Grade 4: New York State History and Government Unit 4 Change Comes to New York State Lesson 1: African-Americans and Women in New York Amelia Bloomer Amelia Bloomer was a shocking women! Look carefully at the drawing of her and explain why she was so shocking. She was one of the editor of the first newspaper for women, The Lily. It was issued from 1849 until 1853. The newspaper began as an anti-drinking (temperance) journal. Bloomer felt since people did not think women should give public lectures, writing was the best way for women to work for reform. Originally, The Lily was to be only for “home distribution” among members of the Seneca Falls Ladies Temperance Society, which had formed in 1848. Like most local efforts the paper encountered several obstacles early on, and the Society’s enthusiasm died out. Bloomer felt a commitment to continue to publish the newspaper and assumed full responsibility for editing and publishing the paper. Originally, the title page had the legend “Published by a committee of ladies.” But after 1850 – only www.nps.gov Bloomer’s name appeared on the masthead. The newspaper was a model for those that came after it. Amelia attended the Seneca Falls Convention but she is most known today for her “bloomers!” Adapted from the National Park Service Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Grade 4 Integrated Social Studies/English Language Arts Page 1 Revised October 2014 Grade 4: New York State History and Government Unit 4 Change Comes to New York State Lesson 1: African-Americans and Women in New York Sojourner Truth In 1827, after her master failed to honor his promise to free her or to uphold the New York Anti-Slavery Law of 1827, Isabella ran away and became a preacher who moved from place to place, and in 1843 changed her name to Sojourner Truth. During this period she became involved in the growing antislavery movement, and by the 1850s she was involved in the woman’s rights movement as well. At the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention held in Akron, Ohio, Sojourner Truth delivered what is now recognized as one of the most famous abolitionist and women’s rights speeches in American history, “Ain’t I a Woman?” In this speech she said in part, “. That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman? Then they talk about this thing in the head; what's this they call it? [member of audience whispers, "intellect"] That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights? If my cup won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure full? . .” Sojourner Truth (1797-1883): Ain't I A Woman? Delivered 1851 Women's Rights Convention, Akron, Ohio Adapted from the National Park Service Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Grade 4 Integrated Social Studies/English Language Arts Page 2 Revised October 2014 Grade 4: New York State History and Government Unit 4 Change Comes to New York State Lesson 1: African-Americans and Women in New York Susan B. Anthony In 1848 Susan B. Anthony was working as a teacher in Canajoharie, New York and became involved with the teacher’s union when she discovered that male teachers had a monthly salary of $10.00, while the female teachers earned $2.50 a month. Anthony’s experience with the teacher’s union, temperance (anti-drinking) and antislavery reforms, and her Quaker upbringing, (According to the Friends General Meeting, Quakers believe that every person is loved and guided by God.) were the background for a career in women’s rights reform. By 1856 Anthony became an agent for the American Anti- Slavery Society, arranging meetings, making speeches, putting up posters, and distributing leaflets. She encountered hostile mobs, armed threats, and things thrown at her. She was hung in effigy, and in Syracuse her image was dragged through the streets. By 1869 Stanton, Anthony and others formed the National Woman Suffrage Association and focused their efforts on a federal woman’s suffrage amendment. In an effort to challenge the exclusion from voting, Anthony and her three sisters voted in the 1872 Presidential election. She was arrested and put on trial in the Ontario Courthouse, Canandaigua, New York. The judge instructed the jury to find her guilty without any deliberations, and imposed a $100 fine. When Anthony refused to pay a $100 fine and court costs, the judge did not sentence her to prison time, which ended her chance of an appeal. An appeal would have allowed the suffrage movement to take the question of women’s voting rights to the Supreme Court. Women did not get the right to vote until 1920. Adapted from the National Park Service Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Grade 4 Integrated Social Studies/English Language Arts Page 3 Revised October 2014 Grade 4: New York State History and Government Unit 4 Change Comes to New York State Lesson 1: African-Americans and Women in New York Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) is believed to be the driving force behind the 1848 Convention, and for the next fifty years played a leadership role in the women's rights movement. She along with four other women organized the First Women's Rights Convention. It was held in Seneca Falls on July 19 and 20, 1848. The public was asked to join the organizers and sign the Declaration of Sentiments, which was ratified at the First Women's Rights Convention. The Declaration of Sentiments outlined the goals and defined the new women's rights movement. It began, as an echo of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal . .” Somewhat overshadowed in popular memory by her colleague Susan B. Anthony, Stanton was for many years the architect and author of the movement's most important strategies and documents. Although she did not always agree with the tactics of others in the women’s rights struggle. she maintained to the end her long time friendship with Anthony. Adapted from the National Park Service Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Grade 4 Integrated Social Studies/English Language Arts Page 4 Revised October 2014 Grade 4: New York State History and Government Unit 4 Change Comes to New York State Lesson 1: African-Americans and Women in New York Lucretia Mott Lucretia Coffin Mott (1793-1880) dedicated her life to the goal of human equality. As a child Mott attended Nine Partners, a Quaker (a religion that believes that every person is loved and guided by God according to the Friends General Meeting) boarding school located in New York, where she learned of the horrors of slavery from her readings and from visiting lecturers such as Elias Hicks, a well- known Quaker abolitionist. She also saw that women and men were not treated equally, even among the Quakers, when she discovered that female teachers at Nine Partners earned less than males. At a young age Lucretia became determined to put an end to such social injustices. She was one of the organizers of the First Woman’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls. Throughout her life she remained active in both the abolition and women’s rights movements. She continued to speak out against slavery, and in 1866 she became the first president of the American Equal Rights Association, an organization formed to achieve equality for African Americans and women. Adapted from the National Park Service Print of Lucretia Mott Being Protected from Angry Male Mob Corbis, 2006 . Image. Discovery Education Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES Grade 4 Integrated Social Studies/English Language Arts Page 5 Revised October 2014 Grade 4: New York State History and Government Unit 4 Change Comes to New York State Lesson 1: African-Americans and Women in New York Elizabeth Blackwell Elizabeth Blackwell wanted to be a doctor, but she was rejected by all the leading schools to which she applied, and almost all the other schools as well. When her application arrived at Geneva Medical College at Geneva, New York, the administration asked the students to decide whether to admit her or not. The students, reportedly believing it to be only a practical joke, decided to admit her. When they discovered that she was serious, both students and townspeople were horrified. She had few allies and was an outcast in town. At first, she was even kept from classroom medical demonstrations, because they were thought to be inappropriate for a woman. Most students, however, became friendly, impressed by her ability and persistence. Elizabeth Blackwell graduated first in her class in January, 1849, becoming the first woman to graduate feministsforlife.org from medical school, the first woman doctor of medicine in the modern era. She travelled back and forth to London and New York trying to get people to support her ideas.