The Experiment
Women’s Suffrage is such a complex and important topic in the U.S. History survey, and I wanted to find a way to help my students understand the diverse approaches to suffrage. This was a very early experiment with Claude, and I quickly found that I enjoyed working with this model for this type of activity.
I prompted: “I am a history professor at Virginia Military Institute. I teach World History from 1500 to the present and the U.S. History survey from 1877 to the present this semester. The U.S. history survey is for upperclassmen from a variety of majors, but primarily history and International Studies. I am looking for ways to move beyond lectures and create more engaging activities for my students. Any suggestions for a replacement activity for the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the passing of the 19th Amendment?”
Claude suggested a primary-source analysis workshop, a strategic campaign simulation, a comparative timeline activity, a debate framed by the question of compromise, or a Document-Based Question Practice. Given spatial considerations, I chose to go with the Primary Source Analysis Workshop focusing on the period 1900–1919.
Claude offered suggestions for primary sources for each group, and I spent some time refining these suggestions. It is essential here to verify all sources and ensure that the excerpts chosen are the best options. Do not blindly trust the LLM. Once I was happy with the documents, I asked Claude to create a Word Document with the group and primary source(s) associated with that faction.
What Happened
I separated my 22 students into six groups and distributed the sources. Then, I gave them 15 minutes to analyze their packets. Once everyone had a chance to go through their packet, I had each group briefly present their sources’ perspective, and facilitated a whole-class discussion on conflicting perspectives.
At the end of the class, I asked the class the following questions:
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What were the main strategic disagreements within the suffrage movement? Which do you think was most effective?
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When, if ever, is it acceptable for a social movement to compromise its principles (like racial equality) to achieve its primary goal?
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How did race, class, and ethnicity shape different women’s experiences of and arguments for suffrage?
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Why do you think women, as well as men, opposed women’s suffrage? What does this tell us about social change movements?
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What similarities do you see between the suffrage movement’s debates and contemporary social movements?
The questions are an essential part of this exercise because they were the only way to ensure the students understood the core argument of the lecture. Many of the questions also foreshadowed future discussions in the class.
What Worked
This was a great way to expose my students to the challenges of a social movement in a low-friction way. They responded well to the material and enjoyed the debate portion of the assignment.
The Limits
- students struggled with analyzing the primary sources, so this part of the exercise took much longer than anticipated.
- Because they took longer to analyze the documents, the debate/discussion part of the exercise felt rushed.
Where I’m Taking This Next
- Next time, I would ask them to read the primary source packet before class and possibly use fewer groups.
- I will devote more time to the debate/whole class discussion.
Downloadable Resource
Here is the Primary Source Packet I used for this activity.