Women, Marriage, and Property

Women, Marriage, and Property
Abigail Fillmore: Religion, Social Issues and Reform

Skill: High School/College
Time Required: Two to three class periods


Standards Compliance
NCSS Strand 2
Time, Continuity, and Change
NCSS Strand 5
Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
NCSS Strand 7
Production, Distribution, and Consumption
NCSS Strand 10
Civic Ideals and Practices
NCTE Standard 1
Students read fiction, nonfiction, classic, and contemporary works to acquire information for various purposes.
NCTE Standard 3
Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.
NCTE Standard 7
Students conduct research by generating ideas, questions, and problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data.
NCTE Standard 8
Students use a variety of technology and information resources to gather, synthesize, and communicate knowledge.
NCTE Standard 12
Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes.
ISTE Standard 5
Technology research tools

Introduction:

From the beginning of our nation, some women were concerned about their legal status.  For the most part, married women had no legal status: they could not sign contracts; could not inherit money; could not retain sole custody of their children; and, of course, could not vote.  Even while the Continental Congress was writing the Declaration of Independence, Abigail Adams was writing to her husband admonishing him to include the ladies in his concept of liberty.  The founders of the United States did not extend the voting franchise to women—or to children, or the poor.  There were several arguments for this exclusion.  Nevertheless, women did not give up.  Many who came of age during the first half of the 19th century participated in the movement for abolition, and learned how to advocate for a cause, to make speeches, and to engage in politics in that endeavor.  These same women were often also interested in changing the laws with respect to women.

Objectives:

The purpose of this lesson is to allow students to use primary documents in a study of a significant series of events that led to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.   

Materials Required:

Access to the Internet; access to print reference materials.

Procedures:

1.  Ask students to read the correspondence between Abigail Adams and her husband John Adams.  Note and discuss the ideas about women’s rights that they discuss.

2.  Access the description of the Seneca Falls Convention and read it to get a sense of the issues under discussion over 70 years later.

3.  Read Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Address and Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.  What were the grievances held by women?  Specifically, what did they want to happen?  (Check the Resolutions.)

4.  Compare and contrast the Declaration of Sentiments with its model, the Declaration of Independence.  Analyze both “Declarations” in terms of American ideas of liberty, equality, and justice.

Extending the Lesson:

If students are quite unfamiliar with the early leaders of the Women’s Movement, do not hesitate to introduce them to these outstanding women, all of whose biographies can be found on the National Women’s Hall of Fame website (http://www.greatwomen.org):

  • Lucretia Mott
  • Elizabeth Cady Stanton
  • Susan B. Anthony
  • Amelia Jenks Bloomer
  • Lucy Stone
  • Margaret Fuller
  • Sarah Grimke
  • Angelina Grimke
  • Sojourner Truth
  • Mary Wollstonecraft
     

Sources & Resources:

Websites:  
  
   Letters on Women’s Rights

   The Seneca Falls Convention

   Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Address to the Seneca Falls Convention

Credits:
 
This lesson was created by Averil McClelland and developed by Bette Brooks, Kent State University.

 

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