The Progressive Era (Part II) Suffrage and Civil Rights: Social Reform Movements at the turn of the 20th century

The American Women’s Suffrage Movement 1848-1920 What do you see here? What year do you think this is? How do you think the public responded?

Seneca Falls, NY 1848 In early 1800s, women involved in abolition (no slavery), temperance (no alcohol) Group of men and women gather in Seneca Falls, NY in 1848 Led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott Wrote Declaration of Sentiments

Fifteenth Amendment, 1871 Grants African-American men the right to vote Disappoints many women who thought African American men and women would be enfranchised together African Americans split over whether men should get vote before women

Francis Willard Vs. Ida Wells, 1893 “It is not fair that a plantation Negro who can neither read nor write should be entrusted with the ballot.” (Willard) “Ms. Willard unhesitatingly slandered the entire Negro race in order to gain favor with those who are hanging, shooting and burning Negroes alive. Our country remains silent on those continued outrages. It is to the religious and moral sentiment of Great Britain we turn.“ (Wells)

Frederick Douglass, 1869 “When women, because they are women, . . . are dragged from their houses and hung upon lamp posts; when their children are torn from their arms, and their brains dashed upon the pavement . . . then they will have an urgency to obtain the ballot equal to our own.” But was this not true for the black woman? “Yes, yes, yes. It is true for the black woman but not because she is a woman but because she is black!”

Sojourner Truth, 1869 “There is a great stir about colored men getting their rights, but not a word about the colored women . . . And if colored men get their rights, and not colored women theirs, you see the colored men will be masters over the women, and it will be just as bad as it was before.”

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony tried several times to introduce an Amendment bill in the late 1800s, but it was always killed in the Senate.

Anti-Suffragists: Those who opposed suffrage (many “Anti’s” were women)

Arguments of Anti-Suffragists: Women were high-strung, irrational, emotional Women were not smart or educated enough Women should stay at home Women were too physically frail; they would get tired just walking to the polling station Women would become masculine if they voted

The Next Generation Elizabeth Cady Stanton died 1902 Susan B. Anthony died 1906 But in the early 1900s many young middle-class women were going to college and joining the suffrage movement Many working-class women also joined the cause, hoping the right to vote would help improve working conditions

NAWSA Carrie Chapman Catt led the National American Woman Suffrage Association. She believed in: Careful state-by-state strategy Support President Wilson even if he doesn’t outright support suffrage (because Democrats were a safer bet than Republicans) Act ladylike! Don’t embarrass the movement

National Woman’s Party Alice Paul led the National Woman’s Party; believed in more aggressive strategies: Focused on passing a Constitutional Amendment Picked up un-ladylike strategies from British suffragists (e.g., heckling politicians, picketing) Refused to support President Wilson if he wouldn’t support woman suffrage NWP members were arrested for picketing in front of the White House; they were put in jail, went on a hunger strike and were force-fed

19th Amendment, 1920 “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” (Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify and it passed by only 1 vote)

Frederick Douglass http://www. freedomarchives If there is no struggle  There is no progress.   Those who profess to favor freedom, And yet deprecate agitation, Are men [and women] who want crops  Without plowing up the ground, They want rain  Without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean Without the awful roar of its waters. This struggle may be a moral one; Or it may be a physical one; But it must be a struggle.  Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did, and it never will.

African Americans 1877 - 1900 At the start of the 20th Century, Most African Americans lived in poverty and faced widespread discrimination 2/3 of African Americans lived in the South. Most were tenant farmers. Jim Crow Laws - Legalized Segregation. Plessy v. Ferguson - Supreme Court Case. “Separate but equal” Segregation OK so long as facilities and conditions are equal. Most black men were prevented from exercising their right to vote despite the 15th Amendment

Progressive Presidents and African americans Roosevelt did very little to secure their rights. He appointed African Americans to minor bureaucratic positions at the local level. Made a symbolic gesture by receiving noted civil rights leader Booker T. Washington at the White House.

President Wilson During Wilson’s presidency, government offices and facilities became segregated In answering critics, Wilson claimed segregation was, “in the interest of the Negro.”

Booker T. Washington Son of a slave. Started Tuskegee Institute—a vocational school for African Americans in Alabama. Wrote an influential book entitled, Up From Slavery.

Washington’s philosophy Policy of “ACCOMODATION”: Accept segregation and the lack of political rights Focus on economic improvement—learning a skill and working hard. Felt that African Americans needed to “prove themselves”, employ self-help and vocational training, and worry about discrimination later. Eventually, African Americans would earn respect, be treated better and receive political rights. Was one of the most influential black civil rights leaders of the day, and the one most respected by the white community

Tuskeegee institute

W.E.B. Du Bois Born free in Massachusetts First African American to earn a PhD from Harvard. Wrote many books including, The Souls of Black Folks. Helped to found the NAACP in 1909.

DU BOIS’ PHILOSOPHY Called for immediate social and political equality for African Americans. Said that segregation deprived them of their dignity. Said that African Americans should celebrate their uniqueness and not try to imitate white culture. Advocated traditional college education for talented youth so that they could serve as teachers and leaders in the black community. ________________________________________________________ Became more radical as he got older, and by the 1930s, he was frustrated with the NAACP’s approach to obtaining Civil Rights, eventually leaving the organization. In 1961 he moved to Africa and denounced his American citizenship.

Discussion Points: Throughout American history, people who have advocated or fought for change have often had different, even conflicting ideas about how to most effectively bring about change. The history of civil rights is no exception. Frederick Douglass and Nat Turner Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In their own time, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois also shared a common goal, but differed significantly in the strategies which they believed would help achieve it. Your Task: 1) Participate in an analytical discussion of the perspectives of these two men, including: -how and why they might have formed their beliefs -what sections of the population might have supported each one, and why -what strengths both men brought to the civil rights movement in the Progressive Era as a whole 2) Write a 3-4 paragraph Reflection Paper on the conclusions you formed based on your group discussion.