Cult of Domesticity
Name one of the four traits of the Cult of Domesticity.
Piety, Purity, Submissiveness, or Domesticity.
Give one social reason people opposed women’s suffrage.
It would hurt families, cause divorce, crime, poor health, or was against God’s design.
Name one major women’s suffrage leader.
Alice Paul or Carrie Chapman Catt
What does NAWSA stand for?
National American Woman Suffrage Association.
What was the suffragists’ main goal?
Gaining the right to vote.
Where was a woman’s “place” in society according to the Cult of Domesticity?
In the private sphere (home: cooking, cleaning, raising children).
Give one political reason people opposed women’s suffrage.
Women’s votes would duplicate husbands’, waste votes, or they lacked political knowledge.
Who supported the “Winning Plan,” state-by-state suffrage?
Carrie Chapman Catt (NAWSA).
What does NWP stand for?
National Woman’s Party.
Why did they believe the right to vote was the most important first step?
It gave them a voice in government to change laws and gain citizenship rights.
How did Emily Leighton resist the Cult of Domesticity in Iron Jawed Angels?
Examples include: donating money, picketing, refusing bail, hunger strike, standing up to husband.
Give one economic reason people opposed women’s suffrage.
Women didn’t understand shipping, trade, or careers, so unqualified for those decisions.
Who pushed for a federal amendment and used parades, picketing, and hunger strikes?
Alice Paul (NWP).
Which group aligned with the Democratic Party and Wilson?
NAWSA
Name one political way women’s lives would change after gaining the vote.
Could vote, run for office, serve on juries, change laws.
How did Emily Leighton demonstrate the Cult of Domesticity in Iron Jawed Angels?
Taking care of children, husband, avoiding politics, etc.
How did social and political arguments against suffrage connect to maintaining male power?
They kept women dependent, limited influence, and upheld men’s authority in law and family.
How did Alice Paul’s Quaker background influence her beliefs about equality?
Quakers believed in equality for all, influencing her radical tactics.
Which group avoided political affiliation and used more radical tactics?
NWP
Name one social and one economic way women’s lives would change after gaining the vote.
Social: better divorce/education laws; Economic: fair wages, better working conditions, more jobs.
Explain why the Cult of Domesticity limited women’s opportunities outside the home.
It reinforced restrictive gender norms, preventing participation in politics, jobs, and education.
Evaluate: Which type of anti-suffrage argument (social, political, or economic) was most influential, and why?
Varies — strong responses will explain connections to society’s values at the time.
Which leader’s strategy do you think was more effective and why?
Answers may vary but must be supported with evidence.
Why did the NWP and NAWSA use such different strategies?
heir leaders’ backgrounds and views on political pressure shaped different approaches (Catt more conservative, Paul influenced by British suffragists).
How did gaining the vote challenge the status quo in all three categories (political, social, economic)?
It expanded women’s rights and roles in every area of life, disrupting traditional gender norms.
Gaining the vote gave women power in politics by letting them help make laws and choose leaders. It also changed social life because women could push for better education, divorce, and family rights. Economically, it let women support fair wages and better working conditions, breaking the old idea that only men should make decisions.