Essay 2 Assignment: The Road to the Vote: 1848-1920
In this assignment, you will write an historical essay that uses primary sources to discuss/address the
broad topic: “The Road to the Vote: 1848-1920”. The goal of the paper is to highlight what you have
learned in Unit 2. You will want to focus on how the woman’s suffrage/woman’s rights movement
began, how it progressed, how the female sphere expanded in this period, and how the vote was won.
1. Choose three (3) primary sources, as “evidence” to help “argue” your thesis.
The goal of the paper is to show a progression across time, so you will pick a source from each
module (Refer to Syllabus for full list of module primary sources):
 Choose One primary source from Module 6 readings.
 Choose One primary source from either Module 7 or Module 8 readings.
 Choose One primary source from Module 9 readings.
 List your three primary sources (Author, Title) at the top of your paper, after your
name and title information.
NOTE on SOURCES:
You will not get credit for choosing sources that are not on the syllabus or which do not
conform to the appropriate module requirements. If you are unsure if your chosen sources
meet the requirements, it is your responsibility to ask the professor via email before you submit
your paper. If you are unsure what constitutes a primary source, you need to go back and rewatch
Lecture 1. General TWE text, lectures, and film clips (including “Iron Jawed Angels’) are
SECONDARY sources, NOT primary sources. Do NOT use any outside primary sources (i.e. ones
you found on the internet) in your paper. You may reference other assigned primary sources in
addition to your chosen three documents to expand your context.
2. Put your sources in chronological order and develop a thesis statement to unite
your sources.
A thesis statement is a simple one sentence summary of what you will be arguing in your essay.
For this essay, you will want to select a simple argument that summarizes your understanding of
how women got the right to vote. When you look at all three of your sources, what can they tell
us about the nature of this journey? What were the significant factors in the winning of the 19th
Amendment? Answer this question and make this your thesis statement. Helpful hints on
writing a thesis statement. Your thesis should be underlined in your introductory paragraph.
3. Use your primary sources to write an essay about “The Road to the Vote: 1848-
1920”.
Start with an introductory paragraph that includes your thesis statement. Then, for each source,
discuss Context and Content and Analysis. Finally, make sure to write a conclusion paragraph.
Context (1-2 paragraphs per source):
Discuss what is going on in the general time period and location of your source (use dates and
terms). What is going on for women and women’s rights? Discuss relevant important
events/people/terms that are important to know to make sense of the source. Don’t forget to
use important names and terms when necessary (NAWSA, Municipal Housekeeping,
Clubwomen, Suffrage, etc.) as you discuss. You should use information from both lecture and
readings. *NOTE: You want to be thorough in your context, but be careful that this section does
not just become a write-up of your lecture notes. Your goal is to synthesize and curate the
information that is most pertinent to your thesis.
Content and Analysis (1-2 paragraphs per source):
Introduce the author. Discuss the specific content of the source. Use and discuss several
important quotes/images or summary to highlight the significance of the source. Make sense of
the document given the context of the time period. Throughout your paper, connect each
source by demonstrating how they help illuminate your thesis: How does this source show how
women are expanding the female sphere in this period and/or moving closer to the vote?

Your paper should be outlined (and will be scored) as follows:
Make sure that you have paragraphs for each of the following items. It is very difficult to earn a
passing grade if you have missing sections! Please refer to the Essay rubric for description of
percentages awarded.
Paragraph 1: Introduction with Thesis (5 points)
Paragraph 2: Module 6 Primary Source Historical Context (15 points)
Paragraph 3: Module 6 Primary Source Content and Analysis (15 points)
Paragraph 4: Module 7 or 8 Primary Source Historical Context (15 points)
Paragraph 5: Module 7 or 8 Primary Source Content and Analysis (15 points)
Paragraph 6: Module 9 Primary Source Historical Context (15 points)
Paragraph 7: Module 9 Primary Source Content and Analysis (15 points)
Paragraph 8: Conclusion that summarizes your argument and points you made (5
points)
TOTAL: 100 points (extra credit will be awarded for superior work)
IMPORTANT DETAILS
 Follow these instructions carefully! You will only get credit for one primary source from each
period, so if you happen to fail to read the directions and choose two from sources from the
same particular period, you will not receive credit for the 2nd writing. Also, you will not get credit
for writing about a primary source that is not on the above list.
 All the information that you need for your essay is found in lectures, TWE readings and your
primary source reader. The goal of this assignment is to show your mastery of our course
material, so you DO NOT need to do additional research on the internet. Further, DO NOT, I
repeat, DO NOT cut and paste information from the internet: this constitutes plagiarism and
will result in an automatic zero for this assignment. All text must be your own words.
 Properly cite your information. You must use quotes from primary and secondary sources to
help make your points. Choose short quotes (no longer than about 2 lines long). Whenever you
use a quote (and make sure to use quotation marks), you need a citation. Whenever you
introduce an idea that is not your own, you need a citation. For this paper, use an informational
citation in parenthesis at the end of the sentence(s):
o Example: Isabel deOlvera showed agency when she requested “ a properly certified and
signed copy be given to me in order to protect my rights.” (Reader, 1)
o Example: According to historian Ellen Carol DuBois, slave women in late stages of
pregnancy might escape harsh beatings in the interest of sparing the unborn child who
was valuable to slave owners (TWE, 212).
o Example: John Smith married Pocahontas “for the good of the plantation.” (Lecture 2)