Woman’s History Project: Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois on Woman Suffrage
Part 1: Answer the six questions after reading the letter from W. E. B. Du Bois to Miss M. B. Marston , 11 March 1907 (Document #4); and
the letter from Booker T. Washington to Charles Monroe Lincoln , 14 December 1908 (Document #5).
1) What was Du Bois’s position toward women’s suffrage at that time?
2) Why was this Du Bois’s position toward women’s suffrage at that time?
3) Did Washington support women’s suffrage?
4) Why or why not did Washington support women’s suffrage?
5) How were the opinions of the two men similar?
6) How were the opinions of the two men different?
Part 2
Answer the four questions after reading ” Club Work Among Negro Women ,” (1895) (Document #1); and ” The Tenth Annual Report of the
Tuskegee Woman’s Club ” (1905)( Document #3).
1) What was Margaret Murray Washington’s position towards woman suffrage?
2) What did she mean when she wrote, “Personally woman suffrage has never kept me awake at night”?
3) What did the Department of Woman Suffrage do at Tuskegee?
4) How was this activity similar or different from what you would expect?
Part 3:
Answer the three questions after reading ” Talks about Women ” (1910) (Document #9); and ” Colored Women as Voters ” (1912) (Document
#13).
1) How did Milholland make a case for woman suffrage
2) How did Logan argue that African-American women were particularly fit for the franchise?
3) What were some similarities between Milholland’s and Logan’s perspectives?
Part 4:
1) Which pieces authored by women you have read seem to reflect Washington’s philosophy toward suffrage? (Be sure to read all of the
documents in the project before answering this question.
2) Which pieces reflect Du Bois’s stance?
3) Did any of the articles by women reflect both men’s views to some extent?
Part 5:
Write a short speech (750 words) about women’s suffrage in the voice of Du Bois or Washington. Which view do you agree with more, and
why?