1. ASManager2.zip Driver
2. I_LADIES.txt File Contents

I_LADIES.txt Driver File Contents (ASManager2.zip)

Name: <  >
Class: <  >
Date: <  >


Ladies

They were called "ladies" in their day, but today they would have insisted on being called "women." We refer to the great women who got the women's rights movement underway. Remember that women in most states didn't have the right to vote until 1920, when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified. Earlier, at a meeting in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, called by two abolitionists -- Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton -- a "Declaration" was made. Here is part of it:

Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement [absence of voting rights] of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation, in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States.

Whew! Do you find yourself wanting to come up for air? Yes, this sentence might be considered "overstuffed" today, but it is skillfully put together. If you were an editor who wanted to break it down into at least two sentences, you could think of many ways to do it.

Try doing that now. Make changes to the working copy below. Don't hesitate to move words or phrases around or to change words.

Copy to Edit

Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement [absence of voting rights] of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation, in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States.


Name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

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Here is the way another writer divided it into three sentences. Place a copy of your work at the <  > angle brackets below and compare your work with this one.

One-half the people of this country -- women -- have no voting rights and suffer social and religious degradation by unjust laws. Women feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights. We insist, therefore, that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States.

<  >

Talk with your partner about the differences. Which version do you like best?

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The women were determined, but they knew they had a great fight ahead of them, and so they had a plan. Here it is:

In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small amount of misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we shall use every instrumentality within our power to effect our object. We shall employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the state and national legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the press in our behalf. We hope this Convention will be followed by a series of conventions embracing every part of the country.

A good way to learn about sentences is to juggle the parts and put them back together. You and your writing partner can have fun doing this. Let one partner be the Mixer and the other the Fixer. The Mixer takes a part of a sentence and moves it somewhere else in the paragraph. The Fixer has to put it back. (Take turns with your partners to mix and fix. Use the following copy to do your mixing and fixing.)

Mix and Fix

In entering upon the great work before us, we anticipate no small amount of misconception, misrepresentation, and ridicule; but we shall use every instrumentality within our power to effect our object. We shall employ agents, circulate tracts, petition the state and national legislatures, and endeavor to enlist the pulpit and the press in our behalf. We hope this Convention will be followed by a series of conventions embracing every part of the country.


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Now try to make a declaration of your own.

Women thought it outrageous to be denied the vote, as outrageous as if all left-handed people were denied the right to vote. Suppose you were a left-handed person joining with others to make a declaration. You can start with the same words that the women did, and use a few other of their phrases, if you want to. Make your declaration as overstuffed as you wish!

Our Declaration

In view of <  >, and because <  >, we the <  > do insist that <  > which belong to us as <  >.


If you haven't done so already, name and save this file now. (Press ctrl+S, type a name for the file, and press enter.)

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end of activity
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