom
teacher. NHD supports teachers by providing instructional
materials and through workshops at local, aliate, and national
levels. Many teachers nd that incorporating the NHD theme
into their regular classroom curriculum encourages students to
watch for examples of the theme and to identify connections in
their study of history across time.
NHD’s work with teachers and students extends beyond the
contest and includes institutes and training programs, which
provide teachers with opportunities to study history and develop
lessons and materials they can share with their students. In
addition, NHD oers continuing education courses for teachers
(for graduate credit or professional development hours) to
improve classroom practice (nhd.org/onlineeducation). NHD
also oers teaching resources to help teachers integrate
primary sources and critical thinking into the classroom. These
resources are free and accessible to all teachers. Visit nhd.org
to learn more.
This publication combines the work of outstanding NHD
educators from across the nation to create a set of bell-ringer
activities to engage students with primary sources from
remarkable women in American history.
NHD is grateful to HISTORY
®
for its generous sponsorship
of this publication. NHD would also like to thank the following
organizations for digitizing and/or for sharing permission
for many of the images and primary sources that appear in
this book:
Bualo Bill Center of the West
Clara Barton National Historic Site, National Park Service
Evans Early American Imprint Collection, University of Michigan
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
Library of Congress
Massachusetts Historical Society
Rotch Visual Collections, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Modern History Sourcebook, Fordham University
Oklahoma Historical Society
NASA
National Archives and Records Administration
Project Gutenberg
Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum
Smithsonian Institution, National Portrait Gallery
Social Security Administration
Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
University of Pittsburgh Library System
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
University of Virginia
U.S. Government Printing Oce
U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health
Wisconsin Historical Society
7
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Anne Marbury Hutchinson (1591–1643) was a Puritan
immigrant to the Massachusetts Bay Colony from England. Her
family, including her husband and 11 children, left their home
in 1634 in support of their minister, John Cotton, who had
assumed a position in the Church of Boston. Upon arriving,
Hutchinson quickly gained a reputation as “a woman of
haughty and erce carriage, of a nimble wit and active spirit,
and a very voluble tongue, more bold than a man.” In the next
three years, Hutchinson challenged two Puritan precepts.
First, she was concerned with local ministers’ emphasis on a
covenant of works” opposed to a “covenant of grace” in their
sermons. Secondly, she challenged the Puritan mores for
women in attracting both men and women to her local religious
gatherings in which she was critical of these ministers. By 1637,
the Antinomian Controversy, sometimes called the Free Grace
Controversy, erupted. Hutchinson was tried in civil and religious
courts, banished from Boston, and excommunicated from
the Puritan church. She relocated her family to Portsmouth
(modern-day Rhode Island). In 1643, her family was massacred
in an attack by the Siwanoy natives in New Netherland.
KEY EVENTS
Antinomian Controversy (1636–1638),
Portsmouth Compact (March 7, 1638)
KEY PEOPLE
John Winthrop, Anne Hutchinson, John Cotton,
William Hutchinson, Jr., John Wheelwright
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Established in 1628, the government of the Massachusetts
Bay Colony was theocratic and became increasingly so as
thousands emigrated from England. Puritanism, rooted in
Calvinist beliefs, emphasized the concept of predestination, the
belief that one’s eternal salvation is determined by God alone.
In the 1630s, a controversy erupted over the Puritan concepts
of the “covenant of works” and the “covenant of grace.” Under
the “covenant of works,” ones salvation was not earned by
demonstrating moral behaviors, but one’s predestination could
be revealed by adhering to religious laws. In contrast, a belief in
the “covenant of grace” was to understand that salvation could
be granted only as a gift from a higher power. Anne Hutchinson
grew concerned that many ministers in the Massachusetts
Bay Colony were preaching that salvation was earned by good
works alone, with the exception of Thomas Cotton. Moreover,
she shared this belief with her followers and claimed that God
has spoken to her directly. In Puritan society, women were
not permitted to preach to men and it was blasphemous to
ANNE MARBURY HUTCHINSON
Written by: Christopher Stewart | North Lakes Academy Charter School | Forest Lake, Minnesota
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make one copy of the primary source trial
transcript excerpt for each student.
Discuss the inset on the document explaining the
“long s” and its usage in the source.
Ask the students to highlight/underline specic
evidence to answer the three questions.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Divide students into pairs after their close reading
of the primary source to view the image.
Ask, What emotions were felt in the room while
Hutchinson spoke?
Ask pairs to predict the outcome of the trial based
on the historical evidence.
Direct one student to dramatically read Governor
Winthrop’s sentence to Anne Hutchinson.
Teacher Tip: If time permits, students could stage a
dramatic reading of the full opening statement with the
same characters.
c. 1901, Library of Congress (2005696249)
https://www.loc.gov/item/2005696249/
8
challenge the authority of ministers. These acts, her spiritual
leadership, and her unwillingness to accede to the accusations
by local leaders led to her exile. Many religious groups that
challenged Puritan beliefs (Antinomians, Quakers, Anabaptists)
spread to other communities along the eastern seaboard.
FUN FACT
The bronze statue of Anne Hutchinson located at the
Massachusetts State House in Boston was commissioned
in 1920 by women’s groups energized by the Nineteenth
Amendment. It was not ocially dedicated until 2005 on
Boston’s 375
th
anniversary. Read the Boston Globe article on
the dedication here http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/
editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/09/07/a_heretics_
overdue_honor/.
LOCAL CONNECTION
The bronze statue of Anne Marbury Hutchinson is located
outside of the Massachusetts State House and is a key element
of the walking tour of the grounds. For more information,
visit: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/trs/trsbok/trstour.htm.
A plaque dedicating the foundation of Portsmouth, Rhode
Island via the 1638 Portsmouth Compact is located in that
city’s town hall. The city was founded during Hutchinson’s
imprisonment by her followers including her husband,
William Hutchinson, Jr. The original document is retained by
Rhode Island state archives and digitized here: http://www.
portsmouthhistorycenterarchive.org/items/show/155.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Thomas Hutchinson, The History of the
Province of Massachusets Bay [sic], 1828
University of Pittsburgh Library System
https://archive.org/stream/historyofprovinc02hutc#page/
n3/mode/2up
SECONDARY SOURCES
Anne Hutchinson
Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art, Brooklyn Museum
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/
place_settings/anne_hutchinson
Anne Hutchinson
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/
biographies/anne-hutchinson
A Clash of Cultures: Anne Hutchinson’s Brief
Life near St. Pauls Church,” March 31, 2012
Saint Pauls Church National Historic Site, National Park Service
https://www.nps.gov/sapa/planyourvisit/
a-clash-of-cultures.htm
David D. Hall, The Antinomian Controversy, 1636–1638 :
A Documentary History, 1990
Nishan Bichajian, Statue of Anne Hutchinson with
Descriptive Plaque, East Wing of Massachusetts State
House, c. 1954–1959, Rotch Visual Collections, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (KL_001094) http://dome.mit.edu/
handle/1721.3/34676
ANNE MARBURY HUTCHINSON
9
U.S. Bill of Rights. Library of Congress. 1791.
“The Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson…” November 1637, p. 482
What is Governor Winthrop
accusing Hutchinson of doing?
To what degree are her
crimes” related to her being a
woman?
What role is religion playing in
this court and its charges?
WHY DOES THE “S” LOOK THE WAY IT DOES?
The “Long s” or “” symbol was
common in documents in the 1600s and
1700s to replace the soft “s” sound in
many words, especially when it started
a word or came before two ss in a row.
JOHN WINTHROP: lawyer, governor,
and one of the co-founders of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
JOHN WHEELWRIGHT: Puritan minister
and ally of Anne Hutchinson who was
banished just days prior to this case.
10
Anne Hutchinson Preaching in Her House in Boston, Library of Congress.
“The Examination of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson…” November 1637, p. 520.
What emotions are being felt
in the room while Hutchinson
speaks? Choose at least three
gures, circle them, and explain
what they are thinking and why
you believe that is their reaction to
her role.
1.
2.
3.
After the dramatic reading by
your classmate, what exactly
happened to Anne Hutchinson?
What would you say is the
primary reason why she was
treated the way she was in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony?
Justify your answer.
11
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Mercy Otis Warren (1728–1814) was not formally educated,
but studied alongside her brother as he prepared to attend
Harvard, an opportunity to denied to most women of her era.
Living in Massachusetts during the Revolutionary period, her
family regularly discussed politics, and she slowly became
impassioned by the patriot cause. Her rst notable work
was a poem about the Boston Tea Party. Her male relatives
encouraged her literary pursuits, and she was known for
comedic plays that mocked Loyalists. Her intellectual prowess
earned her the respect of many founding fathers, who hoped
her writing would propagate the patriot cause. Warren felt torn
between her passions and what society considered proper for
a lady. In many ways she conformed to the gender roles of her
time, although she advocated for formal education of women.
She was portrayed in paintings as highly feminine. Throughout
the war, she managed her familys aairs and followed her
husband’s militia, developing deep friendships with both Abigail
Adams and Martha Washington. After the war, she wrote a
controversial, three volume, History of the Rise, Progress and
Termination of the American Revolution.
KEY EVENTS
Boston Tea Party, Stamp Act, American Revolution,
Federalist Debates, U.S. Constitution
KEY PEOPLE
Abigail Adams, John Adams, Thomas Jeerson,
James Warren, Martha Washington
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
After the U.S. Constitution was drafted in September 1787, states
began the process of debating and ratifying the document. Over
several years, commentators from all backgrounds discussed
the strengths and weaknesses of the document. Mercy Otis
Warren, a prominent writer with connections to many of the men
who drafted the Constitution, opposed many facets of the new
proposed government. Her anti-federalist leanings eventually
prompted her and her husband to distance themselves from their
Revolutionary compatriots. Writing in 1788, under the pseudonym
“Columbian Patriot,” Warren outlined the aws she saw in the
new Constitution.
MERCY OTIS WARREN
Written by: Kelsie Brook Eckert | Moultonborough Academy | Moultonborough, New Hampshire
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Prior to analysis, students should be familiar
with the structure and content of the Constitution
and it would be helpful if they had a hard or digital
copy of the Constitution for reference. See
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/
constitution-transcript.
Make one copy of the document handout and
organizer for each student.
Divide students into pairs to discuss and each
complete the organizer.
After completion, discuss as a class, Were Warren’s
critiques valid?
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Turn the room into a Four-Corner Debate by using
paper to label the corners each the classroom:
» In favor of the U.S. Constitution as written;
» In favor of Warrens critique;
» In favor of some of Warrens critique; and
» Opposed to both.
Direct students move to the area of the room that
they feel best represents their opinion. Remind
students that as discussion ensues, they may move
if their opinion changes.
Facilitate student discussion. Ask students to
reference specic ideas or quotations to support
their point of view.
Teacher Tip: If one corner of the room is empty, the
teacher should assume that position and try to persuade
students to that idea.
Mercy Otis Warren, line engraving by unidentied artist, after
the portrait by John Singleton Copley, 1763, Massachusetts
Historical Society, https://www.masshist.org/database/1759
12
LOCAL CONNECTION
Mercy Otis Warren lived most of her life in Plymouth,
Massachusetts. She lived in the Winslow Warren House on
the corner of North and Main Streets and is buried in the
Burial Hill Cemetery. Learn more about these sites from the
Massachusetts Historical Society, visit: https://www.masshist.
org/blog/612.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Correspondence of Mercy Otis Warren and
Hannah Winthrop, 17521789
Massachusetts Historical Society
http://www.masshist.org/features/warren-winthrop
Letters Between Catharine Macaulay and Mercy Warren
Digital History Project, University of Houston
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/dearmadam/
index.html
Mercy Otis Warren Papers
Massachusetts Historical Society
http://www.masshist.org/collection-guides/view/fa0235
SECONDARY SOURCES
Abigail Adams Vents to Mercy Otis Warren About John”
New England Historical Society
http://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/abigail-adams-
vents-to-mercy-otis-warren-about-john/
Mercy Otis Warren
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/
biographies/mercy-otis-warren
Erick Trickey, “The Woman Whose Words Inamed
the American Revolution,” June 20, 2017
Smithsonian Magazine
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/woman-whose-
words-inamed-american-revolution-180963765/
MERCY OTIS WARREN
13
Mercy Otis Warren, Observations on the New Constitution, and on the Foederal [sic] and State Conventions, 1788 (excerpts)
Evans Early American Imprint Collection, University of Michigan
NOTE TO STUDENTS
When a historical document is transcribed, sometimes it includes spelling or
grammar that seems incorrect today. Sometimes documents contain true
errors, and sometimes it was a proper or accepted convention at the time the
document was written. The notation [sic] shows that there is a recognized
issue, but that is how the source was originally written. Other words in
brackets are designed to help improve your understanding of the primary
source, but were not included in the original document.
Warrens Comments So far, why is she
writing?
What words does
she use to describe
the Constitution as
written?
Animated with the rmest zeal
[enthusiasm] for the interest
of this country, the peace and
union of the American States,
and the freedom and happiness
of a people who have made
the most costly sacrices in
the cause of liberty [died in the
Revolution]—who have braved
the power of Britain, weathered
the convulsions [spasm] of war,
and waded through the blood of
friends and foes to establish their
independence, and to support
the freedom of the human mind,
I cannot silently witness this
degradation [humiliation] without
calling on them
14
Warrens Comments What virtues does she
admire?
What does she say has
happened to them?
An heroic love for the public
good, a profound reverence
[admiration] for the laws, a
contempt [hatred] of riches, and a
noble haughtiness [arrogance] of
soul, are the only foundations of a
free government
“Do not these dignied principles
still exist among us? Or are they
extinguished in the breasts of
Americans, whose elds have
been so recently crimsoned to
repel the potent arm of a foreign
Monarch, who had planted his
ensigns of slavery in every city,
with design to erase the vestiges
of freedom in this his
last asylum…
Warren wrote a list of aws she saw with the U.S. Constitution. To complete
the organizer, identify the article of the U.S. Constitution with which she takes
issue, explain why, and decide if you agree.
Warrens Comments Article Why? Do you agree?
“2. There is no security in the
profered [sic] system, either
for the rights of conscience,
or the liberty of the press:
Despotism [absolute rule] ... will
suer men to… the most unjust
restrictions may take place
15
Warrens Comments Article Why? Do you agree?
“7. ...the most discerning eye
could discover ...Every source
of revenue is in the monopoly
of Congress…
“8. ...the new Congress are
impowered [sic] to determine
their own salaries...
“11. One representative to
thirty thousand inhabitants
is a very inadequate
representation
12. If the sovereignty of
America is designed to be
elective, the circumscribing
the votes to only ten electors
in this state… is nearly
tantamount to the exclusion of
the voice of the people
13. A senate chosen for six
years, will in most instances,
be an appointment for life, as
the inuence of such a body
over the minds of the people,
will be coeval to the extensive
powers with which they are
vested…
14. There is no provision
by a bill of rights to guard
gainst [sic] the dangerous
encroachments of power
in too many instances to be
named
16
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Sojourner Truth (1797–1883) was born Isabella Van Wageren
into slavery in New York. Truth escaped slavery in 1826 and
moved to New York City until 1843 when she adopted the name
“Sojourner Truth” in anticipation of her new career: traveling
to preach what she saw as God’s truth about the status of
women and slavery. Although illiterate and uneducated, Truth
was a skilled public speaker and best known for her impromptu
speeches delivered on the abolition of slavery, women’s
surage, and other social issues of the day. Resourceful and
devoted to her cause, Truth supported herself through sales
of her dictated 1850 biography, The Narrative of Sojourner Truth,
A Northern Slave, as well as portraits of herself known as
carte vistas, which resemble modern baseball cards. Just one
year after her biography was published, Truth delivered her
most well-known speech, “Ain’t I A Woman,” to a Women’s
Rights Convention in Ohio, arguing against the injustice of the
overlooked subordinate status of women in American life.
During the Civil War, Truth collected food and supplies for
U.S. Colored Troop Regiments and continued to ght for racial
equality during Reconstruction when she fought for freedmens
rights. During this time, she never stopped advocating for
womens equality.
KEY EVENTS
Ain’t I A Woman?” Speech (1851), Civil War,
Freedmens Bureau (18651872)
KEY PEOPLE
William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln,
Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Abolitionist leaders in the 1840s, fueled by the religious fervor
of the Second Great Awakening, included those on the forefront
of women’s surage such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth
Cady Stanton. Mott and Stanton both experienced gender
discrimination at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention in
London and organized the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in
response. Abolitionists advocated the immediate end to slavery
on moral grounds, but split over the issue of extending equal
rights to women. It was in the context of this moment that Truth
delivered her “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech to forcefully remind
abolitionists and suragists alike that America faced challenges
of both racism and gender discrimination.
SOJOURNER TRUTH
Written by: Joseph Landgraf | North County High School | Glen Burnie, Maryland
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make and distribute one copy of the speech to
each student.
Preview the speech, clarifying dicult vocabulary
as needed for students.
Divide students into pairs and give each partner a
dierent color highlighter.
Ask one student to read and annotate the
document for Truth’s religious arguments against
gender inequality.
Ask the other student to read and annotate the
document for Truth’s arguments against gender
inequality that cite her life experience.
Make students trade papers and annotate their
partner’s paper for the reasons they found in a
dierent color.
Ask partners to use their annotations to ll out the
t-chart on the document together.
Sojourner Truth, Library of Congress (JK1881.N357),
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbcmil.scrp1000203
17
FUN FACT
Truth’s “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech was delivered o-the-cu
and thus was only recorded in newspapers of the time. To
promote Truth’s status as a former slave, Frances Dana Gage
rewrote and published the speech in the style of someone
with a southern dialect from that period. To read Gage’s 1863
version of the speech, visit http://www.sojournertruth.org/
Library/Speeches/AintIAWoman.htm.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the site of Truth’s speech in Akron, Ohio, at
the Sojourner Truth Building (https://www.theclio.com/
web/entry?id=52523) as well as a monument dedicated to
Sojourner Truth in her longtime home of Battle Creek, Michigan,
at the Kimball House Historical Museum. To learn more visit:
https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/mhc_mitten_
sojourner-truth_308425_7.pdf.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Sojourner Truth: Online Resources
Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/truth/
SECONDARY SOURCES
Heritage Battle Creek Research Center
Sojourner Truth Institute
http://www.sojournertruth.org/
Sojourner Truth
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/
biographies/sojourner-truth
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Ask each student to think of an issue of importance
to their identity today (race, gender, sexuality,
class, ethnicity, nationality, etc.).
» Teacher Tip: Students could also choose a
political issue not related to their identity, such as
taking the perspective of an iceberg for a poem
about global warming.
Instruct students to write a poem arguing in favor
of the improvement of their status using reasons
for why they deserve recognition just as Truth did
in her speech.
Ask students to include a question that they repeat
after each reason where they ask, “Aint I A …?”
Invite students to share their poems with their
partners and then select a few students to share
out with the class.
A. Lincoln showing Sojourner Truth the Bible presented
by colored people of Baltimore, Executive Mansion,
Washington, D.C., Oct. 29, 1864, c. 1893, Library of Congress
(LC-USZ62-16225), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/
cph.3a18453/
18
SOJOURNER TRUTH, “AIN’T I A WOMAN?”
“Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that ‘twixt
the negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be
in a x pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking about?
That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and
to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or
gives me any best place! And aint I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and
planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work
as much and eat as much as a man—when I could get it—and bear the lash as well! And aint I a
woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold o to slavery, and when I cried out
with my mothers grief, none but Jesus heard me! And aint I a woman?
Then they talk about this thing in the head; what’s this they call it? [member of audience whispers,
“intellect] That’s it, honey. What’s that got to do with womens rights or negroes’ rights? If my cup
wont hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldnt you be mean not to let me have my little half
measure full?
Then that little man in black there, he says women cant have as much rights as men, ‘cause Christ
wasnt a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God
and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.
If the rst woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these
women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is
asking to do it, the men better let them.
Obliged to you for hearing me, and now old Sojourner aint got nothing more to say.
Sojourner Truth, “Ain’t I A Woman?,” 1851, Modern History Sourcebook, Fordham University, https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/sojtruth-woman.asp
RELIGIOUS REASONS LIFE EXPERIENCE REASONS
19
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Dorothea Lynde Dix (18021887) was born in Hampden,
Maine, to a poor family. At age 12 she went to live with her
grandmother in Boston. When she was only 14, Dix founded
a school in Worcester, Massachusetts. After a 20-year
career as a teacher and writer, in 1841 Dix visited a jail in
East Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was appalled by the
conditions. Many of the prisoners were mentally ill, and they
were treated terribly by being ill-fed and abused. Dix took it
upon herself to report these condition to the Massachusetts
Legislature in 1843, documenting the poor conditions faced by
hundreds of mentally ill men and women. Her action led to the
successful passage of a bill to reform the way the state treated
prisoners and people with mental illness. Dix canvassed the
country working for prison reform and improved conditions for
the mentally ill. Eventually her crusade became international.
She even lobbied the pope in person about conditions in Italy.
During the Civil War Dix served without pay as superintendent
of nurses for the Union Army in the U.S. Sanitary Commission.
She died on July 17, 1887, in a Trenton, New Jersey, hospital
that she had founded.
KEY EVENTS
Memorial, To The Legislature of Massachusetts (1843),
Massachusetts Legislature appropriates money to reform
and expand a hospital for the insane in Worcester (1845),
Bill for the Benet of the Indigent Insane (1854), Civil War
KEY PEOPLE
Franklin Pierce, Abraham Lincoln, Clara Barton,
Samuel Gridley Howe
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival movement
that swept across the country in the early nineteenth century.
New religions and new ways of thinking about religion led to
the rise of various reform movements. Reformers believed
that if people could improve their souls, then they could also
improve their society. Many of the leading revivalists and
clergymen became leaders and advocates for a variety of reform
movements including temperance, abolition, womens rights,
and prison reform. This document is an excerpt of what was
compiled by Dorothea Dix and presented to the Massachusetts
State Legislature in 1843.
FUN FACT
The Bangor Mental Health Institute was renamed the Dorothea
Dix Psychiatric Center in her honor in 2005. Dix grew up
DOROTHEA LYNDE DIX
Written by: Shane Gower | Maranacook Community High School | Readeld, Maine
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make one copy of Memorial, To The Massachusetts
Legislature for each pair of students.
Divide students into pairs.
Distribute one copy of Memorial, To The
Massachusetts Legislature to each pair of students.
Ask students to read the document and answer the
prompt questions together.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Ask each student, What one issue today would you be
willing to ask the state legislature to pass a law to help
with (like Dorothea Dix did) and why?
Discuss answers with partner, and be ready to
share with the class.
Teacher Tip: Depending on the grade level, students may
nd it helpful to rst brainstorm some of the issues or
problems our society faces today in order to have a bank
from which to choose.
Dorothea Lynde Dix, Library of Congress (2004671913),
https://www.loc.gov/item/2004671913/
20
nearby in Hampden, Maine. In 1843, there were 13 mental
hospitals in the country; by 1880 there were 123, and Dorothea
Dix played a direct role in founding 32 of them. Learn more
at http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/DDPC/ and https://www.
massmoments.org/moment-details/dorothea-dix-begins-her-
crusade.html.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the grave of Dorothea Dix at Mount Auburn
Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To learn more,
go to http://mountauburn.org/dorothea-dix-1802-1887/.
You can visit the Dorothea Dix Exhibit at the Museum of
Disability History in Bualo, New York. To learn more, go to
http://museumofdisability.org/information/about-us/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Correspondence, Dorothea Lynde Dix to
Abraham Lincoln, June 17, 1861
Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/item/mal1032100/
Dorothea Dix Correspondence
Menninger Historic Psychiatry Collection,
Kansas Historical Society (223255)
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/223255
Dorothea Lynde Dix Papers
Houghton Library, Harvard Library, Harvard University
Remarks on Prisons and Prison Discipline in the United States, 1845
HathiTrust Digital Library
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003457033
SECONDARY SOURCES
Chai Woodham, “Eastern State Penitentiary:
A Prison with a Past,” September 30, 2008
Smithsonian
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/eastern-state-
penitentiary-a-prison-with-a-past-14274660/
Dorothea Dix
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biographies/
dorothea-dix
Dorothea Dix Begins Her Crusade
MassMoments, Massachusetts Humanities Council
https://www.massmoments.org/moment-details/dorothea-
dix-begins-her-crusade.html
Parallels in Time: A History of Developmental Disabilities, 2017
Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities
http://mn.gov/mnddc/parallels/four/4b/1.html
St. Elizabeths was a hospital founded by Dix. This building housed oces for hospital administrators and wards for patients,
1900, National Archives and Records Administration / National Building Museum, https://www.nbm.org/national-building-museum-present-
architecture-asylum/
DOROTHEA LYNDE DIX
21
MEMORIAL, TO THE LEGISLATURE OF MASSACHUSETTS
(EXCERPT)
Note: In 1843, Dorothea Dix delivered a petition to the Massachusetts Legislature describing what she
had witnessed at various asylums for the mentally ill in her travels around the state.
“If I inict pain upon you, and move you to horror, it is to acquaint you with the suerings which you
have the power to alleviate, and make you hasten to the relief of the victims of legalized barbarity...
LINCOLN (MASSACHUSETTS). A woman in a cage.
MEDFORD. One mentally ill person chained, and one in a closed stall for seventeen years.
PEPPERELL. One often doubly chained hand and foot; another violent; several peaceable now.
GRANVILLE. One often closely conned; now losing the use of his limbs from want of exercise.
CHARLEMONT. One man caged.
SAVOY. One man caged.
LENOX. Two in the jail, against whose unt condition there the jailer protests.
DEDHAM. The insane disadvantageously placed in the jail. In the [charity ward], two females in
stalls, situated in the main building; lie in wooden bunks lled with straw: always shut up. One of
these subjects is supposed curable. The overseers of the poor have declined giving her a trial at the
hospital, as I was informed, on account of expense.
Memorial, To The Legislature of Massachusetts (excerpt), U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
articles/PMC1470564/
22
Respond to each prompt or question below based on the document.
1. What questions do you have? Write down three questions that come to mind
after reading this document.
2. How would you describe the treatment of the mentally ill as witnessed by
Dorothea Dix?
3. What is the point of view of Dorothea Dix? Does she think the mentally ill
are being treated appropriately? How do you know?
4. Why do you think the mentally ill were treated this way?
5. Are the mentally ill treated dierently today? Why or why not?
23
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) was born in Litcheld,
Connecticut, the daughter of Lyman and Roxanna Beecher.
Harriet grew up in a household that held equality and service
to others in the highest regard. Her father and all seven of
her brothers became ministers, while her sisters, Catherine
and Isabella, were champions of women’s education and,
for Isabella, surage. Harriet received a formal education at
Sarah Pierces Academy, one of the rst institutions focused
on educating young women. There she discovered her talent
for writing. Harriet became a teacher and author, proving to
be an outspoken woman in a time when female voices often
went unheard. Following in her family’s tradition of service,
she became a passionate abolitionist. She published more than
30 works in her lifetime, the most famous of which was Uncle
Tom’s Cabin, a novel that exposed the evils of slavery. Through
her writings and speaking engagements, Harriet Beecher
Stowe eectively helped to open the eyes of the world to the
urgent problem of slavery in the United States.
KEY EVENTS
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Election of 1856, Election of 1860,
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1851)
KEY PEOPLE
William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Henry Clay, Millard
Fillmore, Abraham Lincoln, Harriet Tubman
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
In the nineteenth century, the abolitionist movement, which
argued slavery was morally wrong, grew. Led by William Lloyd
Garrison and Frederick Douglass, the movement sought to
ght politically for the immediate emancipation of enslaved
peoples. During a time when the territory of the United States
was expanding, the tumultuous question of whether states
would be added as “free” or “slave” sparked contentious, and
even sometimes violent, debate. These political and ideological
dierences contributed to the fracture of the Union and
ultimately ignited the Civil War.
FUN FACT
Stowe wrote several early abolitionist articles for the anti-
slavery paper The National Era. Following the popularity of
her article “The Freeman’s Dream: A Parable,” the editor
sent her $100 and encouraged her to write more pieces for
his publication. Around the same time, Congress passed the
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Stowe, seeking to write more for
The National Era, found fuel in the heated sectional debate that
HARRIET BEECHER STOWE
Written by: Lisa Lauck | Notre Dame de Sion | Kansas City, Missouri
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Print or project one copy of the New York Times
article for each student.
Ask students to divide a piece of scratch paper
down the center, labeling one side as “thoughts
and the other side as “questions.
Give students time to read the article.
Arrange students in a large circle so that they can
make eye contact when engaging in discussion.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Engage students in a Socratic Seminar focused on
the primary document.
Encourage students to respond using evidence
from the primary source as well as their
background knowledge of the abolitionist
movement, slavery, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Remind students to respond and then nish their
statement by posing the next question to the group.
Allow for a variety of questions to grow organically
and encourage students to to answer any question
that they feel they have a thoughtful response.
Encourage students to reference textual material,
dates, or events they have knowledge of to support
their responses.
Teacher Tip: One possible opening question, How does
the author believe Mrs. Stowe had misrepresented the
institution of slavery in the South?
Harriet Beecher Stowe, c. 1880, Library of Congress
(2004672776), https://www.loc.gov/item/2004672776/
24
ultimately led to her writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Learn more
about her life and the impact of her writings at: https://www.
biography.com/people/harriet-beecher-stowe-9496479.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, featuring her
home and a dedicated museum, in Hartford, Connecticut, to
learn more about this fascinating woman and the tumultuous
era in which she lived. To learn more, go to: https://www.
harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Harriet Beecher Stowe at Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/s#a115
Uncle Tom’s Cabin & American Culture, A Multimedia Archive
University of Virginia
http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/reviews/rere05ct.html
Author and abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, c. 18401860, Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs,
Library of Congress (LC-DIG-ppmsca-49807), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016652288/
25
SOUTHERN SLAVERY. A GLANCE AT UNCLE TOM’S CABIN.
SECOND PAPER.
BY A SOUTHERNER.
...The success of the sketches of ‘Life among the Lowly,’ satises us, too, that the world can
be moved by a tale of wrong and oppression; and we will not complain of the world, or of Mrs.
STOWE,although we see that there is a misunderstanding on both sides; the world being in tears
over a work of the imagination, and Mrs. STOWE glowing with the thought that she is accomplishing a
great moral revolution.
“We have said that we think the book must produce great results, and we certainly hope so.
“Its aim is to exhibit the evils of Slavery; and the two great pictures which it presents are, the slave
sold to a trader and placed under his unchecked and mercenary will, and the slave toiling for a harsh,
avaricious and merciless master, upon a Southern plantation. Let us look at these pictures,they
deserve to be studied; and above all men, the people of the South should study them. For whatever
is to be done for the slave, must be done by his master; the abolitionist can do nothing for him—his
misguided eorts only retard the amelioration of the condition of the enslaved race, by making it
necessary to observe a stricter police system in the plantation States, and by putting it out of the
power of the enlightened and humane men in the South to undertake any modication of the system.
We have seen the shadow actually go back upon the dial under a Southern sun. It is again advancing.
Since the adjustment of the great controversy by the passage of the Compromise measures, a much
better sentiment has been manifested in regard to the slave question, in the Southern States, than
existed for some years previous to that time.
“Mrs. Stowe undertakes the expose the abuses of Slavery, and her rst object is to show how the
internal slave trac works. She selects some incidents to illustrate this. In every case the same
exaggerated style prevails; and every case appeals to our sensibilities in the most painful way. We are
not in the least degree disposed to nd fault with this; for no one can exceed us in that detestation
of the Slave trac which is so powerfully exhibited both at the North and the South. It is often
attended with the most revolting circumstances. It is proper that its abuses should be exposed; and it
is to be hoped that the vivid sketches of the results of this inhuman trac which are found in Uncle
Toms Cabin, will contribute a powerful momentum to Southern opinion in regard to it. That opinion
is already advancing, and we hope to see it reach a point of such high and commanding power, as
will enable it to control and shape Legislation, until a thorough reformation can be eected, and the
true principles of Christian statesmanship nd a place in the code of every Southern State. Slavery
is one thing, the Slave trade is quite another thing. To regard the slave as a mere chattel, to overlook
or treat with contempt his moral nature, to trie with his sensibility or do violence to his aections, to
regard him mainly as a being who is to be bought or sold whenever the state of the market will make
the speculation pay, without any reference to his volition, without consulting his relations to his home,
his wife, his children, is so utterly and eternally at war with the spirit of Christianity, that we look with
indignation upon every such instance which meets the eye. Fetters and the slave-pen we loathe
26
“The chains, the fetters, and all the instruments of cruelty have disappeared. Such scenes as Mrs.
STOWE describes: the putting irons on Uncle Tom, the sale of an infant from its mothers arms,
the cruel disregard of the entreaties of a mother, not to be separated from her daughter in the
one instance, and her boy in the other; the whole Mississippi steamboat picture, the slave mart in
New-Orleans, we do not believe are to be witnessed. They are powerful sketches, but we do not
think them truthful. Yet we hope that they will result in good. Let the imagination have fair play in
describing the slave trade; dip the pencil which traces the forms of the victims in the darkest colors;
spread the canvas before the eyes of the whole world; bring down upon the trac the thunders
of human indignation, and you will yet not oend the sentiment of the Southern people. Scorn and
loathing would nowhere in all the world look out from human countenances more witheringly upon
such men as Haly, Tom Loker and Marks, than in the Southern States of the Union. Nor would a
prompt sympathy be excited in behalf of the slave suering from cruel treatment, from hunger,
disease or nakedness, or from the disruption of natural ties, anywhere so soon as under the skies
where the cotton-plant grows, and where the songs of cheerful labor greet the ear of the traveler, as
he pursues his journey amid the almost tropical verdure of Southern plantations.
WALPOLE.
Walpole, “Southern Slavery. A Glance at Uncle Tom’s Cabin,New York Times, June 28, 1853 (excerpt), Uncle Toms Cabin & American Culture, A Multimedia
Archive, University of Virginia, http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/reviews/rere05ct.html
27
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Clara Barton (1821–1912) grew up in North Oxford,
Massachusetts. She began her career as a teacher at age 15.
She moved to Washington, D.C. to work as a clerk at the U.S.
Patent Oce. As the Civil War broke out, she collected supplies
for soldiers. In 1862, the U.S. Army granted her permission
to bring food and medical supplies to eld hospitals on the
front without government support, earning her the nickname,
Angel of the Battleeld.” In 1864, General Benjamin Butler
appointed her superintendent of the nurses. Following the
war, she established the Bureau of Records of Missing Men of
the Armies of the United States, locating over 22,000 missing
men and reuniting them with families. In 1869 she traveled
to Geneva, Switzerland as member of the the International
Committee of the Red Cross. She returned to the United States
and founded the American Red Cross in 1881. She remained
president of the organization until 1904.
KEY EVENTS
U.S. Civil War, Bureau of Records of Missing Men of the Armies
of the United States (1865), American Red Cross (1881)
KEY PEOPLE
Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
After the Civil War, the U.S. faced unprecedented numbers
of men killed, wounded, and disabled. Many organizations
developed to help raise money to honor the memory of those
killed and support men who survived. Clara Barton wrote the
following poem as a toast to women who served in the Civil
War. It was rst presented at a gala dinner held in 1892 by the
Women’s Relief Corps (the ocial auxiliary organization for the
Grand Army of the Republic) and was later printed in many
newspapers and magazines. The goal of the members of the
Women’s Relief Corps, many of whose husbands had served
in the Civil War, was to ensure that all Civil War veterans were
honored and remembered. They helped maintain battleelds
and cemeteries and erected many monuments to Union troops.
FUN FACT
The original intent of the Red Cross was to serve as a neutral
aid provider during armed conicts. However, Clara Barton
believed the American Red Cross should also provide aid to
natural disaster victims. In 1884, at the Third International Red
Cross Conference, the Geneva Treaty was amended to allow
the Red Cross to provide aid to natural disaster victims. This
amendment became known as the “American Amendment.
CLARA BARTON
Written by: Kevin Wagner | Carlisle Area School District | Carlisle, Pennsylvania
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make and distribute one copy of the poem to
each student.
Ask each student to read the poem silently. As
they read, ask them to highlight ve examples of
perseverance by women described in the poem.
Share ndings/responses with a partner prior to a
whole-class discussion.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Ask each student to assume the role of a
woman in the audience at the time of Bartons
reading the poem.
Engage the class in a deep-dive of the document
using the noted sections as a guide with the
following questions:
» What were the common assumptions about
women and battle during war (lines 1–23)?
» How did the Civil War change these
assumptions (lines 24–29)?
» What actually became the role of women in
battle (lines 30–69)?
» How should we view the women of the Civil
War (lines 70–81)?
» How did Barton connect womens courage to
the Red Cross Movement (lines 82–91)?
Ask students, The role of women in the U.S. military
has changed substantially since the Civil War. How do
you think men and women serving in today’s armed
forces would react to Bartons poem?
Clara Barton, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left,
c. 1870, Library of Congress (93513632), https://www.loc.gov/
item/93513632/
28
Learn more about the Geneva Treaty and Clara Barton’s
role here: https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2014/12/17/
remembering-the-geneva-convention-through-the-words-of-
clara-barton/.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit Clara Bartons home, Glen Echo, in Maryland,
where she spent the last 15 years of her life. Her home served
as the rst headquarters for the American Red Cross. To learn
more, go to https://www.nps.gov/clba/index.htm.
You can also visit the Missing Soldiers Oce Museum in
Washington, D.C. where Clara Barton set up headquarters after
the Civil War to help soldiers reunite with their families. To learn
more go to http://www.clarabartonmuseum.org/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Clara Barton Papers
Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/collections/clara-barton-papers/
about-this-collection/
Clara Barton Papers
Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries
https://digital.lib.umd.edu/archivesum/actions.
DisplayEADDoc.do?source=MdU.ead.histms.0015.xml
SECONDARY SOURCES
Clara Barton
American Red Cross
http://www.redcross.org/about-us/who-we-are/
history/clara-barton
Clara Barton
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/
biographies/clara-barton
Miss Clara Barton (named after the Red Cross founder) was a nurse from Grand Rapids, Michigan who cared for wounded World War I
American soldiers at American Military Hospital #5 in Auteuil, France. Photograph by Lewis Wickes Hine, September 1918, Library of Congress
(LC-DIG-anrc-17328), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017682327/
29
CLARA BARTON, “THE WOMEN WHO WENT TO THE FIELD,
NOVEMBER 18, 1892
The women who went to the eld, you say,
The women who went to the eld; and pray
What did they go for? just to be in the way!-
They’d not know the dierence betwixt work and play,
What did they know about war anyway? 5
What could they do? - of what use could they be?
They would scream at the sight of a gun, don’t you see?
Just fancy them round where the bugle notes play,
And the long roll is bidding us on to the fray.
Imagine their skirts ‘mong artillery wheels, 10
And watch for their utter as they ee ‘cross the elds
When the charge is rammed home and the re belches hot;-
They never will wait for the answering shot.
They would faint at the rst drop of blood, in their sight.
What fun for us boys,-(ere we enter the ght;) 15
They might pick some lint, and tear up some sheets,
And make us some jellies, and send on their sweets,
And knit some soft socks for Uncle Sams shoes,
And write us some letters, and tell us the news.
And thus it was settled by common consent, 20
That husbands, or brothers, or whoever went,
That the place for the women was in their own homes,
There to patiently wait until victory comes.
But later, it chanced, just how no one knew,
That the lines slipped a bit, and some ‘gan to crowd through; 25
And they went, - where did they go? - Ah; where did they not?
Show us the battle, - the eld, - or the spot
Where the groans of the wounded rang out on the air
That her ear caught it not, and her hand was not there,
Who wiped the death sweat from the cold, clammy brow, 30
And sent home the message; - “’T is well with him now”?
Who watched in the tents, whilst the fever res burned,
And the pain-tossing limbs in agony turned,
And wet the parched tongue, calmed deliriums strife
Till the dying lips murmured, “ My Mother,” “ My Wife”! 35
And who were they all? - They were many, my men:
Their record was kept by no tabular pen:
They exist in traditions from father to son.
Who recalls, in dim memory, now here and there one.-
A few names where writ, and by chance live to-day; 40
But’s a perishing record fast fading away.
Of those we recall, there are scarcely a score,
Dix, Dame, Bickerdyke, - Edson, Harvey and Moore,
Fales, Wittenmeyer, Gilson, Saord and Lee,
And poor Cutter dead in the sands of the sea; 45
And Frances D. Gage, our “Aunt Fanny” of old,
Whose voice rang for freedom when freedom was sold.
30
And Husband, and Etheridge, and Harlan and Case,
Livermore, Alcott, Hancock and Chase,
And Turner, and Hawley, and Potter and Hall, 50
Ah! the list grows apace, as they come at the call:
Did these women quail at the sight of a gun?
Will some soldier tell us of one he saw run?
Will he glance at the boats on the great western ood,
At Pittsburgh and Shiloh, did they faint at the blood? 55
And the brave wife of Grant stood there with them then,
And her calm, stately presence gave strength to his men.
And Marie of Logan; she went with them too;
A bride, scarcely more than a sweetheart, ‘tis true.
Her young cheek grows pale when the bold troopers ride. 60
Where the “Black Eagle” soars, she is close at his side,
She staunches his blood, cools the fever-burnt breath,
And the wave of her hand stays the Angle of Death;
She nurses him back, and restores once again
To both army and state the brave leader of men. 65
She has smoothed his black plumes and laid them to sleep,
Whilst the angels above them their high vigils keep:
And she sits here alone, with the snow on her brow -
Your cheers for her comrades! Three cheers for her now.
And these were the women who went to the war: 70
The women of question; what did they go for?
Because in their hearts God had planted the seed
Of pity for woe, and help for its need;
They saw, in high purpose, a duty to do,
And the armor of right broke the barriers through. 75
Uninvited, unaided, unsanctioned ofttimes,
With pass, or without it, they pressed on the lines;
They pressed, they implored, till they ran the lines through,
And this was the “running” the men saw them do.
‘T was a hampered work, its worth largely lost; 80
‘T was hindrance, and pain, and eort, and cost:
But through these came knowledge, - knowledge is power.-
And never again in the deadliest hour
Of war or of peace shall we be so beset
To accomplish the purpose our spirits have met. 85
And what would they do if war came again?
The scarlet cross oats where all was blank then.
They would bind on their “brassards” and march to the fray,
And the man liveth not who could say to them nay;
They would stand with you now, as they stood with you then, 90
The nurses, consolers, and saviours of men.
Clara Barton, “The Women Who Went to the Field,” November 18, 1892, Clara Barton National Historic Site, National Park Service
31
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Annie Oakley (18601926) was born Phoebe Ann Moses in
Ohio. After her father died, Annie was sent to work for a family
as their servant but was treated cruelly and ran away. She
reunited with her mother and soon became the breadwinner
of the family by shooting game and selling it to the grocery
store. Annie paid o her mother’s mortgage and began entering
shooting contests. At age 15, she defeated marksman Frank
Butler in a contest. Butler made a living performing in a circus
and convinced Oakley to join him. The two married one year
later and Annie gained fame on the vaudeville circuit. In 1885,
she joined “Bualo Bill” Cody’s Wild West Show and performed
with them for the next 17 years. In her act, she shot playing
cards from thirty paces, corks o bottles, dimes thrown into
the air, and she even shot cigarettes out of her husband’s
mouth. On a European tour, she performed for Queen Victoria
and Crown Prince Wilhelm. A train accident in 1901 left Oakley
partially paralyzed but she returned to the show circuit after
she recovered. Annie retired in 1913 and died on November 3,
1926. Her husband of 50 years died 18 days later.
KEY EVENTS
Bualo Bill’s Wild West Show (1883–1913), American Exhibition
(1887), Spanish-American War (1898)
KEY PEOPLE
Frank Butler, William Frederick “Bualo Bill” Cody, Sitting Bull
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
William “Bualo Bill” Cody opened his show in 1883 in
Nebraska. Cody and his partner traveled around the country
presenting a circus-like show helping to dene the popular
image of the West. Annie Oakley became a famous act on the
tour. The show also featured Native Americans such as Sitting
Bull. To celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, a world’s fair
was held in London in 1887. Bualo Bill’s Wild West Show was
one the main attractions at the American Exhibition.
FUN FACT
In 1903, William Randolph Hearst’s newspaper in Chicago ran
a story claiming Annie Oakley had been arrested for stealing
in order to pay for her drug addiction. It turns out it was a
woman impersonating Oakley but the story had already been
published by over 50 newspapers across the country. Oakley
spent six years bringing libel suits against the papers who ran
the story, winning or settling 54, including one against Hearst.
Learn more at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/
sn92053934/1904-02-13/ed-1/seq-6/.
ANNIE OAKLEY
Written by: Mary Bezbatchenko | Licking Heights High School | Pataskala, Ohio
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make one copy of the Court Circular for each
pair of students.
Divide students into pairs.
Distribute one copy of the Court Circular
to each pair of students.
Ask students to read the document and answer
the questions.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Ask each pair of students to share their responses
with the class.
Brainstorm as a class, “If there were an American
Exhibition today, what would they include to best
demonstrate the United States?”.
Create an advertisement poster for a modern day
American Exhibition.
Teacher Tip: Student pairs may each create a poster
for a specic part/act of the Exhibition from the ideas
or you could have students create a poster depicting
multiple elements they would include in an Exhibition.
c. 1899, Library of Congress (2009631997),
https://www.loc.gov/item/2009631997/
32
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the Annie Oakley Center at the Garst Museum
located in Greenville, Ohio. A part of the Darke County
Historical Society, the museum contains an exhibit on Oakley as
well as the Crossroads of Destiny, which explores The Treaty
of Greenville, Tecumseh, Lewis & Clark, and more. For more
information visit https://www.garstmuseum.org/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Annie Oakley: Topic Guide for Chronicling America
Ohio History Connection
http://www.ohiohistoryhost.org/ohiomemory/wp-content/
uploads/2016/01/AnnieOakley.pdf
Topics in Chronicling America –
William F. Cody “Bualo Bill” (18461917)
Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/bill.html
William F. Cody Scrapbooks
Bualo Bill Center of the West
http://library.centerofthewest.org/cdm/landingpage/
collection/p17097coll39
SECONDARY SOURCES
The Annie Oakley Center Foundation, Inc.
https://www.annieoakleycenterfoundation.com/index.html
Biography: Annie Oakley
PBS American Experience
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/
oakley-annie/
Caroline Kim-Brown, “ ‘Little Sure Shot’:
The Saga of Annie Oakley,” May / June 2006
Humanities: The Magazine of the National Endowment
for the Humanities
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2006/mayjune/
feature/%E2%80%9Clittle-sure-shot%E2%80%9D-the-saga-
annie-oakley
Bualo Bill’s Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World, c. 1899, Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-1161)
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97503242/
33
Courtesy of the McCracken Research Library, Bualo Bill Center of the West, Cody, WY; MS6.3829.035.
What do the images on the Court Circular depict? What do they tell you
about the show?
34
Who attended the show with the queen? Why do you think this show was
popular at the American Exhibition in 1887?
Look at the Program of Exhibition that lists the acts of the show. What do
you think they would have conveyed about America to Queen Victoria and
the other guests?
If there was going to be an American Exhibition today, what acts do you
think would represent or exemplify our country?
35
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Juliette Gordon Low (1860–1927) was nicknamed “Daisy” as
an infant and the moniker stuck; her friends and family used
it her whole life. Low’s childhood was marred by the outbreak
of the Civil War; her mother’s family fought for the Union
while her father served as a Confederate soldier. She enjoyed
adventures in the Georgia countryside and her love of nature,
wildlife, and sports shaped the organization she founded. A
series of childhood ear infections and a botched operation left
her with signicant hearing loss. She married William Low in
1886 and set up homes in Georgia and England. Searching
for purpose after her husband’s 1905 death, a chance 1911
meeting with Sir Robert Baden-Powell in London changed her
life. Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts, recommended
that Low become involved with the Girl Guides, the female
equivalent of his organization. After working with female troops
in England and Scotland, Low returned to Georgia to replicate
the organization in America. On March 12, 1912, Low hosted
the inaugural meeting of Girl Scouts USA. Low spent the
rest of her life leading the organization, stressing leadership,
community involvement, and outdoor activities. The Girl Scouts
thrive today, boasting 2.6 million participants in 92 countries
and an alumnae network of over 50 million women.
KEY EVENTS
Founding of the Girl Scouts (1912), World War I, Progressive
Movement, Surage Movement
KEY PEOPLE
Lou Hoover, Sir Robert Baden-Powell, Edith Wilson
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Girl Scouts was founded in 1912 in the midst of the
Progressive Era, a period of time marked by reformers’
attempts to address issues created by urbanization, economic
and demographic change, business monopolies, and
government corruption in political machines. The Girl Scouts
reected progressive impulses to organize communities to
foster social good. Juliette Gordon Low sought to welcome
a culturally and ethnically diverse group of young ladies into
her troops, ensuring opportunities for all girls, even those with
dierent abilities. In 1917, the United States became enmeshed
in World War I; Low and her Girl Scouts stepped up to assist
the war eort, earning accolades from Herbert Hoover for
assisting in the Food Administration food conservation eorts
as well as sewing on behalf of the Red Cross. The surage
movement also intensied around this time culminating with the
passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. Although Low
JULIETTE GORDON LOW
Written by: Amanda Reid-Cossentino | Garnet Valley High School | Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make one copy of the primary document for each
student.
Divide students into groups of three or four
students each.
Ask students to read the excerpt and answer the
prompt questions together.
Lead the class in a discussion of Progressive Era
themes they detected in the reading.
Teacher Tip: Themes to consider for discussion include
the role of women, Americanism, eciency, morality,
and education.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Just as How Girls Can Help Their Country reected
Juliette Gordon Low’s concerns for young women
of the Progressive Era, ask your students to
identify issues that girls and young women must
be equipped to deal with today.
Give students a few minutes to brainstorm their
ideas and then ask a few volunteers to share their
thoughts.
The Girl Scouts organization awards merit badges to
members when they complete certain requirements
as outward manifestations of new skills developed
and new areas of interest explored. Ask students to
develop a new merit badge to oer to Girl Scouts in
2018. Students should identify an area of concern for
contemporary young women and then develop three
requirements for a young lady to earn the badge.
Harris & Ewing, Girl Scouts of the U.S., April 1923,
Library of Congress (2016892230), https://www.loc.gov/
item/2016892230/
36
Frances Benjamin Johnston, Low House, 325 Abercorn Street, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia, c. 1939–1944,
Library of Congress (csas200800670), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/csas.00668/
sought to keep the Girl Scouts neutral and out of the surage
debate, her eorts to cultivate strong, independent-thinking
women were indisputable.
FUN FACT
Juliette Gordon Low has received numerous posthumous
honors including the commissioning of a World War II Liberty
Ship in her name in 1944 and the release of a three cent
stamp with her likeness by the U.S. Postal Service in 1948.
President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal
of Freedom in 2012. Find a complete list of her honors here:
http://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/our-
history/juliette-gordon-low.html.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the birthplace of Juliette Gordon Low in
Savannah, Georgia. In addition to touring the home (a National
Historic Landmark) and learning about Low’s life, visitors
may also be interested in an interactive exhibit oered in the
homes library, Girls Writing the World. To learn more, go to
http://www.juliettegordonlowbirthplace.org/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Juliette Gordon Low, How Girls Can
Help Their Country, 1917 (excerpts)
Project Gutenberg
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28983?msg=
welcome_stranger
Photograph, Harris & Ewing, Girl Scout Group with
Mrs. Nicholas Longworth, Selling Liberty Bonds, 1918
Library of Congress (2016869091)
https://www.loc.gov/item/2016869091/
Photograph, Harris & Ewing, Girl Scouts.
War Sewing with Red Cross, 1917
Library of Congress (hec2008006686)
https://www.loc.gov/item/2016868397/
SECONDARY SOURCES
Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace
http://www.juliettegordonlowbirthplace.org/
Juliette Gordon Low Curriculum Guide
Georgia Historical Society
http://georgiahistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/
Juliette-Gordon-Low-Teacher-Guide.pdf
Juliette Gordon Low Online Exhibit
Georgia Historical Society
http://georgiahistory.com/education-outreach/online-
exhibits/featured-historical-gures/juliette-gordon-low/
Our History
Girl Scouts of America
http://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/
our-history.html
37
JULIETTE GORDON LOW, HOW GIRLS CAN
HELP THEIR COUNTRY, 1917 (EXCERPTS)
BE STRONG
Have you ever stopped to think that your most constant companion throughout life will be yourself
in order to live well, in order to possess the joy of life, and to be helpful to others, a Scout needs to
apply her motto “Be prepared” to herself. Strength and beauty should be hers in body, mind, and
spiritThe body and mind are very closely related. Things that are good for one are good for the
other. A girl who develops a strong agile body, at the same time improves her brain. A girl with weak,
abby muscles cannot have the strength of character that goes with normal physical power.
BE HELPFUL
To make others happy is the Scout’s rst wish. When you come home from work or school turn your
thoughts to those you love at home and try to see what you can do to lighten their burdens or cheer
them…DO A GOOD TURN to some one every day. That is one of the Scout laws.
HABITS
We tend to do the things we have already done. By selecting the right things to do and always doing
them, we actually are making our destiny. Each one of us has her character made by her habits…
MODESTY
Girl Scouts have often been complimented for their modest bearing. One does not hear them talk
about what they have done, or what they are going to do. They just do the thing and say nothing
about it…
READING
Wherever you go you will have the choice of good or bad reading, and as reading has such a lasting
eect on the mind, you should try to read only good things
ECONOMY
More women are engaged in housekeeping than in all the other professions and employments
combined. This is a dicult profession and requires knowledge and training, if good results are to be
secured. Housekeepers need to have a plan, and especially a budget of expenses…The real orderly
Girl Scout has a place for everything and keeps everything in its place. She has a time for performing
each of her duties and does it at that time.
38
THRIFT
It seems easy to learn how to spend money, but it is an art to learn how best to spend…You will
remember that one of the Scout laws is to BE THRIFTY. The girl who begins making money young
will go on making it as she grows older. It may be dicult at rst, but it will come easier later on,
especially if you earn money by hard work…
EMPLOYMENT
CHOOSE A CAREER: “Be prepared” for what is going to happen to you in the future. Try to master
one trade so that you will be independent. Being punctual is a most important thing. This counts for a
great deal in lling any kind of position.
BE OBSERVANT
This is a very valuable kind of training which city people miss. This knowledge of the woods, of
animals and their habits, and of all the other phases of nature necessary for life in the open is called
“Wood-craft”… It is a part of the duty of Scouts to see and appreciate the beauties of nature, and not
be blind to them as so many people are…Try to see everything...
CAREERS
Well educated women can make a good income by taking up translating, library work, architecture,
and many professions which formerly have been open only to menThe medical profession oers a
great opportunity to women. Nursing is more easily learned, and is of the greatest advantage at the
same time, for every woman is a better wife and mother for having been a nurse rst
STUDY
Each one of us has her own destiny in her control, and has her own personal problems in life to
settle. Thus, we all need all the knowledge and wisdom that we can secure. Each one of us should
be a student, ever growing in power of thought and in usefulness to others …
PATRIOTISM
You belong to the great United States of America, one of the great world powers for enlightenment
and liberty. It did not just grow as circumstances chanced to form it. It is the work of your forefathers
who spent brains and blood to complete it. Even when brothers fought they fought with the wrath
of conviction, and when menaced by a foreign foe they swung into line shoulder to shoulder with no
thought but for their country. In all that you do think of your country rst
Juliette Gordon Low, How Girls Can Help Their Country, 1917 (excerpts), Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/28983?msg=welcome_stranger
39
In your team, look through the document and nd evidence of the social and
cultural impulses that characterized the Progressive movement. Identify key
themes below and cite evidence from the text to substantiate your claim.
THEME EVIDENCE FROM TEXT
40
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Ida B. Wells (18621931) was born to slave parents in Holly
Springs, Mississippi, on July 16, 1862, two months before
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation. As a young girl, Wells watched her parents work
as political activists during Reconstruction. In 1878, tragedy
struck as Wells lost both of her parents and a younger brother
in a yellow fever epidemic. To support her younger siblings,
Wells became a teacher, eventually moving to Memphis,
Tennessee. In 1884, Wells found herself in the middle of a
heated lawsuit. After purchasing a rst-class train ticket, Wells
was ordered to move to a segregated car. She refused to give
up her seat and was forcibly removed from the train. Wells led
suit against the railroad and won. This victory was short lived,
however, as the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the
lower court ruling in 1887. In 1892, Wells became editor and co-
owner of The Memphis Free Speech and Headlight. Here, she used
her skills as a journalist to champion the causes for African
American and womens rights. Among her most known works
were those on behalf of anti-lynching legislation. Until her death
in 1931, Ida B. Wells dedicated her life to what she referred to
as a “crusade for justice.
KEY PEOPLE
Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell, W. E. B. Dubois,
Frederick Douglass
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
In 1892, Jim Crow laws and segregation ourished in the South,
and lynchings, a form of vigilante justice, were prevalent. In
Memphis, Tennessee, three African American men, Thomas
Moss, Calvin McDowell, and Henry Stewart, opened the People’s
Grocery. Many members of the African American community
moved their business from a local grocery store owned by a
white businessman William Barrett to the new People’s Grocery.
As the new business ourished, tempers ared and racial
confrontations increased. In March, owners of the Peoples
Grocery heard rumors of a raid against their business and
posted armed guards. On March 9, several white men were
injured in a scue and authorities arrested Moss, Stewart, and
McDowell, along with some supporters. Before the men could
be tried in court, a white mob entered the jail, removed the
owners, and murdered them. Infuriated, Ida B. Wells wrote an
editorial in the Free Speech and Headlight denouncing lynching
and the lack of police protection. Again tempers ared, and Wells
ed to New York for her safety. In the years that followed, she
led an extensive campaign for anti-lynching legislation, including
researching lynchings, speaking engagements, and publishing
numerous news articles and pamphlets.
IDA B. WELLS-BARNETT
Written by: Penny Heath | Canton High School | Canton, Oklahoma
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Divide the class into groups of two or three
students each.
Make and distribute one copy of the document
for each group of students.
Ask students to read the excerpts and discuss
the prompts.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Ask each student to assume the role of a citizen of
Memphis in 1892.
Write a letter to the editor of the Memphis Free
Speech and Headlight expressing your opinion about
recent events and Wells’ advice to save your money
and move west.
Mary Garrity, Ida B. Wells, Smithsonian Institution, National
Portrait Gallery (NPG.2009.36), http://npg.si.edu/media/
A9000072C.jpg
41
FUN FACT
Ida B. Wells was one of the founders of the NAACP, although
she later left the group because she grew skeptical of the
white leadership’s ability to enact change. Learn more
about her life: https://www.biography.com/people/ida-b-
wells-9527635.
LOCAL CONNECTION
The Ida B. Wells House in Chicago, Illinois has been listed as a
National Historic Landmark, but the home is privately owned
and not open for tours. The Ida B. Wells Museum is located
in Holly Springs, Mississippi, You can learn more at www.
ibwfoundation.org.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Ida B. Wells, Crusade for Justice:
The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells, 1992
Ida B. Wells Papers, 1884–1976
Special Collections Research Center,
University of Chicago Library
https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/ndingaids/view.
php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.IBWELLS#idp76827728
“The Mob’s Work,The Appeal-Avalanche, March 10, 1892
https://lynchingsitesmem.org/archives/memphis-appeal-
avalanche-3101892
SECONDARY SOURCES
About Ida B. Wells
The Ida B. Wells Memorial Foundation
http://www.ibwfoundation.org/About_Ida_B.html
Ida B. Wells
Biography
https://www.biography.com/people/ida-b-wells-9527635
Memphis and the Lynching at the Curve
Lynching Sites Project Memphis
https://lynchingsitesmem.org/news/
memphis-and-lynching-curve
This Works Progress Administration (WPA) poster depicts the
opening of the Ida B. Wells Homes, a housing project from the
Chicago Housing Authority, 1940, Library of Congress (LC-
USZC2-5196), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98509947/
42
IDA B. WELLS, CRUSADE FOR JUSTICE MANUSCRIPT,
19271931 (EXCERPTS)
“THE WAY TO RIGHT WRONGS IS TO SHINE THE LIGHT OF TRUTH ON
THEM.” –IDA B. WELLS, THE MEMPHIS FREE SPEECH AND HEADLIGHT
Ida B. Wells was extremely upset following the lynching of Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Henry
Stewart. In The Memphis Free Speech and Headlight she denounced the murders and oered advice
for the African American community.
EXCERPT FROM CRUSADE FOR JUSTICE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF IDA
B. WELLS MANUSCRIPT IN REFERENCE TO HER EDITORIAL IN THE
MEMPHIS FREE SPEECH AND HEADLIGHT (CHAPTER 4)
“The city of Memphis has demonstrated that neither character nor standing availed the Negro if he
dared to protect himself against a white man or become his rival. There was nothing we could do
about it, as we were outnumbered and without arms. For while the white mob could help itself to
ammunition without pay, the order was rigidly enforced against the selling of guns to Negros. There
is therefore only one thing we can do. Let us save our money and leave a town which will not protect
our lives and property or give us a fair trial in the courts, but takes us out and murders us in cold
blood when accused by white persons.
EXCERPT FROM CRUSADE FOR JUSTICE: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF IDA B.
WELLS IN REFERENCE TO THOMAS MOSS (CHAPTER 5)
A ner, cleaner man never walked the streets of Memphis. He was well-liked, a favorite with
everybody yet he was killed with no more consideration than if he had been a dog, because he as a
man defended his property from attack. The colored people feel that every white man in Memphis
who consented to his death is as guilty as those who red the guns which took their lives, and they
want to get away from this town. We told them the week after the lynching to save their nickels and
dimes so they could leave. I had no way of knowing that they were doing so before...All were intent
on going to the West. Oklahoma was about to be opened up and scores sold or gave away property
and shook Memphis dust o their feet.
Ida B. Wells, Crusade for Justice Manuscript, 19271931 (excerpts), Box 1, Folder 4, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
43
1. What reasons did Wells suggest for the lynching of Moss, McDowell,
and Stewart?
2. What advice did Ida Wells oer the African American community
in Memphis?
3. What was Wells surprised to learn when she suggested African
Americans save their money and move west?
4. Why was Oklahoma suggested as a potential home for African Americans?
5. Do you think Wells was taking a risk by publishing her editorial in the rst
excerpt? Why or why not?
6. Can you draw any parallels between events described by Ida B. Wells and
current news stories involving minority groups?
44
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Mary McLeod Bethune (1875–1955) was born in South Carolina
to parents who were former slaves. From childhood Bethune
realized that education held the key for African American
advancement. In 1904, she founded the Daytona Literary and
Industrial Training School for Negro Girls. Her school grew
rapidly, and in the 1920s merged with the all-male Cookman
Institute; Mary McLeod Bethune served as the rst president of
the new Bethune-Cookman College. Bethune worked tirelessly
for civil rights, womens rights, and social justice. She served
on commissions under Presidents Coolidge and Hoover, and
in 1936 Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her the Director
of the Division of Negro Aairs, part of the National Youth
Administration, a New Deal program designed to help young
people nd jobs. Bethune became the rst African American
woman to serve as head of a federal agency and used her
position to persistently lobby for African American issues. She
founded the National Council for Negro Women in 1935, co-
founded the United Negro College Fund in 1944, and attended
the founding conference of the United Nations in 1949. Before
her death in 1955, Bethune wrote a last will and testament
that expressed her hope for a “world of Peace, Progress,
Brotherhood, and Love.
KEY EVENTS
New Deal, National Youth Administration, “Black Cabinet,
United Negro College Fund, National Council of Negro Women
KEY PEOPLE
Booker T. Washington, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
By 1942, Mary McLeod Bethune established herself as an
important part of Franklin Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet,” the
unocial group of high-ranking African Americans who
advised the president during the New Deal. During this time
she and Eleanor Roosevelt became close friends and allies,
and Bethune frequently corresponded with the rst lady about
a variety of civil rights and education initiatives. This letter,
written only nine weeks after the bombing at Pearl Harbor,
shows Bethune’s ongoing concern about funding for Bethune-
Cookman College as well as how she swiftly shifted from
nding work opportunities for black youth to addressing war
related needs for African American youth on the homefront.
FUN FACT
Mary McLeod Bethune started the Daytona Literary and
Industrial Training School for Negro Girls in 1904 with $1.50
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE
Written by: Kristin Appert Camiolo | Koinonia Academy | Plaineld, New Jersey
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make one copy of the letter for each pair of
students.
Divide students into pairs.
Distribute one copy of Mary McLeod Bethunes
letter to Eleanor Roosevelt from February 19, 1942,
to each of the pairs.
Ask students to read the letter out loud as Mary
McLeod Bethune, taking turns reading each
paragraph, and answer the prompt questions
together.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Tell students, Imagine you are Eleanor Roosevelt, and
write a short note to answer Mary McLeod Bethune’s
letter. Would you address all of her concerns? If so how,
and if not, why?
Allow students time to write. When complete, ask
students to read their letter to their partner, and
compare responses. Each partner should take one
minute to explain the choices they made in crafting
Eleanor’s response, and why they did or did not
address all of Mary’s requests.
January 1943, Library of Congress (2017843210)
https://www.loc.gov/item/2017843210/
45
Gordon Parks, Daytona Beach, Florida. Bethune-Cookman College. Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, founder and former president,
walks to Sunday afternoon chapel, January 1943, Library of Congress (2017843188), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3c28948/
and ve students. She made all the desks herself and students
used elderberry juice as ink. This little school grew to become
what is now Bethune-Cookman University. To learn more,
check out this video: https://www.biography.com/people/
mary-mcleod-bethune-9211266.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit Mary McLeod Bethune’s home (a National Historic
Landmark) on the campus of Bethune-Cookman University
in Daytona Beach, Florida. Learn more here: http://www.
cookman.edu/foundation/plan_your_visit.html. In Washington,
D.C. you can visit the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House,
which served as Bethune’s home and the headquarters of the
National Council of Negro Women. To learn more about the
exhibits and archives preserved at this National Historic Site
visit: https://www.nps.gov/mamc/index.htm.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
“Dr. Bethune’s Last Will and Testament”
Bethune-Cookman University
https://www.cookman.edu/about_bcu/history/
lastwill_testament.html
Mary McLeod Bethune, Selected Digitized Correspondence
of Eleanor Roosevelt 1933–1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/archives/collections/
franklin/?p=collections/ndingaid&id=504
SECONDARY SOURCES
History
Bethune-Cookman University
https://www.cookman.edu/about_BCU/history/
our_founder.html
Mary McLeod Bethune
The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project,
George Washington University,
https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/
glossary/bethune-mary.cfm
Mary McLeod Bethune
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/
biographies/mary-mcleod-bethune
46
Mr. Baruch was a
philanthropist and
member of Roosevelt’s
“brain trust.
Mr. Field was Marshall
Field, Jr., the son of
the entrepreneur and
founder of a very
successful chain of
stores. Field had
previously donated to
the college.
47
Letter from Mary McLeod Bethune to Eleanor Roosevelt, February 19, 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/_resources/images/ersel/ersel007.pdf
Why do you think Mary McLeod Bethune used formal letterhead for her
correspondence with Eleanor Roosevelt?
48
What specic requests does Bethune make?
Why would Bethune have asked Roosevelt to write to “Mr. Baruch and Mr.
Field” instead of just writing her own letter to them?
By this time Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt had been friends for
many years. Cite several quotes from the text that show their friendship.
Why would this friendship be so important for the African American
community in the 1940s?
49
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Frances Perkins (1880–1965) was born in Boston and
graduated from Mount Holyoke College. After graduation,
Perkins accepted a teaching job in Lake Forest, Illinois. While
in Chicago, Perkins worked at Chicago Commons and Hull
House, two of the oldest settlement houses in the country.
Working with the poor and unemployed convinced Perkins
that she had found her vocation. In 1907, Perkins accepted
a position with the Philadelphia Research and Protective
Association where she worked to protect newly arriving
immigrant girls, as well as black women from the South, from
entering prostitution. She enrolled at Columbia University
in 1909 as a Masters Degree candidate in sociology and
economics. In 1910, she worked directly with reformer
Florence Kelley, who founded the National Consumers League,
focusing on sanitary conditions of bakeries, child-labor laws,
and re protection in factories. Later she worked in New
York government positions for Al Smith, the rst woman to
be appointed to an administrative position in New York, and
for Franklin D. Roosevelt as New Yorks state industrialist
commissioner. In 1932, as the newly elected president,
Roosevelt asked Perkins to serve in his cabinet as Secretary
of Labor, making her the rst woman to serve in a presidential
cabinet. Perkins was a forceful advocate in New Deal
legislation, promoting public works programs, Social Security,
and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Later, Perkins served on
the United States Civil Service Commission. She nished out
her career writing and teaching at Cornell University.
KEY EVENTS
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911), New Deal, Social
Security Act (1935), Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
KEY PEOPLE
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, Al Smith,
Florence Kelley
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Great Depression left 15 million Americans unemployed.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation
addressed relief, recovery, and reform to put the American
people back to work and to ensure that an economic
depression with this magnitude would not happen again. The
Social Security Act, passed on August 14, 1945, established
a system of old-age benets, workers’ compensation,
unemployment insurance, maternal and child health-services,
and direct aid to the poor and disabled. The Social Security Act
became a landmark of the New Deal and remains active today.
FRANCES PERKINS
Written by: Erin Coggins | Sparkman High School | Harvest, Alabama
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make one copy of the document for each student.
Before handing out the document, explain that
Frances Perkins was the “woman behind the New
Deal,” who was instrumental in the passage of the
1935 Social Security Act.
Distribute or project the excerpts from the radio
address Frances Perkins delivered to the American
public, introducing Social Security.
Ask students to read the radio address and answer
the questions following each excerpt.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Ask students to connect Perkins’ words describing
Social Security to the poster images by writing the
words of the speech in the space provided next to
the posters.
Direct student to imagine that they are listening
to Perkins’ radio address on Social Security in
1935. Compose a letter to Perkins, depicting their
feelings for new Social Security program.
Teacher Tip: Oer students varying roles to help
understand varying perspectives on this issue (i.e.,
young worker, factory owner, new immigrant, etc.)
Harris & Ewing, Frances Perkins, c. 1938-1939,
Library of Congress (LC-DIG-hec-27059),
https://www.loc.gov/item/2016876015/
50
FUN FACT
When Baron von Trapp, a heroic Austrian navy captain and
father to the von Trapp family singers, refused to join the
naval forces of the Third Reich, the family found themselves in
danger. While entering the United States at Ellis Island in 1939,
the immigration authorities detained the family. Gertrude Ely,
a von Trapp family friend, sent a letter to her friend Frances
Perkins on behalf of the family. In three short days, Perkins
signed the pertinent documents to release the family for safe
passage. The family’s story is depicted in the musical,
The Sound of Music. Learn more at: https://prologue.blogs.
archives.gov/2015/07/18/frances-perkins-aided-the-von-
trapp-family-singers/.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the Frances Perkins Center and the Frances
Perkins Homestead National Landmark in Damariscotta, Maine.
To learn more, go to http://francesperkinscenter.org/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
The New Deal Primary Source Set
Digital Public Library of America
https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sets/the-new-deal/
Resources
The Frances Perkins Center
http://francesperkinscenter.org/resources/
SECONDARY SOURCES
Bryce Covert, “Frances Perkins: The Force Behind Social
Security,” August 12, 2010
The Roosevelt Institute
http://rooseveltinstitute.org/frances-perkins-force-behind-
social-security/
Jessica Breitman, “Honoring the Achievements of FDR’s
Secretary of Labor”
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum
https://fdrlibrary.org/perkins
Harris & Ewing, Mme. Secretary, Washington, D.C., December 11, 1936, Library of Congress (LC-DIG-hec-21834),
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016870965/
51
FRANCES PERKINS, “SOCIAL INSURANCE FOR U.S.,” FEBRUARY 25, 1935
(EXCERPTS FROM RADIO ADDRESS)
...It has taken the rapid industrialization of the last few decades, with its mass-production methods,
to teach us that a man might become a victim of circumstances far beyond his control, and nally it
“took a depression to dramatize for us the appalling insecurity of the great mass of the population,
and to stimulate interest in social insurance in the United States.” We have come to learn that the
large majority of our citizens must have protection against the loss of income due to unemployment,
old age, death of the breadwinners and disabling accident and illness, not only on humanitarian
grounds, but in the interest of our National welfare. If we are to maintain a healthy economy and
thriving production, we need to maintain the standard of living of the lower income groups in our
population who constitute 90 per cent [sic] of our purchasing power...
1. What does Frances Perkins say stimulated interest in social insurance in the
United States?
2. Perkins states the “the large majority of our citizens must have protection
against the loss of income” due to what?
52
...No one who is now employed can feel secure while so many of his fellows anxiously seek
work. Unemployment compensation, while it has distinct limitations which are not always clearly
understood, is particularly valuable for the ordinarily regularly employed industrial worker who is laid
o for short periods because of seasonal demands or other minor industrial disturbances. He can,
during this period when he has a reasonable expectation of returning to work within a short time,
receive compensation for his loss of income for a limited period as a denite, contractual right. His
standard of living need not be undermined, he is not forced on relief nor must he accept other work
unsuited to his skill and training.
“Unemployment insurance, wherever it has been tried, has demonstrated its value in maintaining
purchasing power and stabilizing business conditions. It is very valuable at the onset of a depression,
and even in the later stages will serve to carry a part of the burden of providing for the unemployed.
For those who have exhausted their rights to unemployment benets and for those who, in any
case, must be excluded from its provisions, we suggest that they be given employment opportunities
on public work projects. In these two measures, employment assurance and unemployment
compensation, we have a rst and second line of defense which together should form a better
safeguard than either standing alone...
1. What group of workers would benet most from unemployment
compensation?
2. When unemployment insurance has been tried, what has it demonstrated?
3. What is the second line of defense in ghting unemployment?
53
...I come now to the other major phase of our program. The plan for providing against need
and dependency in old age is divided into three separate and distinct parts. We advocate, rst,
free Federally-aided pensions for those now old and in need; second, a system of compulsory
contributory old-age insurance for workers in the lower income brackets, and third, a voluntary
system of low-cost annuities purchasable by those who do not come under the compulsory system.
For those now young or even middle-aged, a system of compulsory old-age insurance will enable
them to build up, with matching contributions from their employers, an annuity from which they can
draw as a right upon reaching old age. These workers will be able to care for themselves in their old
age, not merely on a subsistence basis, which is all that gratuitous pensions have anywhere provided,
but with a modest comfort and security. Such a system will greatly lessen the hazards of old age
to the many workers who could not, unaided, provide for themselves and would greatly lessen the
enormous burden of caring for the aged of future generations from public funds. The voluntary
system of old-age annuities is designed to cover the same income groups as does the compulsory
system, but will aord those who for many reasons cannot be included in a compulsory system an
opportunity to provide for themselves...
Frances Perkins, “Social Insurance for U.S.,” February 25, 1935 (excerpts from radio address), Social Security Administration
1. What is the major phase of the social insurance program?
2. What are the three parts of the old age pension program?
3. What are social security pensions supposed to lessen?
54
POSTER SERIES, MORE SECURITY FOR THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE, 1939
Poster Series, More Security for the American People, 1939, Social Security Administration
Response One:
Response Two:
Response Three:
55
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Jeannette Rankin (1880–1973) was born and raised in Montana.
While studying social work at the University of Washington,
she joined the womens surage movement. Soon after, she
became a eld secretary for the National American Woman
Surage Association (NAWSA). She traveled across the United
States, advocating for surage. In 1916, she was elected as
the rst woman in the U.S. House of Representatives. Just
three days after being sworn in, she cast one of two votes that
would dene public memory of her service—a vote against
the American declaration of war on Germany in World War I.
Rankin introduced a voting rights amendment that passed the
House in 1918, and was the only woman in Congress to cast
a vote for woman surage. She unsuccessfully ran for U.S.
Senate in 1918, and spent the next two decades advocating for
peace and social welfare. In 1940, she was again elected to the
House, and in 1941, cast the only vote against the declaration of
war on Japan. She left Congress in 1942, and remained active
in anti-war movements and the philosophy of nonviolent protest
for the rest of her life. She died in California in 1973.
KEY EVENTS
Election of 1916, Nineteenth Amendment, Election of 1940,
Declaration of War on the Empire of Japan (December 8, 1941)
KEY PEOPLE
Woodrow Wilson, Fiorello LaGuardia,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Alice Paul
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
On the afternoon of January 10, 1918, Representative Jeannette
Rankin opened debate in the House of Representatives on
a Constitutional amendment granting women surage. The
historic weight of the moment was not lost; the rst woman
elected to a national legislature in any democracy, opening
the rst House oor debate on women’s surage. The House
greeted her with applause as Representative John Edward
Baker yielded his time to “permit the lady from Montana to
open the debate under the circumstances.” Her speech—given
as American participation in World War I dominated the political
landscape—tied together the war eort and the women’s
surage movement.
FUN FACT
Jeanette Rankin is the only person to have voted against
both world wars in Congress. At age 89, she led a Vietnam
War protest march in Washington, D.C. Learn more at:
https://blogs.weta.org/boundarystones/2016/08/24/
jeannette-rankin-brigade.
JEANETTE RANKIN
Written by: Joe Boyle | Morrison R. Waite High School | Toledo, Ohio
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make and distribute one copy of Rankins speech
and questions to each student.
Ask students to read Rankins speech and answer
the questions.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Direct students to pair up to discuss their answers,
with particular emphasis on the nal question
regarding the expansion of rights in the wake of
American wars.
Bring the class back together and ask each pair of
students what rights they think may be expanded
in the wake of the Global War on Terror. List these
on the board, and lead a discussion of which
options the class believes are most likely (or
unlikely) and why.
C.T. Chapman, Miss Jeannette Rankin, of Montana, speaking
from the balcony of the National American Woman Surage
Association, April 2, 1917, Library of Congress (mnwp.156007),
https://www.loc.gov/resource/mnwp.156007/
56
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the recently-renovated Rankin Park in Missoula,
Montana. The park features a memorial to the congresswoman
and a “peace path.” Learn more at: http://www.ci.missoula.
mt.us/2060/Rankin-Park.
Jeannette Rankin owned a property called Shady Grove near
Athens, Georgia, from which she helped found the Georgia
Peace Society. A Georgia State Historical Marker is placed at
the property, two miles northwest of Watkinsville. Learn more
here: http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/historical_
markers/county/oconee/jeannette-rankins-georgia-home.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Congressional Record, U.S. House of Representatives,
January 10, 1918
U.S. Government Printing Oce
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-CRECB-1918-pt1-v56/
pdf/GPO-CRECB-1918-pt1-v56.pdf
Jeanette Rankin Papers
Montana Historical Society
Jeanette Rankin Papers
Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of
Women in America, Radclie Institute for Advanced Study,
Harvard University
SECONDARY SOURCES
The 19th Amendment
Social Welfare History Project,
Virginia Commonwealth University
https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/
woman-surage/the-19th-amendment/
Jeanette Rankin
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.
pl?index=r000055
Jeannette Rankin
National Association of Social Workers Foundation
http://www.naswfoundation.org/pioneers/r/rankin.html
Jeannette Rankin: The Woman who Voted to Give
Women the Right to Vote,” January 26, 2017
Pieces of History Blog, National Archives and Records
Administration
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2017/01/26/
jeannette-rankin-the-woman-who-voted-to-give-
women-the-right-to-vote/
Jeanette Rankin, c. 1917, Library of Congress
(LC-USZ62-66385), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
item/2003688488/
57
REMARKS BY REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE RANKIN,
JANUARY 10, 1918 (EXCERPT)
...To-day there are men and women in every eld of endeavor who are bending all their energies
toward a realization of this dream of universal justice. They believe that we are waging a war for
democracy. The farmer who knows the elements of a democracy becomes something of an idealist
when he contemplates the possibility of feeding the world during this crisis. The woman who knits
all day to keep from thinking of the sacrice she is making wonders what this democracy is which
denied and for which she is asked to give. The miner is dreaming his dreams of industrial democracy
as he goes 2,000 feet underground, bringing forth the rock precious metals to help in the prosecution
of this war.
“The girl who works in the Treasury no longer works until she is married. She knows now that she
will work on and on and on. The war has taken from her opportunities for the joys that young girls
look forward to. Cheerfully and willingly she makes her sacrice. And she will pay to the very end in
order that the future need not nd women paying again for the same cause.
“The boys at the front know something of the democracy for which they are ghting. These
courageous lads who are paying with their lives testied to the sincerity of their ght when they sent
home their ballots in the New York elections and voted two to one in favor of woman surage and
democracy at home. [Applause.]
“These are the people of the Nation. These are the ber and sinew of war—the mother, the farmer,
the miner, the industrial worker, the soldier. These are the people who are resting their faith in the
Congress of the United States because they believe that Congress knows what democracy means.
These people will not ght in vain.
Can we aord to allow these men and women to doubt for a single instant the sincerity of our
protestations of democracy? How shall we answer their challenge, gentlemen; how shall we explain
to them the meaning of democracy if the same Congress that voted for war to make the world safe
for democracy refuses to give this small measure of democracy to the women of our country?
[Prolonged applause.]”
Remarks by Representative Jeannette Rankin, January 10, 1918 (excerpt), Congressional Record, U.S. House of Representatives, pp. 771–772 ,
U.S. Government Printing Oce
58
How does Rankin tie the war eort together with the push for
women’s surage?
Rankin uses the images of a farmer, a woman knitting, a miner, a Treasury
worker, and a soldier to represent her views of the “average American” of
1918. Why do you think she chose these occupations?
In the wake of World War Iand by Rankins argument, because of World
War I—the right to vote was extended to women. Similarly, the right to vote
was extended to African American men after the Civil War, and to 18–20
year olds after the Vietnam War. Since 2001, the United States has been
engaged in the Global War on Terrorism. How do you think certain rights
might be expanded after this period of conict in American history?
59
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Alice Paul (1885–1977) was raised by Quaker parents in New
Jersey. Following her 1905 graduation from Swarthmore College,
she traveled to England and engaged with a group of military
suragists led by Emmeline Pankhurst. Paul joined their group,
was arrested several times and participated in hunger strikes in
prison. She returned to study at the University of Pennsylvania
(where she eventually earned a Ph.D.) and joined the National
American Woman Surage Association (NAWSA). Along with
Lucy Burns, she organized the 1913 Women’s Surage March
that preceded President Woodrow Wilsons inauguration. Later
she broke ties with NAWSA and formed the National Womans
Party (NWP) in 1916. She and other suragettes continued to be
arrested and engage in hunger strikes. In 1919, the Nineteenth
Amendment was passed by the U.S. Congress with the support
of President Wilson. It became law on August 18, 1920, when
ratied by the state of Tennessee. She spent the remainder of
her life working for the Equal Rights Amendment, often called the
Alice Paul Amendment.
KEY EVENTS
Election of 1912, Womens Surage March (March 3, 1913),
Equal Rights Amendment
KEY PEOPLE
Alice Paul, Lucy Stone, Lucy Burns, Woodrow Wilson,
Emmeline Pankhurst, Carrie Chapman Catt
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
American women began actively campaigning for surage in
the 1840s. The 1848 Seneca Falls Declaration made the bold
proclamation that “all men and women were created equal.
In the early twentieth century, the National American Woman
Surage Organization (NAWSA), led by Carrie Chapman Catt,
advocated a state-by-state approach to womens surage. After
initially worked in NAWSA, Paul split from the organization,
organizing the National Woman’s Party (NWP) in 1916. The day
before Democrat Woodrow Wilson was to be inaugurated, Paul
and Lucy Burns led a massive surage parade in Washington,
D.C. featuring more than 7,000 marchers.
FUN FACT
In celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of womens
surage, Alice Paul and other suragist leaders will be featured
on the new $10 bills that will be issued by the U.S. Treasury
Department in 2020. Learn more about this and other women
featured on currency here: http://americanhistory.si.edu/
blog/suragists-campaigns-currency.
ALICE PAUL
Written by: Lynne O’Hara | National History Day | College Park, Maryland
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make one copy of the Document for each
pair of students.
Divide students into pairs.
Distribute one copy of the newspaper cover
of Woman’s Journal and Surage News from
March 8, 1913, to each pair of students.
Ask students to read the articles and answer
the prompt questions together.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Ask each student to assume the role either of
Woodrow Wilson or Alice Paul.
Engage in a Twitter-style discussion of Pauls
reactions to the march and Wilson’s response to
the march.
Teacher Tip: If students need to be in groups of three,
consider adding a third person to the mix. This could be
Lucy Stone, Carrie Chapman Catt, Theodore Roosevelt,
or another contemporary gure.
Alice Paul, full-length portrait, standing, facing left, raising
glass with right hand, September 3, 1920, Library of Congress
(97500088), https://www.loc.gov/item/97500088/
60
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit Alice Paul’s house, Paulsdale, along with
the Barbara Haney Irvine Library and Alice Paul Archives
in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. To learn more, go to
http://www.alicepaul.org.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
The National American Woman Surage Association
Special Collections, Bryn Mawr College Library
http://www.brynmawr.edu/library/exhibits/
surage/nawsa.html
Topics in Chronicling America – Alice Paul
Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/rr/news/topics/alicePaul.html
SECONDARY SOURCES
Alice Paul
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/
biographies/alice-paul
Suragists Organize: National Woman Surage Association
National Women’s History Museum
http://www.crusadeforthevote.org/nwsa-organize/
Bain News Service, Mrs. W.L. Prendergast, Mrs. W.L. Colt, Doris Stevens, Alice Paul, c. 19101915, Library of Congress (LC-DIG-
ggbain-19032), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014698963/
61
Parade Struggles to Victory Despite Disgraceful Scenes, Womans Journal and Surage News, March 8, 1913
Library of Congress (LC-DIG-ppmsca-02970)
62
1. Based on the title of the newspaper, what do you think was the point of
view of the author?
2. How does the article on the left demonstrate a new approach than the
articles on the right?
3. Why do you think that these pictures were selected? What messages do
they convey?
4. What role did the police play in this march?
5. Make a comparison between this event and another related event in
American history. Explain the similarities and dierences.
63
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Marian Anderson (1897–1993) discovered the power of her
voice at a young age. The Philadelphia native possessed
a unique contralto range that helped her become an
internationally acclaimed talent. Despite being denied entry into
several conservatories because of her race, Anderson’s private
training with top vocal instructors led her to performances
from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Paris. She entertained
several European monarchs and was the rst African
American to sing at the White House when she accepted
an invitation from Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt in 1936.
Throughout her career she dealt with segregation in America,
and in 1939 the Daughters of the American Revolution refused
to allow her to perform at Constitution Hall in Washington,
D.C. A national backlash to this decision, spearheaded by
Eleanor Roosevelt’s resignation from the DAR in protest, led to
Anderson singing for 75,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial on Easter Sunday 1939. After this key moment for
civil rights, she continued her groundbreaking career, along
the way becoming the rst African American to perform at the
New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955. In 1963, she sang at the
March on Washington and received the Presidential Medal of
Freedom.
KEY EVENTS
Easter Sunday Concert (April 9, 1939), First Performance
at New York Metropolitan Opera (January 7, 1955), John
F. Kennedy’s Inauguration (January 20, 1961), Lyndon B.
Johnson’s Inauguration (March 20, 1965)
KEY PEOPLE
Eleanor Roosevelt, Harold Ickes, John F. Kennedy,
Lyndon B. Johnson
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
After the era of Reconstruction (1865–1877) African Americans
faced the rise of “Jim Crow” laws, which maintained
segregation while simultaneously disenfranchising African
Americans. By the early twentieth century, these ideas were
rmly entrenched. The Supreme Court conrmed the legality
of segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) so long as facilities
were equal for races. African Americans faced challenges
in both the North and the South. Organizations such as the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) with leaders such as W.E.B. Du Bois, formed to ght
for racial equality, but at the time of Marian Anderson’s concert
in 1939, the civil rights actions of Martin Luther King, Jr., and his
contemporaries were still over a decade away.
MARIAN ANDERSON
Written by: Brian Weaver | Central Bucks High School West | Doylestown, Pennsylvania
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Divide students into pairs and distribute one copy
of the handout for each student.
Cue audio recording or download the audio from
the National Archives.
» The Harold Ickes speech runs from 1:18–5:00.
» The rst Marian Anderson song, “America”,
runs from 5:257:20.
Direct students read the background paragraph at
the top of the handout and answer the “Establish
Context” question with their partner.
Project the image of the concert from the handout
onto the board.
Students should answer the “Take a Look
questions and share answers.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Play the clip of Harold Ickes (1:15–5:00). Students
should answer the rst “Have a Listen” question.
Share responses.
Play Marian Andersons song, “America” (5:25–
7:00). Students should answer the second “Have a
Listen” question. Share responses.
Direct students to individually answer the “Wrap It
Up” question and share responses.
Roger Smith, Marian Anderson mural dedicated..., January
1943, Library of Congress (LC-USE6- D-007911), http://www.loc.
gov/pictures/item/2017695476/
64
FUN FACT
No color photographs exist from the Easter Sunday concert.
However, Marian Anderson wore a stunning orange jacket. That
jacket is now in the Smithsonian Institution’s collection. You can
read more about it here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/
smithsonian-institution/when-marian-anderson-sang-lincoln-
memorial-her-voice-stunned-the-crowds-her-gold-trimmed-
jacket-dazzled-180950454/.
LOCAL CONNECTION
Marian Anderson’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, residence is now
a museum, operated by the Marian Anderson Historical Society.
Visit http://marianandersonhistoricalsociety.weebly.com/ to
learn more or schedule a tour.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Letter from Eleanor Roosevelt to Mrs. Henry Roberts,
February 26, 1939
Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum
https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/
todays-doc/?dod-date=226
Marian Anderson Audio Recordings
Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/search/?fa=online-
format:audio&q=marian+anderson
Marian Anderson Papers
Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and
Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Library
http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/ead/detail.html?id=EAD_
upenn_rbml_MsColl200
SECONDARY SOURCES
American Originals: Eleanor Roosevelt
National Archives and Records Administration
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/
american_originals/eleanor.html
“Marian Anderson: Musical Icon”
PBS American Experience
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/
features/eleanor-anderson/
“This Day In History: Marian Anderson
Sings at Lincoln Memorial”
HISTORY
®
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/
marian-anderson-sings-at-lincoln-memorial
Harris & Ewing, Washington’s prominent gures listen to Marian Anderson’s singing..., April 9, 1939, Library of Congress (LC-DIG-hec-2645),
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2016875409/
65
MARIAN ANDERSON: MORE THAN JUST MUSIC?
“In a dramatic and celebrated act of conscience, Eleanor Roosevelt resigned from the Daughters of the
American Revolution (DAR) when it barred the world-renowned singer Marian Anderson, an African
American, from performing at its Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. Following this well-publicized
controversy, the federal government invited Anderson to sing at a public recital on the steps of the
Lincoln Memorial. On Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, some 75,000 people came to hear the free recital.
The incident put both the artist and the issue of racial discrimination in the national spotlight.
American Originals” Exhibit, National Archives and Records Administration
ESTABLISH CONTEXT
Why would some Americans view the actions of the DAR as normal during the
1930s? Can you name any other situations like the one outlined above?
66
First Impression: What is the rst thing you notice about this picture?
A Closer Look: What are two other things that stand out?
Think Like a Photographer: Why might the photographer have taken the
picture from this vantage point instead of a picture of Marian Anderson at the
microphone?
TAKE A LOOK
View of 75,000 people gathered to hear recital by Marian Anderson at the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial, Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939, National Archives, Still Picture Branch, 306-NT-965B-4
https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/eleanor.html
67
HAVE A LISTEN
Listen to Harold Ickes’ introduction for Ms. Anderson, and then listen to the rst song
on Ms. Andersons program.
Audio, Marian Anderson Performs on the Steps of the Lincoln Memorial: With an Introduction by Harold Ickes, April 9, 1939
National Archives and Records Administration (1729137), https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1729137
WRAP IT UP
What are three phrases that Ickes used to demonstrate the concerts
resistance to the prejudice of the times?
Marian Anderson was one of the world’s premiere opera singers. The program
contained many pieces in many languages. Why might she have chosen to
open with this simple, familiar song for this particular concert?
Some historians argue that the concert was a turning point in the Civil Rights
Movement. Based on what you just read, heard, and analyzed, why might they
make that argument?
68
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Fannie Lou Hamer (19171977) was born Fannie Lou Townsend
on October 6, 1917, in Montgomery County, Mississippi.
She later moved to Sunower County where she began
sharecropping at the age of six. She married Perry Hamer in
1944 and moved to a plantation in Ruleville, Mississippi. Due to
her eighth grade education, she was asked by the plantation
owner to serve as the timekeeper, which she did for 18 years.
Hamer traveled, unsuccessfully, to Indianola to attempt to vote
in 1962. Upon returning to the plantation, she lost her job,
forcing her family to nd somewhere else to live and work.
In 1963, Hamer was named eld secretary of the Student
Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). That fall, while
traveling back from a training session, she was arrested and
brutally beaten in jail. Through her tireless eorts, Hamer was
appointed vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party (MFDP). The following year, the 1965 Voting Rights
Act was passed. This pivotal legislation would not have been
possible were it not for the eorts of the Mississippi Freedom
Democratic Party.
KEY EVENTS
1964 Democratic National Convention, Voting Rights Act (1965)
KEY PEOPLE
Ella Baker, Bob Moses, Lyndon B. Johnson
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
African Americans, despite Constitutional amendments were
often barred from voting by literacy tests and violence.
African Americans needed the vote because they were
denied basic rights in the courts, employment, and schools.
Since they were not allowed to vote, elected politicians did
not cater to the needs of African Americans or poor whites.
This lack of political representation and voter intimidation led
to the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
(MFDP). The mission of the MFDP was to gain political power
and have a voice in local and national decisions that aected
the daily lives of black people. Fannie Lou Hamer was elected
its chairperson in 1964. The group traveled to the 1964
Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City in August.
During the Credentials Committee hearing, Hamer stated “If
the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now I question
America…Is this America, the land of the free and the home of
the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones o the
hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want
to live as decent human beings, in America?”
FANNIE LOU HAMER
Written by: Julian Hipkins, III | Theodore Roosevelt High School | Washington, D.C.
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make and distribute one copy of the article, “ ‘Tired
of Being Sick and Tired,’ ” for each student.
Ask students to read the article and engage in the
“Sentence, Phrase, Word” thinking routine:
» Record a sentence that was meaningful to you
and helped you gain a deeper understanding of
the text.
» Record a phrase that moved, engaged, or
provoked you.
» Record a word that captured your attention or
struck you as powerful.
Teacher Tip: Learn more about this reading strategy
here: http://www.rcsthinkfromthemiddle.com/
sentence-phrase-word.html.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Divide students into groups of three or four
students each.
Ask students to create an artistic representation
that simulates the reading. Students may choose
to create a piece of art (drawing, cut outs, collage),
write a song, or perform a dramatic piece.
Warren K. Leer, Fannie Lou Hamer, Mississippi Freedom
Democratic Party delegate, at the Democratic National
Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 22, 1964, Library
of Congress (LC-U9- 12470B-17), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
item/2003688126/
69
FUN FACT
El-Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X) introduced Fannie Lou
Hamer at the Williams Institutional CME Church in Harlem,
New York on December 20, 1964. Even though Fannie Lou
Hamer was part of SNCC, which is often associated with Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., she was motivated to hear multiple
perspectives to solving the problem of racial injustice in the
United States. You can nd audio of Malcolm X’s speech in the
audio book Malcolm X Speaks, edited by George Breiman. Read
Fannie Lou Hamer’s speech here: http://www.crmvet.org/
docs/h64.htm.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the Fannie Lou Hamer Civil Rights
Museum in Belzoni, Mississippi. To learn more, go to:
https://www.thefannielouhamercivilrightsmuseum.com/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Civil Rights Movement Veterans (CRMVet)
Tougaloo College
http://www.crmvet.org/
Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive
Historical Manuscripts and Photographs Digital Collection,
University of Southern Mississippi
http://digilib.usm.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/manu
Freedom Summer Digital Collection
Wisconsin Historical Society
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/
landingpage/collection/p15932coll2
SECONDARY SOURCES
Fannie Lou Hamer
SNCC Digital Gateway
https://snccdigital.org/people/fannie-lou-hamer/
Julian Hipkins III and Deborah Menkart, “‘Is This America?’:
50 Years Ago Sharecroppers Challenged Mississippi Apartheid,
LBJ, and the Nation,” August 17, 2014
Zinn Education Project
https://zinnedproject.org/2014/08/sharecroppers-
challenged-mississippi-apartheid-lbj-and-the-nation/
Kay Mills, “Fannie Lou Hamer: Civil Rights Activist,” April 2007
Mississippi HistoryNow
http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/
articles/51/fannie-lou-hamer-civil-rights-activist
70
Jerry DeMuth, “ ‘Tired of Being Sick and Tired,’ ” The Nation, June 1, 1964 (excerpt), Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Papers,
Wisconsin Historical Society, http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15932coll2/id/37821
71
Record a sentence that was meaningful to you and helped you gain a deeper
understanding of the text.
Record a phrase that moved, engaged, or provoked you.
Record a word that captured your attention or struck you as powerful.
72
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005) was born in New York City
to immigrant parents. After high school, Chisholm attended
Brooklyn College and began a career in education after
graduation. After nishing her masters in early childhood
education in 1952, she worked for the New York City Division
of Day Care before being elected to the New York State
Legislature in 1964. After a court-ordered redistricting changed
the congressional boundaries in Brooklyn, Chisholm ran for the
new seat and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
in 1968. She was the rst African American Congresswoman.
While in Congress Chisholm protested against the Vietnam War
and advocated for programs to help the poor, women, children
and minorities, causes that she would ght for throughout
her seven terms in the House. In 1971 Chisholm became a
founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus. In 1972,
she declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for
presidency. Although she received assassination threats and
ran a small campaign, Chisholm received 152 delegate votes
(10% of the total) but ultimately lost to George McGovern. In
1977 Chisholm helped establish the Congressional Womens
Caucus. After leaving Congress in 1983, Chisholm taught at
Mount Holyoke and was nominated to serve as the ambassador
to Jamaica by President William J. Clinton, although she
declined due to poor health. Chisholm died in 2005 in Florida
and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2015.
KEY EVENTS
Election of 1968, Congressional Black Caucus (1971),
Election of 1972, Congressional Women’s Caucus (1977)
KEY PEOPLE
Stanley Steingut, Barbara Lee, Jesse Jackson, William J. Clinton
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
In this document, Representative Chisholm delivered remarks
on the oor of the House of Representatives regarding the
status of women in America in 1969. As one of the few women
in the House, Chisholm argued that women had not been
aggressive about demanding their rights, although this was
changing. Chisholm supported an Equal Rights Amendment
and argued that laws that existed could not protect the rights
of women. Chisholm also argued that the adoption of an equal
rights amendment would be an asset to both women and men
by guaranteeing them the same rights. As Chisholm concluded,
“Women need no protection that men do not need. What we
SHIRLEY CHISHOLM
Written by: Bradley Liebrecht | West Valley Junior High School | Yakima, Washington
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make and distribute one copy of the document and
the reection questions for each student.
Direct students to read the document individually
Ask students to reect on the document and
answer the prompt questions.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Group students into groups of two or three
students each for reection and discussion.
Engage all students in a whole-class discussion and
ask them how this document is still relevant today.
Teacher Tip: Complete this activity yourself beforehand
to prepare for possible discussion items and to create
your own interpretation of the document.
Thomas J. O’Halloran, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm
announcing her candidacy for presidential nomination, January
25, 1972, Library of Congress (LC-U9- 25383-33), www.loc.gov/
pictures/resource/ds.07135/
73
need are laws to protect working people, to guarantee them fair
pay, safe working conditions, protection against sickness and
layos, and provision for dignied, comfortable retirement. Men
and women need these things equally.
FUN FACT
After her election to Congress in 1968, Representative Chisholm
worked as a census worker in her Brooklyn neighborhood
in 1970. Learn more about Representative Chisholm during
the 1970s census at https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/
projects/cp/national/unpublished-black-history/shirley-
chisholm-becomesa-census-taker-1970.
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the New York State Museum and see artifacts
belonging to Shirley Chisholm and other New York Women’s
Surage leaders in their Votes for Women: Celebrating New York’s
Surage Centennial at: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/votes-for-
women/artifacts.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Shirley Chisholm Papers
Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University
https://catalog-libraries-rutgers-edu.proxy.libraries.rutgers.
edu/vund/Record/2275595?redirect
Video, Rep. Shirley Chisholm Presidential Campaign
Announcement, January 25, 1972
C-SPAN
https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4546804/1972-rep-shirley-
chisholm-presidential-campaign-announcement
SECONDARY SOURCES
Shirley Anita Chisholm
U.S. House of Representatives
http://history.house.gov/People/Listing/
C/CHISHOLM,-Shirley-Anita-(C000371)/
Shirley Chisholm
National Women’s History Museum
http://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/
biographies/shirley-chisholm
Roger Higgins, Shirley Chisholm, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left, standing with right arm raised, looking at list of numbers
posted on a wall, November 2, 1965, Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-135429), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2005676944/
74
REMARKS BY REPRESENTATIVE SHIRLEY CHISHOLM,
MAY 21, 1969
“Mrs. CHISHOLM. Mr. Speaker, when a young woman graduates from college and starts looking for a
job, she is likely to have a frustrating and even demeaning experience ahead of her. If she walks into
an oce for an interview, the rst question she will be asked is, ‘Do you type?’
“There is a calculated system of prejudice that lies unspoken behind that question. Why is it
acceptable for women to be secretaries, librarians, and teachers, but totally unacceptable for them to
be managers, administrators, doctors, lawyers, and Members of Congress.
“The unspoken assumption is that women are dierent. They do not have executive ability, orderly
minds, stability, leadership skills, and they are too emotional. It has been observed before, that society
for a long time, discriminated against another minority, the blacks, on the same basisthat they were
dierent and inferior. The happy little homemaker and the contented "old darky" on the plantation
were both stereotypes produced by prejudice.
As a black person, I am no stranger to race prejudice. But the truth is that in the political world I
have been far oftener discriminated against because I am a woman than because I am black.
“Prejudice against blacks is becoming unacceptable although it will take years to eliminate it. But it is
doomed because, slowly, white America is beginning to admit that it exists. Prejudice against women
is still acceptable. There is very little understanding yet of the immorality involved in double pay
scales and the classication of most of the better jobs as ‘for men only.
“More than half of the population of the United States is female. But women occupy only 2 percent
of the managerial positions. They have not even reached the level of tokenism yet. No women sit on
the AFL-CIO council or Supreme Court. There have been only two women who have held Cabinet
rank, and at present there are none. Only two women now hold ambassadorial rank in the diplomatic
corps. In Congress, we are down to one Senator and 10 Representatives.
Considering that there are about 3 ~ million more women in the United States than men, this
situation is outrageous.
“It is true that part of the problem has been that women have not been aggressive in demanding their
rights. This was also true of the black population for many years. They submitted to oppression and
even cooperated with it. Women have done the same thing. But now there is an awareness of this
situation particularly among the younger segment of the population.
As in the eld of equal rights for blacks, Spanish-Americans, the Indians, and other groups, laws
will not change such deep-seated problems overnight. But they can be used to provide protection
for those who are most abused, and to begin the process of evolutionary change by compelling the
insensitive majority to reexamine its unconscious attitudes.
“It is for this reason that I wish to introduce today a proposal that has been before every Congress
for the last 40 years and that sooner or later must become part of the basic law of the land the equal
rights amendment.
75
“Let me note and try to refute two of the commonest arguments that are oered against this
amendment. One is that women are already protected under the law and do not need legislation.
Existing laws are not adequate to secure equal rights for women. Sucient proof of this is the
concentration of women in lower paying, menial, unrewarding jobs and their incredible scarcity in the
upper level jobs. If women are already equal, why is it such an event whenever one happens to be
elected to Congress?
“It is obvious that discrimination exists. Women do not have the opportunities that men do. And
women that do not conform to the system, who try to break with the accepted patterns, are
stigmatized as "odd" and "unfeminine." The fact is that a woman who aspires to be chairman of the
board, or a Member of the House, does so for exactly the same reasons as any man. Basically, these
are that she thinks she can do the job and she wants to try.
A second argument often heard against the equal rights amendment is that it would eliminate
legislation that many States and the Federal Government have enacted giving special protection to
women and that it would throw the marriage and divorce laws into chaos.
As for the marriage laws, they are due for a sweeping reform, and an excellent beginning would be
to wipe the existing ones o the books. Regarding special protection for working women, I cannot
understand why it should be needed. Women need no protection that men do not need. What
we need are laws to protect working people, to guarantee them fair pay, safe working conditions,
protection against sickness and layos, and provision for dignied, comfortable retirement. Men and
women need these things equally. That one sex needs protection more than the other is a male
supremacist myth as ridiculous and unworthy of respect as the white supremacist myths that society
is trying to cure itself of at this time.
Remarks by Representative Shirley Chisholm, May 21, 1969, Congressional Record, U.S. House of Representatives, pp. 1338013381, U.S. Government Printing Oce
76
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
How has the status of women changed between 1969 and today?
Are the issues that Representative Chisholm wrote about still relevant today?
Please explain your answer using examples.
Do you believe that an equal rights amendment is needed today to protect the
rights of women? Why or why not?
77
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Maria Tallchief (1925–2013) was born Elizabeth Marie Tall
Chief in Fairfax, Oklahoma. Tallchief’s dance career began
at age three in Oklahoma and continued when her mother
decided to move the family to Los Angeles to pursue careers in
Hollywood. Studying under Ernest Belcher and then Madame
Bronislava Nijinska, Tallchief performed her rst solo at the
Hollywood Bowl when she was 15 years old. After graduating
from Beverly Hills High School, Tallchief moved to New York
City and joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Despite her
obvious talent Tallchief was initially treated poorly by Russian
members of the company, and it was suggested that she
change her name to Tallchieva to sound more European. Proud
of her heritage, Tallchief refused, though she did ocially
shorten it to one word. In 1948 Tallchief became the rst major
American prima ballerina, dancing for New York City Ballet
under the direction of George Balanchine. Keeping her title for
13 years, Tallchief danced lead roles in Firebird, Orpheus, The
Nutcracker, and Swan Lake, among others. After retiring from
dance in 1965, Tallchief became an instructor, and founded the
Chicago City Ballet in 1981.
KEY EVENTS
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (1942), Civil Rights Movement,
American Indian Movement
KEY PEOPLE
Maria Tallchief, New York City Ballet, Osage Nation,
George Balanchine
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
In 1953, Maria Tallchief was honored in her hometown and
inducted into the Osage Tribe with the title Princess Wa-Xthe-
Thonba, Princess Two Standards, representing both her role
as a ballerina and as a daughter of the tribe. She danced
professionally with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo since 1942,
and served as the prima (lead) ballerina at the New York City
Ballet since 1948. Throughout the 1960s and 70s Tallchief
became involved in various Native American organizations like
Americans for Indian Opportunity, and was invited to dance
for the television program One World. Fighting against Indian
stereotypes, she remained steadfast in her pride in her heritage
and the belief that it should be honored and preserved.
FUN FACT
Tallchief was a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1996
for her contributions to the arts. Watch a sample of her dancing
the lead in Firebird here: https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.
org/maria-tallchief/rebird/.
MARIA TALLCHIEF
Written by: Katie Craven | Open World Learning Community | Saint Paul, Minnesota
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Make one copy of the document for each student
(students will work individually.)
Do not give any background or context for the
image or excerpt to the students.
Distribute one copy of the image and excerpt to
each student.
Allow students ve minutes to read the text and
look at the picture and note down their “notices
and wonders.” Sample responses could include:
» Notices: “I notice the picture is in black and
white, maybe it is really old, I notice she talks
about Oklahoma, so she’s American.
» Wonders: “I wonder when this was?, I wonder
what a prima ballerina is?”
Generate a class list of notices and wonders
and allow students to propose answers to
others’ questions.
Use the biography and historical context about
Maria Tallchief to ll in the holes: who was she,
what did she do, when was this, where was this,
why is it signicant?
January 16, 1956, Oklahoma Historical Society (2012.201.
B1289.0033) https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/
metadc582509/
78
LOCAL CONNECTION
You can visit the Five Moons statue, depicting Tallchief and four
other Native American ballerinas who rose to prominence in
the twentieth century, at the Tulsa Historical Society & Museum
in Oklahoma. Learn more: https://tulsahistory.org/visit/
vintage-garden-and-ve-moons-2/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Maria Tallchief
The Digital Public Library of America
https://dp.la/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=maria+tallchief
Maria Tallchief
The New York Public Library Digital Collections
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/
index?&keywords=maria+tallchief#
SECONDARY SOURCES
Elizabeth Maria Tallchief
Oklahoma Historical Society
http://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.
php?entry=TA006
Maria Tallchief
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/
biographies/maria-tallchief
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Direct students to this section: “Above all, I
wanted to be appreciated as a prima ballerina
who happened to be a Native American, never as
someone who was an American Indian ballerina.
Engage students in discussion about the
statement above.
» Why would Tallchief want to be seen as a
dancer rst, and then a Native American?
Ask students to turn and talk with their partner and
discuss other gures from history who might have
felt the same as Maria Tallchief (because of their
race, gender, sexuality, etc).
» Examples: Jackie Robinson, Elizabeth
Blackwell, Harvey Milk, Lena Horne
Write down answers under “Part Two” on
the worksheet.
Call on students to generate a list of historical
gures they discussed.
Maria Tallchief in an advertisement for the Ballet Russe de
Monte Carlo, 1955, Wikimedia Commons
Maria Tallchief and Erik Bruhn from the front cover of Dance
Magazine, July 1961, Wikimedia Commons
79
Maria Tallchief, January 16, 1956, Oklahoma Historical Society
(2012.201.B1289.0033)
Maria Tallchief and Larry Kaplan, Maria Tallchief: America’s Prima
Ballerina, 1997 (excerpt)
“The Osage tribe and the state of Oklahoma,
in recognition of the distinction I’d achieved,
decided to honor me in a homecoming
ceremonyThe day lled me with pride. I
had always acknowledged my heritage. But
I was living in a dierent world now, and it
was inspiring to be reminded of my Indian
roots. At the same time, proud as I was, it had
always been important for me to have people
understand that no concessions were ever
made for me as a ballerina because of my ethnic
background; the same rigorous standards that
were applied to every Russian, French, English,
or American dancer were equally applied to me.
Above all, I wanted to be appreciated as a
prima ballerina who happened to be a Native
American, never as someone who was an
American Indian ballerina.
Look at the picture and read the text. Write down what you notice and what
you wonder. Keep in mind the 5 Ws as you are working (Who? What? Where?
When? Why?)
PART 1
NOTICES WONDERS
PART 2
80
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927–2002) was born in Hawaii. She
studied in Pennsylvania and Nebraska before moving back
to Hawaii to earn her undergraduate degree and eventually
received her J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1951.
She moved back to Hawaii with her husband, John Francis
Mink, and founded the Oahu Young Democrats in 1954. In the
1950s, Mink served as both a member of the territorial house
of representatives and Hawaii Senate. After Hawaii achieved
statehood in 1959, Mink unsuccessfully ran for the U.S.
House of Representatives. Mink campaigned for the second
representative seat in 1964 and won, making her the rst
woman of color and rst Asian American woman to be elected
to Congress. Mink is best known for her support of President
Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society legislation, as well as her
advocacy for womens issues and equal rights. Mink worked
tirelessly to earn support for the critical Title IX Amendment
from her comprehensive education bill called Women’s
Education Equity Act. Mink took a break from Congress after
an unsuccessful bid for the Senate, but returned to Congress in
1990 and served until her death in September 2002.
KEY EVENTS
Women’s Education Equity Act (1974),
Surface Mining Control and Reclamation (Strip Mining)
Act of 1975, Mineral Leasing Act of 1976
KEY PEOPLE
Daniel Inouye, Lyndon B. Johnson, John Francis Mink
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Patsy Mink became the rst woman of color elected to
Congress in 1964 and was concerned with discrimination
against African Americans and women. In the same year,
there were concerns that the elections in the deep South
should be contested because of reports of widespread voter
discrimination and intimidation. Mink and other members of
Congress asked for the House Administration Committee to
launch an investigation into the elections and postpone the
swearing in of the all-white Congressional delegation from
Mississippi until the investigation was completed. Minks eorts
were unsuccessful and she wrote to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
to inform him of what happened on the House oor. In 1965, the
Voting Rights Act to aid fair elections became law.
PATSY TAKEMOTO MINK
Written by: Eden McCauslin | Woodrow Wilson Senior High School | Washington, D.C.
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Divide students into pairs.
Make and distribute one copy of the letter for each
pair of students.
Ask students to read the letter and answer the
prompt questions together.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Conduct a small lesson about the 1964 election.
Highlight the following:
» Lyndon B. Johnson was elected to the
presidency and Democrats did well overall;
» The Republican party saw a boost in the
South, even though the GOP did poorly
throughout the country.
Ask students to assume the role of Dr. King and
respond back to Congresswoman Mink’s letter.
Patsy Mink, c. 1965, Library of Congress (LC-USZ62-122137),
http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/images/mink_ppoc.jpg
81
FUN FACT
Patsy Mink received the highest civilian honor in 2014, the
Medal of Freedom, 12 years after her death: https://www.
nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/hawaiis-patsy-mink-
honored-presidential-medal-freedom-n248951.
LOCAL CONNECTION
The Patsy T. Mink Center for Business and Leadership
at the YWCA of Oahu oers courses to girls and women in
order to promote training, coaching, and leadership in the
areas of business and entrepreneurship. Learn more here:
https://www.ywcaoahu.org/patsy-t-mink-center-for-
business-leadership/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Patsy T. Mink Papers
Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/mink/mink-about.html
SECONDARY SOURCES
Kristina Chan, “The Mother of Title IX: Patsy Mink,” April 24, 2012
Womens Sports Foundation
https://www.womenssportsfoundation.org/education/
mother-title-ix-patsy-mink/
Patsy Takemoto Mink
National Women’s Hall of Fame
https://www.womenofthehall.org/
inductee/patsy-takemoto-mink/
Patsy Takemoto Mink
United States House of Representatives
http://history.house.gov/People/detail/18329
Laura Patterson, Representative Patsy Mink announces the formation of the Congressional Asian Pacic American Caucus at a
press conference with (left to right) Representatives Don Edwards and Norman Mineta, Guam Delegate Robert Underwood, and
Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Neil Abercrombie, May 20, 1994, Library of Congress (LC-RC15-1994-306), http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
item/2015645165/
82
Letter, Patsy T. Mink to Martin Luther King, Jr., January 7, 1965, Patsy T. Mink Papers, Library of Congress
January 7, 1965
Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr., President
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
334 Auburn Ave., N.E.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Dear Mr. King:
Thank you very much for your communication urging my support of the
eort to withhold recognition from the Mississippi congressmen who were
elected under the state’s unconstitutional election laws.
I was vastly encouraged, however, and I am sure that you are too, at the
support we received on the House oor. The original drive to withhold recog-
nition from the Mississippi congressmen was started by a mere 16 members
of the House, of which I was one. At caucuses before the opening day session,
only about 30 Representatives indicated a willingness to support the drive.
The fact that we were able to muster 149 votes on the oor, in the face
of a lack of support from the House leadership, is a sure indication that the
justice and the simple equity of the attempt is becoming widely known and ac-
cepted. Expectations were that we would have far fewer votes when we tried to
prevent the seating of the Mississippi delegation.
What happened on opening day was this: Our spokesman on the oor,
Rep. William F. Ryan of New York, objected to the seating of the Mississippi-
ans, as he is entitled to do. They, and others to whom objections were raised,
remained seated while the rest of us took our oaths of oce. We had expected
reprisal objections from the Southern group to the seating of the initial 16
members of the ght, but that move failed to materialize.
After the rest of us were sworn in, House Majority Leader Carl Albert
of Oklahoma moved that the Mississippians be sworn in. Then he “moved the
previous question,” a parliamentary maneuver that shuts o all debate and
prohibits amendments. Mr. Ryan asked for a roll call vote on the move for the
previous question and more than the 87 Members required for a roll call de-
mand stood up. However, on the roll call the motion for the previous question
passed, 276 to 149 and our cause was blocked.
83
When was this letter written? What is signicant about this year?
Who wrote the letter? Who is the recipient of the letter?
Why was Congresswoman Mink writing to Dr. King? Underline evidence from
the letter to support your answer.
Summarize Congresswoman Mink’s experience on the House oor:
84
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Dolores Huerta (1930– ) began her career as a community
organizer while attending the University of Pacics Delta
College in Stockton, California, where she served in a
leadership position for the Stockton Community Service
Organization (CSO). In 1959, Huerta co-founded the Agricultural
Workers Association (AWA), comprised mostly of Filipino,
Chicano, and Black workers. This group became instrumental
during the 1965 grape strike in California. One year later,
Huerta and César Chávez joined forces to organize the United
Farm Workers (UFW). This group secured the Agricultural
Labor Relations Act of 1975, which provided farm workers
in California the right to collectively organize and bargain for
better working conditions and higher wages. Huerta continued
her work as the founder and president of the Dolores Huerta
Foundation ghting for issues gender equality and social
justice. In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded her the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the
United States.
KEY EVENTS
Agricultural Workers Association (1959),
Delano Grape Strike (1965), United Farm Workers (1966),
Agricultural Labor Relations Act (1975)
KEY PEOPLE
Cesar Chavez, Robert Kennedy, Gloria Steinem
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
After the success of the 1965 Delano Grape Strike in California,
Dolores Huerta and the United Farm Workers coordinated
their eorts for other impoverished areas of the west coast. In
1969, the Active Mexicanos Economic Development Center was
established in Seattle, Washington, to provide job placement
and legal assistance. In January 1969, the organization
began picketing the Husky Union Building at the University of
Washington to persuade the university to stop selling non-
union grapes. One month later, the University of Washington
became the rst U.S. campus to eliminate grapes at their dining
facilities. In November 1969, Huerta helped lead more than
3,000 protestors at the Moratorium March in downtown Seattle
in an eort to further the cause.
FUN FACT
Before Barack Obamas 2008 “Yes We Can” slogan, Huerta
originated the United Farm Workers’ rallying cry of “Si se
puede” in 1972. The union later trademarked the phrase. Learn
more about the rise of the United Farm Workers union here:
http://ufw.org/the-rise-of-the-ufw/.
DOLORES HUERTA
Written by: Dave Wheeler | North Central High School | Indianapolis, Indiana
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Project the photograph or make one copy
for each student.
Ask students to examine the photograph and
individually respond to the prompt questions.
Encourage students to share their responses
when nished.
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Divide students into pairs.
Ask each pair to assume the role of a campaign
manager for Dolores Huerta today.
Distribute drawing or poster paper to students.
Direct each pair to create a campaign slogan with
a visual representation on a current issue that
Dolores Huerta could help lead.
Joseph Karpen, Dolores Huerta of the United Farm Workers
speaking at a Moratorium March in downtown Seattle,
November 1969, University of Washington Libraries, Special
Collections (UWC288), http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/
ref/collection/uwcampus/id/35159
85
LOCAL CONNECTION
Dolores Huerta and her family lived at 321 Austin Street in
Delano, California from 1963 until 1970. Huerta duplicated
leaets from her home before the United Farm Workers’ oce
was established at 102 Albany Street. To learn more, go to:
http://ufw.org/research/history/sampling-historical-sites-
forty-acres-delano/.
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Farmworker Movement Documentation Project
University of California San Diego Library
https://libraries.ucsd.edu/farmworkermovement/gallery/
thumbnails.php?album=51
SECONDARY SOURCES
Dolores Huerta
Archives of Womens Political Communication,
Iowa State University
https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/dolores-huerta/
Dolores Huerta
National Women’s History Museum
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/
biographies/dolores-huerta
United Farm Worker Research Guide
University of California Berkeley Library
http://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/c.php?g=4470&p=15926
Gage Skidmore, Dolores Huerta speaking at an event in
Phoenix, Arizona, March 20, 2016, Wikimedia Commons
86
Photograph, Joseph Karpen, Dolores Huerta of the United Farm Workers speaking at a Moratorium March in downtown Seattle, November 1969,
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections (UWC288), http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/uwcampus/id/35159
1. Based on the photograph, what words would you use to describe
Dolores Huerta?
87
2. Why do you think the photographer chose to focus on a close-up image of
Huerta in the foreground of the photo?
3. What do you think the symbol on her scarf represents?
4. After examining the photo, list any modern issues that you think Dolores
Huerta could potentially be a spokesperson for today and explain why she
would support these causes.
88
BASIC BIOGRAPHY
Sally Ride (1951–2012) was born and raised in Los Angeles,
California. She attended Stanford University, double majoring
in physics and English literature. She earned a Master of
Science and Doctorate in Physics, and was selected into the
NASA astronaut program in 1978. In 1983, she became the rst
American woman to y on a space shuttle crew. She ew on
the space shuttle Challenger (mission STS-7 in 1983 and STS-
41G in 1984). A third mission was cancelled after the January
28, 1986 Challenger explosion. Ride served on the Presidential
Commission (known as the Rogers Commission), which
investigated the accident. In 1989, Dr. Ride began teaching
physics at University of California San Diego and served as the
Director of the California Space Institute. She founded Sally
Ride Science in 2001 to support girls in STEM studies and
careers; the organization targets elementary and middle school
students, parents, and teachers. Ride also wrote science-
themed childrens books. An inductee to the National Womens
Hall of Fame and the Astronaut Hall of Fame, Sally Ride died
July 23, 2012 of pancreatic cancer.
KEY EVENTS
Challenger Disaster (January 28, 1986), Rogers Commission
(1986), Sally Ride Science (2001)
KEY PEOPLE
Valentina Tereshkova, Svetlana Savitskaya, Mae C. Jemison,
Ellen Ochoa, Peggy Whitson, Neil Armstrong
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
In 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) was established in response to the Soviet launch of
Sputnik in October 1955. The Space Shuttle program began on
April 12, 1981 and ended in July 2011. Five shuttles have own
in space: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Endeavour, and Atlantis.
The Enterprise did not go to space but was designed to perform
atmospheric tests. Dr. Sally Ride was a participant in the early
years of the program ying on board the Challenger twice. On
its tenth mission, the Challenger exploded shortly after takeo
on January 28, 1986.
FUN FACT
Sally Ride founded Sally Ride Science, an organization
dedicated to the education of girls in science, technology,
engineering, and math, in 2001. Re-launched in 2015 at the
University of California San Diego, the organization promotes
STEM subject for girls, one of many legacies of Dr. Sally Ride.
Learn more at https://sallyridescience.ucsd.edu/.
SALLY RIDE
Written by: Judy F. Richonne | University High School | Irvine, California
DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
Divide students into groups of two to four
students each.
Display the images of the Space Shuttle
Challenger, with a focus on the successful
missions, a craft at work.
Teacher Tip: These images can be projected or printed
and shared, at teacher discretion.
Display the images of the Space Shuttle Discovery,
a space shuttle in retirement.
Ask students to discuss in small groups:
» Consider the amount of technology put to use
as can be seen in these images. What evidence
do you see in these images of the value of
space exploration?
» Why do you think that great expense in time
and money have been spent to display the
shuttles after they ‘retire’?
LEARNING ACTIVITY
Based on the analysis of the images of the
Challenger and the Discovery, ask the students to
write a proposal to ask Congress to reinstate the
space shuttle exploration program. Ask students to
include three rationales in the proposal: political,
social, and scientic.
Sally Ride, June 18, 1983, NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/
default/les/images/462928main_GPN-2000-001083_full.jpg
89
LOCAL CONNECTION
Visitors can see the four remaining space shuttles on
display at museums around the country. Endeavor is
located at the California Science Center in Los Angeles
(https://californiasciencecenter.org/). Atlantis is located
at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida (https://www.
kennedyspacecenter.com/). Enterprise is based at the Intrepid
Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City (https://www.
intrepidmuseum.org/) and Discovery can be seen at the
Smithsonians National Air and Space Museum Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia (https://airandspace.
si.edu/udvar-hazy-center).
LEARN MORE
PRIMARY SOURCES
Sally Ride, To Space and Back, 1989
History, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
https://www.nasa.gov/topics/history/index.html
SECONDARY SOURCES
Biographical Data, Sally K. Ride
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/ride-sk.html
Dr. Sally Ride
Sally Ride Science
https://sallyridescience.ucsd.edu/about/
sallyride/about-sallyride/
Meredith Worthen, “Women in Space:
From Sally Ride to Peggy Whitson,” May 26, 2017
Biography
https://www.biography.com/news/
sally-ride-facts-female-astronauts
90
IMAGES OF CHALLENGER AND DISCOVERY
Space Shuttle Challenger, January 26, 1983. “In this In this
image, Space Shuttle Challenger waits on Launch Complex
39A at Kennedy Space Center before its rst mission, STS-6,
launched on April 4, 1983...It became the second operational
Shuttle, delivered to Kennedy Space Center in July 1982.” Image
courtesy of NASA (KSC-83PC-0028).
Challenger Ferry Flight Flyover, April 9, 1983. View of the
Shuttle Challenger atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA),
NASA-905, during it s return to Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
and yover of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and the Houston
skyline. Image courtesy of NASA (S83-30236).
91
Ride on the Middeck, June 21, 1983. “On Shuttle Challenger’s
middeck, STS-7 Mission Specialist (MS) Sally Ride, wearing light
blue overalls and communications headset, oats alongside the
middeck airlock hatch.” Image courtesy of NASA (S07-02-020).
Diane A. Penland, Space Shuttle Discovery, September 13,
2012. Space Shuttle Discovery in the James S. McDonnell Space
Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Image courtesy of
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
92
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Paper
Performance
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