Aunt Elizabeth’s Dream

Question

Matthew Ramirez

1United States, 1919. Hanna and her sister, Ali, anxiously await their mother’s return. Their mother, who is the niece of the late Elizabeth Cady Stanton, is out voting for the first time since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment—a law which guaranteed women the right to vote.

2HANNA: I’m still astonished that mother is out voting in the election today! Mother must be very proud of her Aunt Elizabeth—after all, it was the work of the suffragists that helped women gain the right to vote. She even helped organize the convention about women’s rights in Seneca Falls.

3ALI: I wish that Aunt Elizabeth was alive to participate in today’s election. From what mother says about her, Aunt Elizabeth would have enjoyed showing others why it is critical for women to take part in the political process.

4HANNA: It was always Aunt Elizabeth’s dream for women to win the right to vote. She spent many years lobbying politicians to get women the same rights as men.

5MOTHER enters the room, smiling and wearing a pin that reads, “I voted today.” Hanna and Ali rush toward their mother and hug her.

6ALI: Mother, did you vote in the election?

7MOTHER: Yes, I did! I wish more women had participated in today's election, but I’m sure they will take advantage of this right in the future. Aunt Elizabeth and her friends would have been extremely proud. They spent many years trying to make politicians understand that women deserved the same rights as men. All of the American women who voted today owe them a debt of gratitude for their bravery.

8HANNA: Mother, I am very proud of you for voting today. All the women who voted today helped show the nation and the world that American women are ready to take part in the political process.

9ALI: I agree, Hanna. Mother, you set a great example for Hanna and me. Someday, I hope we are just like you and Aunt Elizabeth!

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Declaration of Sentiments

10Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a suffragist who worked to gain voting rights for American women. During her struggle for women’s suffrage, Stanton helped organize a convention that took place in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. At the convention, Stanton and other suffragists developed a document they called the Declaration of Sentiments. This document asserted that women in the United States were suppressed by men, and they deserved rights—including the right to vote—equal to those of their male counterparts. Among other things, the document claimed:

11The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny [SIC] over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.
12He has never permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to the elective franchise.
13He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice. . . .
14He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns. . . .
15Now, [women] insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States.
Question
Click and drag each inference in the Venn Diagram, under the passage(s) it can be inferred from. Some inferences can be drawn from both passages.
Drop target 1
Drop target 2
Drop target 3

Answer 1

Certainly! Below are the inferences that can be drawn from the two passages. I will categorize them based on their relevant passage.

Inference from "Aunt Elizabeth’s Dream":

1. Hanna and Ali respect their mother’s actions and view her voting as significant.
2. The importance of women's participation in the political process is emphasized.
3. There is a sense of legacy and inspiration drawn from Aunt Elizabeth's efforts for women's rights.

Inference from "Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Declaration of Sentiments":

1. Women faced repression and inequality compared to men, as highlighted in the Declaration of Sentiments.
2. The struggle for women's voting rights involved organized activism and well-defined goals.
3. Elizabeth Cady Stanton believed in the need for immediate admission to equal rights for women.

Inference drawn from Both Passages:

1. Elizabeth Cady Stanton's efforts and the suffrage movement significantly impacted women’s rights, which resonated with future generations, like Hanna and Ali.
2. The sentiment that women’s voting rights are a hard-earned privilege that should be exercised is common across both passages.

You can take this categorization to place each inference in the corresponding area of the Venn Diagram.