The American Presidency

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 12.03.03

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Rationale
  2. Overview
  3. Objective
  4. Background Information
  5. Theodore Roosevelt
  6. Woodrow Wilson
  7. Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt
  8. John F. Kennedy
  9. Richard Nixon
  10. Birth of the Women's Rights Movement
  11. Growth of Women's Rights (1920–1950)
  12. The Development of Feminism and the ERA (1920–1972)
  13. Strategies and Activities
  14. Appendices 1–5
  15. APPENDIX 6
  16. APPENDIX 7
  17. End Notes
  18. Annotated Bibliography

The Women's Movement in Presidential Rhetoric

Stefano Cadoppi

Published September 2012

Tools for this Unit:

Overview

This unit will consider the role different presidents of the United States played during the time of the women's movement for equal rights. Students will read and analyze what kind of action they took. I will choose Teddy Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon to compare their views regarding women when they were in executive office. The American Presidency is a singular institution in that the president holds lots of power. Depending on how he uses that power to support ideas or groups, presidential rhetoric (how to motivate, explain, or convince /persuade people) may trigger constitutional confrontations with the other branches of government. Constitutional, rhetorical, and imperial presidential styles will be covered through the different degrees of presidential involvement.

More broadly, students will study the history of women pursuing civil rights equality in the past one hundred years in the United States. The unit will examine leaders and strategies employed by the women's movement. It will begin with the Declaration of Sentiments at Seneca Falls in 1848. By comparing it to the Declaration of Independence, students will explain the discrepancy between the two documents. Lack of unity was one of the most glaring weaknesses of the women's movement. What caused it and how it could have been avoided will provide good material for conversation linked to current events. Finally, students will find reasons why the women's movement for equal rights was not linked to the civil rights movement.

At another level, I want students to analyze the roots of intolerance. They will have to find reasons, causes, and effects keeping the "other" out of mainstream society. This is the moment of truth, as students will reflect about their biases and personal convictions through class discussion and writing an individual essay. What men think about women, how both are similar/different, and how they perceive each other are questions I will use to get students involved in the exploration of gender.

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