Causes of Civil Rights Movements Focusing Question: What are the causes of civil rights movements?

Mini Lesson: Louisiana Literacy Test This test was used in Louisiana. People were given ten minutes to take the whole test. Take three minutes to answer the first ten questions. Why did this test exist? Who do you think took the test? Was it fair?

In the 1800’s, not all Americans were treated equally. Men ran the government, businesses and schools. Women were expected to stay at home where they could be under the control of men. Did women have political rights? Political rights give us the power to be a part of government. Women were not allowed to vote in local, state or presidential elections. Since women could not vote, they could not change the laws.

Did women have social rights? Social rights give us the ability to use goods, facilities and services without being discriminated. Women did not have the same social rights as men. They had to drop out of school when they got married. In the case of divorce, men got custody of the children. There were even laws telling women what to wear. Did women have economic rights? Economic rights give us freedom to earn a living and own property. Most women who were married could not work. Poor women had to work, but they earned less money than men for the same number of hours.

Most women felt they deserved the same social, political and economic rights as men. Some women decided to fight first for the right to vote. The right to vote is called suffrage. Women who fought for the right to vote were called suffragettes. They needed men in Congress to change the U.S. Constitution to give women the right to vote. And then, three quarters of all the states needed to agree.

Women fought for their rights and also for the rights of others. Many suffragettes fought to end slavery. After the Civil War, they fought to get African American men and women the right to vote. But the 15th Amendment only gave African American men the right to vote. In 1848, a group of 300 suffragettes met in Seneca Falls, New York. They wrote a document called the Declaration of Sentiments. It was based on the Declaration of Independence. They wrote that “all men and women are created equal,” and should be treated equally in the U.S. Many people see this convention as an important beginning in the women’s struggle for civil rights.

Homework: Define the following terms: –Discrimination –Injustice –Movement –Segregation