Civics

Era 4: Civil War and Reconstruction (1850–1877) - Article

The Struggle for Women’s Rights in the 19th Century

Summary: There are two excellent approaches offered to explore this issue. In both, students will learn about the debate that occurred within the women’s rights movement over the passage of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. In the lesson by Facing History, students will do a close reading of a speech from Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, an African American woman and leading activist in the fight for Black freedom and women’s rights. Students will appreciate that progress in making a society more democratic is often slow and uneven and that members of social movements often struggle to create inclusive movements and can fracture along lines of identity such as race, class, and gender. The lesson by the NJ Center for Civic Education includes extensive historical background about how the struggle for rights for women evolved from women’s involvement in abolition and two historical role-playing activities: a mock negotiations over priorities at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and a mock mediation over whether women’s rights advocates should support the Fifteenth Amendment in 1869.

Overarching Questions:

  • CIVICS: Have the concepts of liberty, justice and/or equality changed during the time period? If so, how and what has been the impact?
  • CIVICS: Have individuals and groups influenced public policy during this time period? If so, how and what has been the impact?

NJ Student Learning Standards for Social Studies:

  • 6.1.12.CivicsDP.4.a: Compare and contrast historians’ interpretations of the impact of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments on African Americans ability to participate in influencing governmental policies.
  • 6.1.12.CivicsDP.4.b: Analyze how ideas found in key documents contributed to demanding equality for all (i.e., the Declaration of Independence, the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Gettysburg Address)

Links to Lesson: