Cornelius Van Vorst, ca.1620; 
Jersey City Free Public Library; Grover Cleveland Political Cartoon; 
Seabrook Farms Collection;

Women's Suffrage
The Electronic New Jersey Women's Suffrage module uses primary source documents to illustrate how women in New Jersey lost and eventually regained the right to vote. Analysis of primary source material such as: government documents, posters, music, photographs, letters, and political cartoons, is the focal point of the site.
  • Introductory Activity
    Through analysis of primary source documents students will learn how women were excluded from voting in New Jersey.
  • Central Questions
    Through analysis of primary source documents students will address the following questions:
    • Opposition/Support
      Why would a man be in favor of women’s suffrage? Why would a woman be opposed to women’s suffrage?
    • Privilege or Duty
      Is voting a privilege or a duty?
    • Exploitation Possibilities
      If you can't vote can people exploit you?
    • Competency Issues
      Why were women considered incompetent to vote yet competent to raise children?
    • Voting & Status
      If a woman votes does it make her more or less a woman?
    • 19th Amendment
      What does the 19th amendment say?
    • Culminating Activity
      Through an interactive simulation/role play, students will analyze both historic and contemporary issues related to the roles of women in society and the struggle for women's suffrage and social equality.
"Thomas Jefferson had proclaimed in 1776 that equality would be the bedrock of a new American government. But it took 144 years for women finally to achieve full citizenship in the United States..."
Ward, Geoffrey C. and Ken Burns. Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. p vii.
Unless otherwise specified, all documentary and photograph sources used in this section of Electronic New Jersey were provided courtesy of the Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives, the NJ State Archives, and/or the NJ Historical Society
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