Women Suffragist in Elementary Education
Disciplines
Education | Indigenous Education
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Abstract
A traditional narrative of women suffrage tends to begin with the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 in which Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other activists gathered to discuss women’s rights. From there, the story goes, Susan B. Anthony and many other white women waged a decades-long campaign, and finally in 1920, the 19th Amendment gave all women the right to vote (Cahill, 2020). This feel-good story is a vast oversimplification. First, the traditional narrative omits the influence of Indigenous women, whose power and status in their tribal nation had inspired the white suffragists. Second, the 19th Amendment applied to women of U.S. citizens only; therefore, it did not give voting rights to many Asian and Indigenous women who could not become US citizens until 1952 and 1924 respectively. The 19th amendment also meant nothing for most Black and Latinx women because the white power used various voter suppression tactics to keep them from the polls (Jones, 2020). Third, besides white women, there were countless women of color who actively fought for women’s suffrage (Cahill, 2020). Fourth, racism was not uncommon in the suffrage movement a many white suffragists, for example, excluded Black women from joining their suffrage clubs (Jones, 2020). My research investigated whether the Georgia’s social studies curriculum standards present this more complex and richer story of women suffrage. I used a content analysis method to analyze the official document from the standards and associated curriculum materials. The primary finding is that GA standards upheld the white-centric, traditional narrative. Research implications for teaching critical, accurate history of women’s suffrage will be presented.
Keywords: women suffragist, abolitionist, women’s rights, race, class, teaching strategies.
Cahill, C. (2020). How women of color transformed the suffrage movement. University of North Carolina Press.
Jones, M. (2020). How Black women broke barriers, won the vote, and insisted on equality for all. Basic Books.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
BCOE - Elementary & Early Childhood Education
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Sohyun An
Women Suffragist in Elementary Education
Abstract
A traditional narrative of women suffrage tends to begin with the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 in which Elizabeth Cady Stanton and other activists gathered to discuss women’s rights. From there, the story goes, Susan B. Anthony and many other white women waged a decades-long campaign, and finally in 1920, the 19th Amendment gave all women the right to vote (Cahill, 2020). This feel-good story is a vast oversimplification. First, the traditional narrative omits the influence of Indigenous women, whose power and status in their tribal nation had inspired the white suffragists. Second, the 19th Amendment applied to women of U.S. citizens only; therefore, it did not give voting rights to many Asian and Indigenous women who could not become US citizens until 1952 and 1924 respectively. The 19th amendment also meant nothing for most Black and Latinx women because the white power used various voter suppression tactics to keep them from the polls (Jones, 2020). Third, besides white women, there were countless women of color who actively fought for women’s suffrage (Cahill, 2020). Fourth, racism was not uncommon in the suffrage movement a many white suffragists, for example, excluded Black women from joining their suffrage clubs (Jones, 2020). My research investigated whether the Georgia’s social studies curriculum standards present this more complex and richer story of women suffrage. I used a content analysis method to analyze the official document from the standards and associated curriculum materials. The primary finding is that GA standards upheld the white-centric, traditional narrative. Research implications for teaching critical, accurate history of women’s suffrage will be presented.
Keywords: women suffragist, abolitionist, women’s rights, race, class, teaching strategies.
Cahill, C. (2020). How women of color transformed the suffrage movement. University of North Carolina Press.
Jones, M. (2020). How Black women broke barriers, won the vote, and insisted on equality for all. Basic Books.