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The first part of our activity series, exploring women’s movements through primary source ImageQuest photographs, is for elementary level students. It focuses on women’s suffrage at the turn of the 20th century.
By 1910 the term feminism had arrived in the United States. Feminists wanted to change women’s roles at home. They also wanted to be able to go to college and work. Feminism brought new energy to the women’s suffrage movement, and by the 20th century the fight for women’s voting rights had reached massive proportions.
Elementary Level Activity:
Explore these photos with your students as an introduction to a unit or lesson. As a class, try answering the Suggested Questions below the photographs.
Explore Primary Sources:
1. Women suffragettes in front of the White House, 1917
2. Women union workers marching in an American Labor Day parade, 1913
Suggested Questions:
• What do you notice first when you look at either photo?
• What do you want to know more about when you look at it?
• When were these photos taken?
• Why are the women in the second photo wearing white?
• Who is missing in these photos?
Citation Information:
WHITE HOUSE: SUFFRAGETTES. – Women suffragettes holding a banner addressing President Woodrow Wilson, in front of the White House, Washington, D.C., 1917. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.
LABOR DAY PARADE, 1913. – Women union workers and child labor protesters marching in an American Labor Day parade, 1913. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.
