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U.S. Elections | Barrow Plantation | Women's Suffrage
U.S. ElectionsThomas Jefferson won the Presidency in 1800 in what has been called a political revolution for the new Republic. The election was the first in which two parties faced one another in a presidential election, and demonstrated that Americans could peacefully change their government through the electoral process. Jefferson, after narrowly defeating John Adams in the electoral college, pledged in his inaugural address to unite the country, "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists." The two-party system that was born in this election persists until the present.
The election of Thomas Jefferson brought to power a new political party, the Democratic-Republicans. Was this party a national organization, representing the U.S. as a whole, or sectional party, representing only the South? What evidence is there for each position?
Why did a two-party system arise in the election of 1800? What effect did this system have on American political history? Was this a healthy or unhealthy development for American political life?
Write a diary as an observer from France in the United States during the Election of 1800. What are your views of the election? What do you think the election reveals about American political life? Compare America's peaceful transition to Democratic-Republican rule with political life in post-revolutionary France? How do you explain the differences?
Barrow PlantationEmancipation altered the individual and community lives of former slaves. On the Barrow Plantation, the dispersal of housing on the post-emancipation plantation reveals the former slaves' desire to escape the direct control and supervision of their former master. Their construction of a church and a school on the Barrow Plantation after emancipation demonstrates their efforts to build new communal institutions to help forge a new life in freedom.
What changed in the location of housing between 1861 and 1881? Compare and contrast the ability of the white overseer to observe and control the slaves and former slaves.
What new facilities existed for ex-slaves that did not exist for slaves? What new freedoms did these buildings represent for the African-American community? What needs did each fulfill?
Make a table that lists the advantages and the disadvantages of the new system for landowners and slaves.
Did slaves typically own the land they occupied and farmed after emancipation? How might the crop lien system have operated on plantations such as this?
Write a description of this plantation complex by a visitor in 1881 who had also visited the plantation in 1861. What differences and similarities would the visitor notice? Write a detailed description of one of the new dwellings of a former slave and compare it to the slave quarters from the first visit.
Women's SuffrageSince the birth of the Republic, women had advocated for political rights in America. However, it was not until the 19th century that states began to grant women suffrage. The Women's Suffrage Movement, begun in the 19th century, campaigned nationally, and in the states, for the right to vote and hold office. It was not until the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1919 that all American women gained the right to vote.
What factors help explain the success of the women's suffrage movement in the western states, and its relative lack of success in eastern and southern states?
Why do you think the House of Representatives ratified the 19th Amendment by only two votes? What interests may have lobbied against women's suffrage on the national and state levels?
You are a suffragist urging people to sign your petition for a statewide referendum on the issue. What arguments do you mobilize to influence people to sign your petition? What counter arguments do you hear from those passing by in the street who oppose women's suffrage?
