This Day in History

July 4, 1876: Suffragists Crash Centennial Celebration at Independence Hall

Time Periods: 1865, 1877
Themes: Voting Rights, Civil Rights Movements, Democracy & Citizenship, Laws & Citizen Rights, Organizing, Women's History
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People’s History of Fourth of July: Beyond 1776 - On July 4, 1876, suffragists crash the Centennial Celebration at Independence Hall to present the “Declaration of the Rights of Women” | Zinn Education Project: Teaching People's History

Four of five women who delivered the declaration: (L-R) Matilda Joslyn Gage, Lillie Devereux Blake, Susan B. Anthony, and Phoebe Couzins.

On July 4, 1876, 100 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, members of the National Woman Suffrage Association crashed the Centennial Celebration at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to present the “Declaration of the Rights of Women.”

The declaration was signed by noted suffragists Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Read more about this at event at Ms. Magazine and read the full document at the Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Papers Project.

Explore an earlier period of the women’s suffrage movement in “Seneca Falls, 1848: Women Organize for Equality,” a role play that allows students to examine issues of race and class when exploring both the accomplishments and limitations of the Seneca Falls Convention.

Related Resources
Mural by Blake Chamberlain on an interior wall of the Women's Rights National Historical Park Visitor Center depicting influential people of the women's suffrage movement.
Teaching Activities (Free)

Seneca Falls, 1848: Women Organize for Equality

Teaching Activity. By Bill Bigelow. 17 pages.
A role play allows students to examine issues of race and class when exploring both the accomplishments and limitations of the Seneca Falls Convention.

Frances Harper, William Sylvis, Isaac Myers, and John Roy Lynch pictured. They were leaders of the Reconstruction Era in US history
Teaching Activities (Free)

When the Impossible Suddenly Became Possible: A Reconstruction Mixer

Teaching Activity. By Adam Sanchez and Nqobile Mthethwa. 25 pages.
A mixer role play explores the connections between different social movements during Reconstruction.

Teaching Guides

The Early Women’s Movement

Teaching Activity. By Gayle Olson-Raymer.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 6 of Voices of a People’s History of the United States on the early women’s movement, including their efforts for social, racial, and political equality.

Material

Teaching About Women’s History

Lessons, books, films, and posters for teaching outside the textbook about women’s role in history.