Speak Up

I take Eleanor to places that can inspire her. From watching NCAA athletes practice and compete, we then walk in the footsteps of historical figures and learn their stories. I conduct research into the people she watches to understand the scope of their achievements. What motivated them, and who supported them?

Anyone who achieves greatness always has a community backing them. Women’s suffrage began in New Zealand, which recently had three female prime ministers. Large ideas start in small spaces, and then spread throughout the world.

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Works Cited

Anne Else, ‘Gender inequalities – Politics and citizenship’, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/gender-inequalities/page-3 (accessed 13 November 2024)

Women win the right to vote, URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/womens-suffrage-day, (Manatū Taonga — Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 31-Jul-2024

The United States gave women the vote because of World War I. President Woodrow Wilson stated, “We have made partners of the women in this war… Shall we admit them only to a partnership of suffering and sacrifice and toil and not to a partnership of privilege and right?” The United States provided supplies and troops to Europe produced by women filling the roles of men deployed to the war front. With Wilson’s active canvassing for support, the amendment for women’s suffrage passed after its third appearance before Congress.

Today, China, India, the United States, and Russia are the top global exporters of wheat. American farmers implement reduced tillage to safeguard the soil against the overuse that contributed to the “Dust Bowl” of the 1930s that displaced 2.5 million people in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico. War and climate change are the two greatest challenges to the world food supply.

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Works Cited

“2024 Global Report on Food Crises | UNICEF USA.” UNICEF USA, https://www.unicefusa.org/…/2024-Global-Report-Food-Crises.

Defense Logistics Agency. “Logistics and American Entry Into the Great War.” Defense Logistics Agency, https://www.dla.mil/…/logistics-and-american-entry…/

“How World War I Strengthened Women’s Suffrage.” Stanford University, https://news.stanford.edu/…/world-war-strengthened….

Knisley, Shelbi. “Technology, Innovative Farming Practices Advance Wheat Farm Sustainability.” U.S. Wheat Associates, 2 Feb. 2021, https://www.uswheat.org/…/technology-innovative…/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

Parrish, Abraham. “Climate Migrants of the 1930’s Dust Bowl | Worlds Revealed.” The Library of Congress, 1 Dec. 2023, https://blogs.loc.gov/…/climate-migrants-of-the-1930s…/.

Saqib, Mohammed. “Top 15 Grain Producing Countries in the World.” Yahoo! Finance, 21 June 2023, https://finance.yahoo.com/…/top-15-grain-producing…. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Women’s Suffrage | Definition, History, Causes, Effects, Leaders, and Facts.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Oct. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/topic/woman-suffrage.

Women in World War I (U.S. National Park Service). https://www.nps.gov/articles/women-in-world-war-i.htm.

“Woodrow Wilson and the Women’s Suffrage Movement: A Reflection.” Wilson Center, https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/woodrow-wilson-and-the-womens-suffrage-movement-reflection?

One hundred four years ago, women received the right to vote when the nineteenth Constitutional amendment was ratified. Wyoming was the first state to give women the right to vote in their constitution. During the territory’s application for statehood, the Wyoming legislature asserted, “We will remain out of the Union one hundred years rather than come in without the women.” Other states soon followed their lead by giving women the right to vote.

In 1869, Wyoming had a 6:1 ratio of men to women. By giving women the right to vote, the legislature hoped to attract women and grow their population. Legislators also had wives and mothers who advocated for women’s rights. That trend continued when it came to the 19th amendment. Tennessee representative Harry Burn cast the final vote to ratify after receiving a letter from his mother quoting a suffragist leader.

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Works Cited

“19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Right to Vote (1920).” National Archives, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment.

Cohen, Jennie. “The Mother Who Saved Suffrage: Passing the 19th Amendment.” HISTORY, 23 July 2024, https://www.history.com/…/the-mother-who-saved-suffrage….

“On This Day, the 19th Amendment Joins the Constitution.” National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org, https://constitutioncenter.org/…/on-this-day-the-19th….

Schons, Mary. “Woman Suffrage.” National Geographic Society, edited by Jeannie Evers et al., 30 Oct. 2024, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/woman-suffrage. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.

“Special Topics: Women’s Suffrage and Women’s Rights | WyoHistory.org.” Wyoming Historical Society, https://www.wyohistory.org/…/womens-suffrage-and-womens….

Sullivan, Missy. “Wyoming Grants Women the Right to Vote.” HISTORY, 8 Dec. 2023, https://www.history.com/thi…/wyoming-grants-women-the-vote.

One hundred forty-eight years ago, Susan B. Anthony read the Declaration of the Rights of Women at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Exactly one hundred years after the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, the reading took place in the midst of the Centennial Exposition of 1876. Spread out over 285 acres, pavilions displayed achievements such as Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone and the Statue of Liberty torch. You can see a scale model of the Exposition at the Please Touch Museum in the Centennial Innovations exhibit on the lower level.

The United States has always had a complicated relationship between foreign and domestic policies. Basically, the government wants to display strength and leadership throughout the world. On the home front, states contradict themselves by granting and then removing rights. New Jersey was the first state to allow women to vote, only to rescind that right seventeen years later. When world power is directly tied to GDP, or gross domestic product, the United States risks losing ground when we limit the ability of women to be productive members of society.

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Works Cited

“19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women’s Right to Vote (1920).” National Archives, 8 Feb. 2022, https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/19th-amendment.

Cohen, Jennie. “The Mother Who Saved Suffrage: Passing the 19th Amendment.” HISTORY, 23 July 2024, https://www.history.com/…/the-mother-who-saved-suffrage….

“On This Day, the 19th Amendment Joins the Constitution.” National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org, https://constitutioncenter.org/…/on-this-day-the-19th….

Schons, Mary. “Woman Suffrage.” National Geographic Society, edited by Jeannie Evers et al., 30 Oct. 2024, education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/woman-suffrage. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.

“Special Topics: Women’s Suffrage and Women’s Rights | WyoHistory.org.” Wyoming Historical Society, https://www.wyohistory.org/…/womens-suffrage-and-womens….

Sullivan, Missy. “Wyoming Grants Women the Right to Vote.” HISTORY, 8 Dec. 2023, https://www.history.com/thi…/wyoming-grants-women-the-vote.