3. Rights and responsibilities
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The US democratic republic affords rights and also responsibilities to its citizens. For so long women’s second class status as citizens, barred them from both. They didn’t have the same rights as men and also lacked the responsibility to serve on juries or in the armed forces, for example. Over far-too-much time, women established some rights and responsibilities as citizens, yet much work remains undone.
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Coming Soon...
Draw your own conclusions
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Learn how to teach with inquiry.
Many of these lesson plans were sponsored in part by the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources Eastern Region Program, coordinated by Waynesburg University, the History and Social Studies Education Faculty at Plymouth State University, and the Patrons of the Remedial Herstory Project. |
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Lesson Plans from Other Organizations
- The National Women's History Museum has lesson plans on women's history.
- The Guilder Lehrman Institute for American History has lesson plans on women's history.
- The NY Historical Society has articles and classroom activities for teaching women's history.
- Unladylike 2020, in partnership with PBS, has primary sources to explore with students and outstanding videos on women from the Progressive era.
- The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media has produced recommendations for teaching women's history with primary sources and provided a collection of sources for world history. Check them out!
- The Stanford History Education Group has a number of lesson plans about women in US History.
Period Specific Lesson Plans from Other Organizations
- C3 Teachers: This inquiry leads students through an investigation of the LGBTQ+ movement, primarily driven by the history of the movement through various accounts and perspectives. The compelling question—What makes a movement successful?—does not address whether or not the movement was successful, but instead assesses the components of a movement and whether the movement is in a period of growth or has already peaked. Although the focus of this inquiry is on the LGBTQ+ movement, parallels can be drawn to other social movements in history with respect to organization, activism, and overall execution, including the Civil Rights Movement or the women’s suffrage and rights movements. Specifically, this inquiry looks at four different aspects that can potentially shape a movement in its foundation as well as its rise, namely public reaction, government leaders and policies, Supreme Court cases, and personal experiences. Throughout the inquiry, students will examine each individual aspect independently, evaluating the merits, strengths, and significance of each provided source in the “Movement Analysis Organization Chart,” but the summative task will require a compilation and synthesis of the sources in this investigation in order to form an argument to address the compelling question.
- Voices of Democracy: In the speech Clinton positioned the United States as the moral authority in monitoring and enforcing sanctions for global human trafficking, while at the same time reiterating the importance of international cooperation and partnerships.
- Clio: In 1972, feminists in Washington, D.C. founded the nation’s first rape crisis center. Other centers were soon established across the country. In 1994, Congress passed the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The act was created in response to the nation-wide, grassroots work of activists concerned with domestic violence, sexual assault, date rape, and stalking. This lesson introduces students to the history of efforts to stop violence against women.
- National Women’s History Museum: How has the Supreme Court shaped the lives of American women between 1908-2005? Students will analyze one of four Supreme Court cases that relate to the constitutional rights of women decided between 1908-2005. Students will become mini-experts on one Supreme Court cases and they will be exposed to the content, themes, and questions from the other three cases via peer to peer instruction of their classmates. The goal of this lesson is to introduce students to a broad range of Supreme Court cases that have impacted American women and to have them develop a working knowledge and expertise of at least one case by using primary sources such as the case ruling and secondary sources that will help students to understand the context.
- National History Day: Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927-2002) was born in Hawaii. She studied in Pennsylvania and Nebraska before moving back to Hawaii to earn her undergraduate degree and eventually received her J.D. from the University of Chicago in 1951. She moved back to Hawaii with her husband, John Francis Mink, and founded the Oahu Young Democrats in 1954. In the 1950s, Mink served as both a member of the territorial house of representatives and Hawaii Senate. After Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, Mink unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. Mink campaigned for the second representative seat in 1964 and won, making her the first woman of color and first Asian American woman to be elected to Congress. Mink is best known for her support of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society legislation, as well as her advocacy for women’s issues and equal rights. Mink worked tirelessly to earn support for the critical Title IX Amendment from her comprehensive education bill called Women’s Education Equity Act. Mink took a break from Congress after an unsuccessful bid for the Senate, but returned to Congress in 1990 and served until her death in September 2002.
- C3 Teachers: This twelfth grade annotated inquiry leads students through an investigation of a hotly debated issue in the United States: the gender wage gap. The compelling question “What should we do about the gender wage gap?” asks students to grapple not only with how to quantify and interpret the gap but also to consider ways of addressing the problem. Throughout the inquiry, students consider the degree to which economic inequality reflects social, political, or economic injustices or whether it simply reflects individual choices and the role the government should play in decreasing income inequality. Although this inquiry is rooted in a question about economics, no social issue is fully understood without examining a range of economic, historical, geographic, and political concepts in order to craft a full-bodied, evidence-based argument. This inquiry looks at the complexity of the gender wage gap issue through all four social studies disciplines. Students examine the structural factors that influence women’s choices as well as historical (e.g., Equal Pay Act of 1963) and pending (e.g., Paycheck Fairness Act) legislative efforts. Ultimately, students must find a way to measure the gender wage gap, determine if it is an issue worth addressing, and, if so, how to best address it, including private and public sector solutions.
Institute for Women's Policy Research
For accurate, well researched information on how women impact and are impacted by policy, the Institute for Women's Policy Research should be a first stop. Their website states:
"We win economic equity for all women and eliminate barriers to their full participation in society. As a leading national think tank, we build evidence to shape policies that grow women’s power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families... The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that engages in research and dissemination to shape public policy and improve the lives and opportunities of women from diverse backgrounds. As a nonpartisan organization, the independence of our research is essential to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and quality. IWPR seeks to ensure these standards through internal and external peer review processes. In most cases, reports receive one to two external reviews; some shorter products receive external review as well. All publications are reviewed by in-house researchers not involved in their production."
Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers
For women's politics by the numbers and strong data, the Center for American Women and Politics is a go to resource. Their website states:
"The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is nationally recognized as the leading source of scholarly research and current data about women’s political participation in the United States. Its mission is to promote greater knowledge and understanding about the role of women in American politics, enhance women's influence in public life, and expand the diversity of women in politics and government.
CAWP’s education and outreach programs translate research findings into action, addressing women’s under-representation in political leadership with effective, intersectional, and imaginative programs serving a variety of audiences. As the world has watched Americans considering female candidates for the nation's highest offices, CAWP’s five decades of analyzing and interpreting women’s participation in American politics have provided a foundation and context for the discussion."
Archives of Women's Political Communication at Iowa State University
For a sea of political speeches delivered by women, look no further than the archives at Iowa State. Their website states:
"The Archives of Women's Political Communication was launched in 2007 by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University. The goal of the archives is to showcase and preserve women’s political discourse and promote lifelong learning of women in political leadership throughout the world.
The archives is designed to serve as a resource for faculty teaching courses and conducting research in political science, speech communication, journalism, women's studies, sociology, history and other fields. It also serves as a resource for students and members of the public interested in women's political communication. An internal review board helps oversee and review the collection of speeches."
For accurate, well researched information on how women impact and are impacted by policy, the Institute for Women's Policy Research should be a first stop. Their website states:
"We win economic equity for all women and eliminate barriers to their full participation in society. As a leading national think tank, we build evidence to shape policies that grow women’s power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families... The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that engages in research and dissemination to shape public policy and improve the lives and opportunities of women from diverse backgrounds. As a nonpartisan organization, the independence of our research is essential to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and quality. IWPR seeks to ensure these standards through internal and external peer review processes. In most cases, reports receive one to two external reviews; some shorter products receive external review as well. All publications are reviewed by in-house researchers not involved in their production."
Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers
For women's politics by the numbers and strong data, the Center for American Women and Politics is a go to resource. Their website states:
"The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is nationally recognized as the leading source of scholarly research and current data about women’s political participation in the United States. Its mission is to promote greater knowledge and understanding about the role of women in American politics, enhance women's influence in public life, and expand the diversity of women in politics and government.
CAWP’s education and outreach programs translate research findings into action, addressing women’s under-representation in political leadership with effective, intersectional, and imaginative programs serving a variety of audiences. As the world has watched Americans considering female candidates for the nation's highest offices, CAWP’s five decades of analyzing and interpreting women’s participation in American politics have provided a foundation and context for the discussion."
Archives of Women's Political Communication at Iowa State University
For a sea of political speeches delivered by women, look no further than the archives at Iowa State. Their website states:
"The Archives of Women's Political Communication was launched in 2007 by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University. The goal of the archives is to showcase and preserve women’s political discourse and promote lifelong learning of women in political leadership throughout the world.
The archives is designed to serve as a resource for faculty teaching courses and conducting research in political science, speech communication, journalism, women's studies, sociology, history and other fields. It also serves as a resource for students and members of the public interested in women's political communication. An internal review board helps oversee and review the collection of speeches."
Remedial Herstory Editors. "3. RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES." The Remedial Herstory Project. January 1, 2024. www.remedialherstory.com.
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Consulting TeamKelsie Brook Eckert, Project Director
Coordinator of Social Studies Ed. at Plymouth State University Dr. Jason Charette Associate Professor of Practice in Political Science at Plymouth State University Dr. Laura Tilghman Associate Professor and Program Coordinator for Anthropology and Sociology at Plymouth State University |
Nonfiction's on Government
Women and Politics is a comprehensive examination of women's use of politics in pursuit of gender equality. How can demands for gender equality be reconciled with sex differences?
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Caroline Criado Perez investigates this shocking root cause of gender inequality in Invisible Women. Criado Perez unearths a dangerous pattern in data and its consequences on women’s lives.
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Women and Politics in a Global World is the only text that offers a cross-national and comparative examination of the impact of women on politics--and the impact of politics on women.
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Hillary Rodham Clinton reveals what she was thinking and feeling during one of the most controversial and unpredictable presidential elections in history.
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When Women Win delivers stories of some of the toughest political contests of the past three decades, including the historic victory of Barbara Mikulski as the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in her own right and Elizabeth Warren’s dramatic Senate win. When Women Win is both a page-turning political drama and an important look at the effects of women’s engagement in politics.
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In Women in Politics, author and healthcare leader Mary Chung Hayashi offers a riveting exploration of the strides made by women in government. This essential, contemporary analysis bridges the gap between past and present, blending Mary's personal journey as an Asian American immigrant and former California State Assembly member with the inspiring stories of trailblazing women in political leadership.
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How to teach with Films:
Remember, teachers want the student to be the historian. What do historians do when they watch films?
- Before they watch, ask students to research the director and producers. These are the source of the information. How will their background and experience likely bias this film?
- Also, ask students to consider the context the film was created in. The film may be about history, but it was made recently. What was going on the year the film was made that could bias the film? In particular, how do you think the gains of feminism will impact the portrayal of the female characters?
- As they watch, ask students to research the historical accuracy of the film. What do online sources say about what the film gets right or wrong?
- Afterward, ask students to describe how the female characters were portrayed and what lessons they got from the film.
- Then, ask students to evaluate this film as a learning tool. Was it helpful to better understand this topic? Did the historical inaccuracies make it unhelpful? Make it clear any informed opinion is valid.
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Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011. IMDB In Her Hands (2022)
At 26, Zarifa Ghafari became one of Afghanistan's first female mayors and the youngest to ever hold the position. Filmed over two turbulent years, the film documents her personal battle for survival as her country unravels. IMDB |
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