• Login
  • Register
  • FAQ
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • Documents
  • Activities
  • Activity Tools
    • All Tools
    • Analyzing Documents
    • Discussion Topic
    • Compare and Contrast
    • Zoom/Crop
    • White Out / Black Out
    • Spotlight
    • Finding a Sequence
    • Making Connections
    • Mapping History
    • Seeing the Big Picture
    • Weighing the Evidence
    • Interpreting Data
  • Popular Topics
    • See All
    • National History Day
    • The Constitution
    • Sports: All-American
    • Rights in America
    • American Indians
    • Women's Rights
    • American Revolution
    • The Civil War
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • The Vietnam War
    • 1970s America
    • Congress
    • Amending America
    • Elections
    • What Americans Eat
    • Signatures
    • Nixon and Ford Years
  • Resources
    • Getting Started
    • Document Analysis
    • Activity-Creation Guide
    • Manage Assignments
    • iPad App
    • Presentation Materials
    • Webinars
      • Recorded Webinars
      • Live Webinars
MENU
DocsTeachThe online tool for teaching with documents, from the National Archives National Archives Foundation National Archives

Suffrage Photograph Analysis

Analyzing Documents

Print
Created by the National Archives
Bookmark this Activity in My Activities:
Copy this Activity to My Activities for editing:
Suffrage Photograph Analysis

About this Activity

  • Created by:National Archives Education Team
  • Historical Era:The Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
  • Thinking Skill:Historical Analysis & Interpretation
  • Bloom's Taxonomy:Analyzing
  • Grade Level:Upper Elementary
Start Activity
Please use a tablet or desktop computer to use this activity.
In this activity, students will engage in the process of document analysis to better understand a photograph taken during the woman's suffrage movement.
https://www.docsteach.org/activities/student/whats-happening-here

Suggested Teaching Instructions

This activity can be used during a unit on the suffrage movement, civic action, or the progressive era.  It can serve as an introduction to some of the methods used by suffragists to enact social change.  It also serves to teach or reinforce the process of document (photograph) analysis.  For grades 2-6. Approximate time needed is 20 minutes.

Present the activity to the entire class. Direct students to begin the activity individually or in pairs. They should spend a minute or two looking at the photograph unassisted.

Then they should proceed to answer the questions that follow, which will guide them through the process of document (photograph) analysis: Meet the document. Observe its parts. Try to make sense of it. Use it as historical evidence.  If necessary, check in with your students at each step in the process and model analysis if required.

After students have analyzed the photograph, share the following contextual information from the full document detail page.
Frustrated with President Woodrow Wilson’s inaction on woman suffrage, the National Women’s Party (NWP) began picketing in front of the White House to press for voting rights for women; they were the first political activists to do so.

This photograph of "Silent Sentinel" Alison Turnbull Hopkins outside the White House poses the central question of the matter. Her banner reads: "Mr. President How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty."

The NWP began peacefully protesting six days a week in January 1917, but encountered hostile crowds after the United States entered World War I in April. Dozens of women were arrested, many of whom were jailed and force-fed. The resulting publicity and public outcry over their treatment is often credited with compelling President Woodrow Wilson to support woman suffrage.

The protesters demonstrated for nearly 30 months until Congress passed a joint resolution proposing a 19th amendment on June 4, 1919. 
Ask students how this information changes their understanding of the photograph.  Discuss. 

Direct students to the "When You're Done" tab and ask them to answer the question in the  box and submit their response.

Documents in this activity

  • Flag Bearer for Women's Rights Standing Near White House

CC0
To the extent possible under law, National Archives Education Team has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to "Suffrage Photograph Analysis".

  • Explore Primary Source Documents
  •  
  • Discover Activities You Can Teach With
  •  
  • Create Fun & Engaging Activities
Follow us on Twitter:twitter
Follow us on Facebook:facebook
Please enter a valid email address

View our webinars:youtube

Get our iPad app:apple
New Documentsshare
New Activitiesshare

The National Archives

DocsTeach is a product of the National Archives education division. Our mission is to engage, educate, and inspire all learners to discover and explore the records of the American people preserved by the National Archives.

The National Archives and Records Administration is the nation's record keeper. We save documents and other materials created in the course of business conducted by the U.S. Federal government that are judged to have continuing value. We hold in trust for the public the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — but also the records of ordinary citizens — at our locations around the country.
  • All Education Programs
  • Student Visits
  • Distance Learning
  • Professional Development
  • National Archives Museum
  • Presidential Libraries
  • Archives.gov
  • National Archives Foundation




Creative Commons License

Except where otherwise noted, DocsTeach is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Primary source documents included on this site generally come from the holdings of the National Archives and are in the public domain, except as noted. Teaching activities on this site have received the CC0 Public Domain Dedication; authors have waived all copyright and related rights to the extent possible under the law. See our legal and privacy page for full terms and conditions.