Centennial of Women’s Suffrage
This year marks the 100th anniversary of United States women winning the right to vote. In August 1920, Tennessee gave women across the nation something they had worked to achieve for 72 years and three generations: suffrage. Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920. This legislation created the three-fourths majority needed to amend the United States’ constitution, and, on August 26, the amendment became law, which gave suffrage to more than 27 million women across the nation.
Please visit TNWoman100.com for additional information about the yearlong centennial of women’s suffrage celebration as well as additional resources for teachers.
In accordance with T.C.A. § 49-6-1028, during the 2019-20 school year, all districts must ensure that students receive instruction about the Women’s Suffrage Movement at all grade levels (i.e., K–12) during each month of the 2019-20 school year. Although districts will choose which resources and materials to use when providing instruction about Tennessee’s fundamental role in guaranteeing women the right to vote, the department will provide sample resources and materials monthly between September 2019 and May 2020.
Featured Content
For the month of September, the department is highlighting the Seneca Falls Convention. The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women’s rights convention in the United States. This meeting is considered the official beginning of the women’s suffrage movement in the United States and is where the Declaration of Sentiments was written, which stated that “all men and women are created equal.”
The following resources are examples that districts can use to begin an exploration into the beginning of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. In addition to thoughtful preparation from these resources, there are additional components for which educators will need to plan and prepare. These include, but are not limited to, reviewing all activities prior to use and adjusting material as needed.
- C3 Teachers: Women’s Rights
- EDSITEment!: Who Were the Foremothers and the Women’s Suffrage and Equality Movements
- Gilder Lehrman Institute Lesson Plan: Declarations of Independence, Women’s rights and the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions
- National Women’s History Museum: Chester Comix
- NEA: 19th Amendment
- Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics: Women’s Suffrage in the United States
- Scholastic: Women’s Suffrage Teaching Guide
- Zinn Education Project: Seneca Falls, 1848, Women Organize for Equality
For the month of October, the department is highlighting the formation of women’s associations and their leaders. In 1869, two national organizations (The American Woman Suffrage Association and The National Woman Suffrage Association) were formed to further the cause of women’s suffrage. Although these associations were formed for different reasons, the leaders strived for the same thing: voting rights for women.
The following resources are examples that districts can use to begin exploring the Women’s Suffrage Movement. In addition to thoughtful preparation from these resources, there are additional components for which educators will need to plan and prepare. These include, but are not limited to, reviewing all activities prior to use and adjusting material as needed.
- PBS Learning Media: Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- DOCSTeach: Extending Suffrage to Women
- DOCSTeach: Evaluating the New Departure Strategy in the Fight for Women’s Suffrage
- Brainpop Educators: Educator Resources for Susan B. Anthony
- National Women’s HIstory Museum: Susan B. Anthony: She’s Worth a Mint!, American Woman Suffrage Association, and National Woman Suffrage Association
- Library of Congress: National American Woman Suffrage Association
- PBS: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony
For the month of November, the department is highlighting the early fight for women’s suffrage in Tennessee, including the first public meeting in Tennessee on Suffrage in 1879 and the Equal Suffrage Association forming in 1889.
The following resources are examples that districts can use to begin exploring the Women’s Suffrage Movement. In addition to thoughtful preparation from these resources, there are additional components for which educators will need to plan and prepare. These include, but are not limited to, reviewing all activities prior to use and adjusting material as needed.
- UT Extension: Their Rights and Nothing Less: An Introduction to Women’s Suffrage
- Tennessee Woman Suffrage Heritage Trail: Additional Resources
- TNWoman100: Women Suffrage Timeline (includes links to Tennessee)
Other Sources
The following are additional resources that districts may find helpful to facilitate students’ exploration of the Women’s Suffrage Movement:
MTSU Teaching with Primary Sources
National Women’s History Museum
Stanford Teaching Like a Historian
Tennessee Library and Archives (Secretary of State)
Tennessee Museum (Education)