Multiple Points of View on Womens Suffrage

Elihu Root (1845-1937)

* Secretary of War under President McKinley and President Theodore Roosevelt
* Reorganized the War Department and enlarged West Point Military Academy
* Republican U.S. Senator from New York (1909-1915)
* Opposed President Wilsons Policy of Neutrality at the start of World War I
* Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1912

Mr. President, I have said that I thought suffrage would be a loss for women. I think so because suffrage implies not merely the casting of the
ballot, the gentle and peaceful fall of the snow-flake, but suffrage, if it means anything, means entering upon the field of political life, and politics is
modified war. In politics there is a struggle, strife, contention, bitterness, heart-burning, excitement, agitation, everything which is adverse to the true
character of woman. Woman rules to-day by the sweet and noble influences of her character. Put woman into the arena of conflict and she abandons
these great weapons which control the world, and she takes into her hands, feeble and nerveless for strife, weapons with which she is unfamiliar and
which she is unable to wield. Woman in strife becomes hard, harsh, unlovable, repulsive; as far removed from the gentle creature to whom we all
owe allegiance and to whom we confess submission, as the heaven is removed from the earth.
From Address, Hon. Elihu Root before New York Constitutional Convention, 1894

Multiple Points of View on Womens Suffrage

Jane Addams (1860-1935)

* Created the Hull House in the slums of Chicago, IL
* Devoted her life to helping the poor and children in the slums of America
* A leading voice against war (Spanish-American War and World War I)
* Worked to bring about womens suffrage
* Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1935

Modern cities fear no enemies from without. Unsanitary housing, poisonous sewage, contaminated water, infant mortality, the spread of contagion,
adulterated food, impure milk, smoke-laiden air, ill-ventilated factories, dangerous occupations, juvenile crime, unwholesome crowding, prostitution,
and drunkenness are the enemies which modern cities must face and overcome, would they survive. Logically, their electorate should made up of
those who can bear a valiant part in this arduous contest, those who in the past have at least attempted to care for the children, to clean houses, to
prepare foods, to isolate the family from moral dangers; those who have traditionally taken care of that side of life which inevitably becomes the
subject of municipal [city] consideration and control as soon as the population is congested. To test the electors fitness to deal with this situation by
his ability to bear arms is absurd. These problems must be solved, if they are ever solved at all, not from the military point of view, not even from the
industrial point of view, but from a third, which is rapidly developing in all the great cities of the world- the human-welfare point of view.
A city is in many respects a great business corporation, but in other respects it is enlarged housekeeping. May we not say that city housekeeping has
failed partly because women, the traditional housekeepers, have not been consulted as to its manifold activities?
From Jane Addams, The Modern City and the Municipal Franchise for Women, NAWSA Convention, Baltimore, MD, 1906

Part 1- Multiple Points of View Writing Assessment on Womens Suffrage

Name__________________________________________________

Period____________

Author
Historical Context
The background of
the author, their
expertise,
credentials, role
during the time
period of the
Progressive Era, who
is their audience
Point of View
on womens suffrage
Authors bias on the
topic
Textual Evidence

Textual evidence example #1:

Textual evidence example #1:

Cite actual text from

primary source
documents and
explain and analyze
thoroughly the
authors stance on
womens suffrage

Textual evidence example #2

Textual evidence example #2

Your analysis:

Your analysis:

This author believes that womens suffrage should be

(allowed or not allowed)

This author believes that womens suffrage should be

(allowed or not allowed)

Main idea for thesis

Name________________________________________________________
Mastery (4)
Historical
Context

-Provides and discusses

substantial in-depth
background information
including authors expertise,
credentials, connections, and
role in events; and context
including purpose, occasion,
time period and geographic
situation.
Point of View -Identifies and thoroughly
analyzes individual authors
claims and reasoning
-Analyzes bias in individual
authors arguments
-Identifies audience and
weighs authors impact on
audience

Scoring Rubric: _____/4

Proficiency (3)

Initial Proficiency (2)

-Provides in-depth background

information including authors
expertise, credentials,
connections, and role in
events; and context including
purpose, occasion, time period
and geographic situation.

-Provides some
background information
including authors
expertise, credentials,
connections, and role in
events; and context
including purpose,
occasion, time period and
geographic situation.
-Unevenly identifies
and/or analyzes
individual authors
claims and reasoning
-Identifies bias in
authors arguments
-Identifies intended
audiences

-Provides little to no
background information
including authors expertise,
credentials, connections, and
role in events; and context
including purpose, occasion,
time period and geographic
situation.

-Makes limited or uneven

use of textual evidence to
provide supporting
details to explain authors
points of view
-Provides some
elaboration of textual
evidence
-Incorporates a thesis
which reflects a main
idea
-Demonstrates a general
plan or organization
-Includes a conclusion

-No use of textual evidence is

provided
- Provides no elaboration of
textual evidence

-Identifies and analyzes

individual authors claims and
reasoning
-Distinguishes and identifies
bias in individual authors
arguments
-Identifies audience and
describes possible impact on
audience
Use of
-Integrates textual evidence
-Uses textual evidence to
Textual
to provide supporting details provide supporting details to
Evidence
to explain authors points of
explain authors points of view
view
-Provides some elaboration of
-Extensively elaborates on
textual evidence to provide a
textual evidence to provide a more complete idea of
more complete understanding historical event
of an issue or historical event
Organization -Incorporates a well-Incorporates a clearly stated
developed clearly stated
thesis
thesis
-Demonstrates a logical plan
-Demonstrates a coherent
or organization
logical plan or organization
-Includes a conclusion
-Includes a well-reasoned
incorporating a stated position
conclusion incorporating a
stated position

Not Demonstrated (1)

-Fails to identify or analyze

individual authors claims and
reasoning
-Does not identify bias in
authors arguments
-Fails to successfully identify
intended audiences

-Thesis is not well-defined or

evident
-Lacks evidence of planning
-No conclusion provided

Name ________________________________________________
Multiple Perspectives Writing Assignment

Womens Suffrage

1. What is Elihu Roots position on womens suffrage? Is he in favor of it, or does he oppose it?

2.

What argument does Root give for or against suffrage? What evidence from the text supports your claim?

3. How might Roots background /experiences contribute to his potential bias on the subject of womens suffrage?

4. What is Jane Addamss position on womens suffrage? Is she in favor of it, or does she oppose it?

5. What argument does Addams give for or against suffrage? What evidence from the text supports your claim?

6. How might Addamss background /experiences contribute to her potential bias on the subject of womens suffrage?