This week marked the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment securing the right of women to vote in all elections. With a contentious Minnesota gubernatorial race and an unusually large amount of attention being drawn to the upcoming midterm elections (even Jon Stewart poked at the usual attitude toward midterm elections in the 2002 election cycle), voting will surely be a topic of discussion soon in the classroom. In fact, it is difficult to remember a time when an upcoming non-presidential election has been such a hot topic this early in the election cycle.
To support the conversation of voting and the 19th Amendment, it was fun to put together this collection of resources. (It is also always fun for me to find more on Susan B Anthony as we share a birthday… 😉
The National Archives has an extensive lesson plan collection, “Teaching with Documents.” This lesson provides a script for a vignette for the classroom with suffragists and Woodrow Wilson, a great way to have students “live” history. There are also links to related lesson plans with the primary source documents relating to women’s suffrage and the 19th Amendment.  The 19th Amendment is also part of the “Our Documents” online exhibit, another endeavor cosponsored by the National Archives.
If you’re not heading to Rochester, NY anytime soon, Susan B. Anthony’s Home website has a photo gallery/virtual tour, biographical information, a time line, information on the Susan B. Anthony coins, and more.
Scholastic comes through again! This website with excerpts from Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s autobiography has a unit plan focusing on women’s suffrage, a 6-day lesson plan for teachers of grades 3-5, and an interactive site on women’s suffrage.
The Encyclopedia Britannica published, “Happy 90th to the 19th Amendment,” the picture essay for the day. This “picture essay” has an interactive map looking at the history of women’s suffrage, and clickable names throughout the article which helps the reader gain a visual understanding of the history of women’s suffrage.
The PBS “Not For Ourselves Alone” site provides a multimedia exploration into the suffrage movement by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. It also links to primary source documents, biographies, and links to many additional sites on the internet focused on women’s suffrage and the 19th Amendment, and these suffragettes.
Looking at women in politics today? CBS News has this video on “Susan B. Anthony’s Legacy.”
With that, I wish happy learning and election-watching to all and happy voting to the 18+ crowd who are eligible to vote in the upcoming midterm elections – many worked hard so we can vote!
No Time to Sleep 