In Their Own Words: Women’s Petitions to Congress (1830 - 1971)

Summary

Students analyze women’s petitions to Congress from five different eras to identify the issues women petitioned about, place the petitions in the context of their time, and understand how women have used the First Amendment right to petition to make their voices heard.

Rationale

Petitioning is one of the 5 rights protected in the First Amendment, and women have exercised this right to lobby Congress for many reasons, including to protect the rights of others, to gain the right to vote, and to strive for equality.

Guiding Question

How do petitions to Congress show the ways in which women engaged in politics to bring about change in the government and society?

Materials

5 Graphic Organizers
15 Primary Source Sheets
1 Reflection Questions Worksheet

Grade Levels

9 – 12

Time Required

Two 45 minute class periods

Courses

U.S. History, Civics, Government

Learning Activities

In-person Instructions

Preparing the Materials

1. Print for each student copies of the Graphic Organizers for Stations 1 - 5 and the Reflection Questions.
2. Establish five stations.
3. Make one additional copy of each Graphic Organizer for each station.
4. Make one copy of the Primary Source Sheets and cut along the dotted lines of each sheet. Keep each primary source, document information, and description together with a paperclip.
5. Place a copy of each Graphic Organizer and the corresponding cut-out Primary Source Sheets at each station. Mix up the primary sources, captions, and descriptions at the station so that students must match the documents, information, and descriptions.

Classroom Activity

1. Divide the students into five groups.
2. Carousel the groups through the five stations.
3. Provide each group with enough time at each station for students to:
   1. Match each primary source to the corresponding document information and description.
   2. Respond in writing to the prompts on their individual copies of the graphic organizer for each station.

Reflection Activity

1. When the students have completed their work at all five stations, instruct the students to independently complete the Reflection Questions Worksheet and prepare to share their responses with the full class.
2. Have a whole group discussion of the Reflection Questions.

Distance Learning Instructions

Make the Graphic Organizers and Primary Source Sheets available to the students in digital form. Separate the documents into five station-specific groups to ensure that the students know which documents go together. Clarify for the students that the learning activities and documents are organized as stations on the lesson materials and that work in the lesson will be completed one station at a time.

1. Divide the class into 5 groups.
2. Assign one group to begin work at each of the five stations. Instruct the students to work collaboratively to respond in writing to the prompts on the Graphic Organizer for each of the five stations.

Reflection Activity

1. When the students have completed their work at all five stations, instruct students to independently complete the Reflection Questions Worksheet and prepare to share their responses with the full class.
2. When the groups of students have completed the Review Worksheet, convene a whole class discussion of the review questions.

Additional Resources

Did you like this lesson? Educators who used this lesson also viewed:

• Discussing Equality: Who is Included within the Phrase “We the People” - Students analyze primary sources to identify groups of Americans granted or denied equal rights and equal status in society at various points in history.
• Woman’s Place in America: Congress and Woman Suffrage - Students explore petitions, correspondence, and legislative records sent to Congress as it debated suffrage prior to passage of the 19th Amendment.

Return to Lesson Plans

If you have problems viewing this page, please contact legislative.archives@nara.gov.