National Women’s Equality Day is a celebration of trailblazing women, offering the opportunity to look back at the history of the Suffrage Movement in America.
August 26th marks over 100 years since the 19th Amendment was signed into law, guaranteeing women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a long and hard-fought civil rights movement by women across the nation, with its roots in the 1848 women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York.
In 1973, the US Congress passed a bill designating August 26th as Women’s Equality Day, to not only recognize the struggles of the past that women faced in order to secure their rights, but also their ongoing efforts for full equality.
Using the resources and activities below, learn about visionary women who helped lay the groundwork for the passage of the 19th Amendment and beyond, the Suffrage movement and its connections to abolitionism, and how we are still striving for equality for women today.
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Learn About Suffrage & the Women’s Movement
Suffragist Movement | Let’s Learn
Grades PreK-2
Cheyney McKnight from the New-York Historical Society explores the strategies women used to get the right to vote.
Upstate, Downstate: The Women’s Movement
Grades 3-5
Upstate, Downstate is an original web series that teaches young learners about the history, geography and government of New York State. Watch an episode exploring the history of the women’s movement of the 1800s, its connection to abolitionism, and how struggles for women’s rights continue to this day.
Teaching Women’s Suffrage
Grades 3-12
This collection of video clips, lesson plans, and primary sources details key figures, events, and regional movements of the decades-long fight to win the right to vote for women in the United States. Students will encounter activists including Sojourner Truth, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Grace Abbott, and examine key regional efforts within the movement. Primary source documents offer evidence for a study of the chronology of campaign for women’s suffrage, from the movement’s beginnings through the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
Unladylike2020 Collection
Grades 6-12
Unladylike2020 honors the centennial of women’s suffrage. This collection of digital resources presents the rich history of 26 little-known Progressive Era women, diverse in profession, race, ethnicity, geographical and class backgrounds, sexual orientation and gender expression, who broke barriers in then-male-dominated fields such as science, business, journalism, exploration, and the arts. Touching on topics such as the labor movement, immigration, politics, civil rights, and women’s suffrage, these resources develop students’ historical thinking skills and help them make connections between past and present.
Trailblazers & Visionary Women
Patsy Mink | Women Advancing Equality: Asian Americans
Grades 3-8
Throughout her life, Patsy Mink faced obstacles because she was Asian and female. But Mink did not give up her pursuit of a political career. In 1964, she was elected to Congress in her second attempt. In Congress, she co-authored Title IX, a law to ensure that no one will be discriminated against in education and federally-funded activities based on gender. In addition to working on Title IX, Mink also fought racial barriers by supporting civil rights legislation.
Sojourner Truth | Abolitionist and Women’s Rights Activist
Grades 3-8
An abolitionist and feminist during the nineteenth century, Sojourner Truth demanded not less discrimination, but no discrimination. Truth escaped enslavement and, despite being unable to read or write, rose to be a leader in the fight for equality and fair treatment for both women and African Americans.
Inez Milholland: Suffrage Movement Icon
Grades 6-12
Examine the life of suffragist, labor lawyer, activist, and public speaker Inez Milholland. Learn about Milholland’s commitment to earning women the right to vote and her concern for social justice reforms of the day including striking laborers, tenant’s rights, and prison reform. Milholland became an icon for the suffrage movement after she led the Women’s Suffrage Procession up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., wearing a long cape and riding a white horse, on the eve of President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration.
Mary Church Terrell | Unladylike2020
Grades 6-12
Learn about Mary Church Terrell, daughter of former slaves and one of the first African American women to earn both a Bachelor and a Master’s degree, who became a national leader for civil rights and women’s suffrage, in this video from Unladylike2020.
United in Progress | Discovering New York Suffrage Stories
Grades 6-12
In New York, the suffrage movement’s success depended on thousands of women, but today, many of their stories are absent from history. Discovering New York Suffrage Stories shares the journeys of four women who tirelessly navigated issues of religious intolerance, sexism, and racism in the fight for suffrage: Matilda Joslyn Gage, Paulina Wright Davis, Hester Jeffrey, and Mary Talbert. Learn about these four key players in the women’s suffrage movement while watching segments from the film, then analyze and discuss the injustices women endured, and continue to experience in the United States, during a group interview activity.
Activities, Books & More
How to Raise Strong Girls
Grades PreK-3
When girls get the message that they have the ability to work through difficulty and learn new things, they stop giving up and start finding their way through their struggles. Try, “I’m working on this” to help your daughter remember that learning takes time.
Children’s Books About Amazing Women
Grades PreK-4
Celebrate amazing women, who have affected more lives than they could have imagined, with this collection of books for kids aged 2-9!
Trailblazer Bio Cards
Grades 6-12
Celebrate extraordinary trailblazing women with these printable Trailblazer Bio Cards and Gallery walk activity.
Women’s Suffrage In the Progressive Era | Unladylike2020
Grades 6-12
In this interactive lesson, using a series of digital shorts from Unladylike2020, you’ll learn about the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the Progressive Era, focusing on the leaders who laid the groundwork for the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment.
She Resisted: Strategies of Suffrage | The Vote
Grades 9-12
Learn about the groundbreaking strategies women used to give rise to the largest expansion of voting rights in American history in She Resisted: Strategies of Suffrage, an interactive audio/visual experience from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE. An activity invites students to form jigsaw groups and watch one or more of the eight “Strategy” segments in small groups, taking advantage of the unique interactive nature of the presentation. Groups will share their findings with each other.