Why Did Women Want the Right to Vote?
The First Amendment protects the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Petitions can help us learn about issues that were important to people in the past. The following petitions were part of a petition drive organized by the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1877-78. Read each petition carefully and answer the discussion questions to discover reasons why women wanted the right to vote.
Complete the activity by answering the questions in the “When You’re Done” section.
Note: For a transcript of each document, click on “View Primary Source Details” below the image. On the page that opens, scroll down and click on Transcript.
Read each document carefully and determine:
- Who wrote it?
- Who received it?
- Where is it from?
- What is is about?
- What do you think the phrase “removal of her political disabilities” means?
Compare and contrast the documents.
- Are there any similarities among the documents?
- What are the different reasons women provide for wanting the right to vote?
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