ACTIVISTS

Questions

1. Explain what Frederick Douglass meant in his famous quote, "Power concedes nothing without a demand." Do you agree with him? (See also Section 13 below, Activity 1)
2. In what ways might the interests of working women be different from those of working men? In what ways might they be the same? How have women workers been treated in relation to male workers?
3. How have workers of color been treated in relation to white workers? What are your thoughts about this relationship? Why did Black American workers form their own national labor union? How might the rights and lives of all workers be different had trade unions accepted and included Black workers in their early development?

Activities

1. Visit the Susan B. Anthony House. Write an essay about an important event in Anthony's life.
2. Read about the life of Frederick Douglass. Write an essay on his abolitionist activities.
3. Begin a study about Iroquois culture by visiting the Rochester Museum and Science Center. If possible, visit Ganondagan. Write a report about Iroquois practices in government, family structure, organization of work, the role of women.

Vocabulary fugitive

suffrage

temperance

abolitionist

speculator

Glossary

journeyman: a worker who has learned a trade and is qualified to work at it

Resources

Map/Guide, # 18, 25, 37, 38
www.ganondagan.org [website for regional Iroquois culture]
Lynn Sherr, Failure is Impossible:Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words. (1995)
Frederick Douglass, Life and Times. (1962)
Philip Foner, Organized Labor and the Black Worker, 1619-1973. (1982)
Lewis Henry Morgan, League of the Iroquois. (reprinted, 1962)