The ongoing struggle for gender equality has been an important theme in New Jersey history, reaching back to the period of the American Revolution, when New Jersey was the only one of the original thirteen states to permit women the right to vote. This right was taken away by the NJ legislature in 1807, and it was only through more than a century of intense struggle that women regained suffrage in 1920. The curriculum module entitled "Women's Suffrage" invites teachers and students to examine this struggle in detail while connecting reform activities in New Jersey to the broader social movement that culminated in passage of the 19th amendment and its eventual ratification during the Progressive Era.
The theme of gender equality extends far beyond the right to vote, and the second module in this section of Electronic New Jersey examines the struggle to end discrimination against women, using Title IX of the Education Act Amendment of 1972 and its impact on women's athletics at Rutgers as a case study. The ongoing struggle to achieve full equality and to end discriminatory practices based on gender is a powerful theme in both NJ and U. S. history, and this module invites teachers and students to investigate the successes and shortcomings of federal policies, as well as their impact on the lives of women who challenged historical patterns of prejudice and discrimination.
Related Lessons
Sources Consulted
Tomlinson, Barbara. "Feminism." In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen, editors, The Encyclopedia of New Jersey. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2004.
Dodyk, Delight Wing. "Woman Suffrage." In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen, editors, The Encyclopedia of New Jersey. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 2004.