Women Talk
Characters:
- Grandma: 52 years old
- Mother: 33 years old
- Child: 10 years old
Setting:
- Kitchen Table/Cooking dinner (1816)
Child: Mommy, who do you think will win the presidential election?
Grandma: Well, that’s easy darling. Everyone will be voting for Monroe.
Mom: James Monroe has a lot going for him. He was a founding father, a soldier, senator, governor, and might I mention handsome.
Child: [laughs]
Grandma: The Federalist Party is done for. From what I hear Rufus is a snob. There has been minimum effort with his campaigning.
Mom: And the newspaper hasn’t showed any support for the guy.
Grandma: Probably embarrassed too.
Mom: This country has come a long way and we need a real American man to represent us. I just wish us women could still vote.
Grandma: Oh yes. I remember when my mother had that privilege. She said it was the best ever. The American Revolution really helped us women.
Child: How’s that, Grandma?
Grandma: Well first off, it sparked patriotism in all females. We began to labor more in housework, along with taking care of the farms, and other male responsibilities.
Mom: Women had a lot of recognition back then.
Grandma: “The Revolution changed the popular understanding of Women’s political status and initiated widespread, ongoing debate over the meaning of Women’s rights” (p. 2).
Mom: It was a time we gained a foothold in politics and male electoral activities.
Grandma: Oh yea. My mother and I would attend rallies, political activities, and even voice our opinions for local newspapers.
Mom: I know “the men were fearful for the future that might involve a wholesale transformation in a women’s rights, roles, and responsibilities” (p. 78).
Grandma: My dad sure was, but the happiness he saw in my mom when he got to vote, I don’t think he cared.
Mom: Even though our voting privilege got taken away there will come a time again. I met my husband from believing in the Republican Party, so I know whom he will vote for, and if that changes there will be some prices to pay. That way, I still have a vote toward Monroe.
Child: I can’t wait to vote.
Grandma: Oh the time will come.