Voting Rights PDF Teacher's Guide

Teacher’s Guide Voting Rights Time Needed: One class period Materials Needed: Student worksheets, PowerPoint (paper option also available) Copy Instructions: Student Materials (class set; double-sided) Learning Objectives Students will be able to:  Identify the laws and amendments that altered U.S....

Teacher’s Guide Voting Rights Time Needed: One class period Materials Needed: Student worksheets, PowerPoint (paper option also available) Copy Instructions: Student Materials (class set; double-sided) Learning Objectives Students will be able to:  Identify the laws and amendments that altered U.S. voting laws  Identify obstacles to voting  Describe the role of Susan B. Anthony in securing women’s right to vote  Determine whether individuals living at various times in U.S. history would have been able to vote STEP BY STEP  ANTICIPATE the lesson by asking the following question stream: “Have you ever voted in some kind of election or contest? When and for what? Were there rules for who could vote? Why do we have rules for voting?” (if they are struggling mention American Idol, Student Council, etc.)  DISTRIBUTE the So you think you can VOTE? student worksheet  REVIEW the instructions and structure of the student worksheet.  RUN the So you think you can VOTE? PowerPoint. Read through the slide show with the students, asking any relevant questions that come up.  OPTIONAL: Ask the students to identify the message or content of the images provided. (Poll tax political cartoon, woman with newspaper, etc.) Ask, “What can we learn from the image that helps us with the facts on the slide?” PAPER ALTERNATIVE: You may use the Voting Rights Chart to support or replace the information in the PowerPoint presentation.  MONITOR that all students are actively filling in their worksheets as the slide show progresses.  REVIEW Voting Rights chart and instructions for ‘Do They Have the Right to Vote?’ independent assignment. Read through the example question together.  ASSIGN the completion of the worksheet. This lesson plan is part of the Politics and Public Policy series by iCivics, Inc. a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing civic education. For more resources, please visit www.icivics.org/teachers, where you can access the state standards aligned to this lesson plan. Provide feedback to [email protected]. ©2012 iCivics, Inc. You may copy, distribute, or transmit this work for noncommercial purposes if you credit iCivics. All other rights reserved. Voting Rights Name: So you think you can VOTE? Different groups gained the right to vote throughout the history of the United States. Keep track of the details below. In colonial times and during the early years of All adult men were guaranteed the right to our country, men had to prove that they owned vote in the year ___________, when the ____________________ in order to be able to ________ Amendment was passed. vote. Where did this idea come from? Who could now vote? ____________________ ____________________________ ______________________________________ Women were guaranteed the right to vote in American Indians were given U.S. citizenship the year __________, when the ________ and the right to vote in the year _______, Amendment was passed. Which state gave when the president signed the women the vote first? ________________ _____________________________. When was that? ___________ Who was the president at that time? ____________________________ Residents of the District of Columbia, our Although the 15th Amendment said that race nation’s capital, gained the right to vote in could not keep men from voting, some states presidential elections in the year ______ when prevented African Americans from voting. the ________ Amendment was passed. Name three barriers: 1. 2. 3. The Civil Rights Movement brought changes to The Constitution changed the voting age the voting laws and practices in the U.S. What from 21 to _________ when the ________ did the 24th Amendment ban in 1964? Amendment was passed in 1971. Which war _________________ influenced this change? ___________________ What was passed in 1965? ________________________________ Guided Notes Voting Rights Name: Do they have the right to vote? Use today’s lesson and the voting rights chart to decide whether or not each person can vote and to state the reasons behind your decision. Hi! I’m Mike. I am 17 years old and live in Illinois in 2011. Can I vote? 1. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Mike’s voting rights. 2. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Shari’s voting rights. Good day, I’m John! I am a poor man living in Rhode Island in 1792. Can I vote? 3. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines John’s voting rights. 4. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Smith’s voting rights? Hi! I’m Lea. I am 35 and live on the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina in 1987. Can I vote? My name is Shari. I am 63, I live in Indiana, and the year is 1998. Can I vote? My name is Smith. I live in Alabama in the year 1955. I can read, but I live in poverty. Can I vote? 5. How do you know? Describe the laws or amendments that determine Lea’s voting rights. Activity p.1 Voting Rights Name: Do they have the right to vote? Use today’s lesson and the voting rights chart to decide whether or not each person can vote and to state the reasons behind your decision. My name is Mary. It is 1962 and I live in D.C. and would like to vote for the President. Can I? 6. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Mary’s voting rights. 7. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Steve’s voting rights. I am, Marvin, a wealthy land owner in Maine. It is 1815. Can I vote? I’m Steve. It is 1972, and I turned 18 while fighting in Vietnam. Can I vote? 8. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Marvin’s voting rights. 9. How do you know? Describe the laws or amendments that determine Susan’s voting rights. Be careful on this one! I’m just a kid and can’t vote yet. But, I bet you could help me with my homework. I learned that early in U.S. history, only male landowners could vote. Is this true? I am Susan. It is 1880, and I am a former slave living in Wisconsin. Can I vote? 10. Where did the colonists get the idea that only male land owners should vote? Activity p.2 Voting Rights **TEACHER GUIDE ** So you think you can VOTE? Different groups gained the right to vote throughout the history of the United States. Keep track of the details below. In colonial times and during the early years of All adult men were guaranteed the right to our country, men had to prove that they owned vote in the year _1870_, when the __15th__ __property/ land__ in order to be able to vote. Amendment was passed. Who could now vote? Where did this idea come from? _English laws ___African American men ______ and customs_ Women were guaranteed the right to vote in American Indians were given U.S. citizenship the year __1920__, when the __19th__ and the right to vote in the year _1924_, when Amendment was passed. Which state gave the president signed the _Indian Citizenship women the vote first? ___Wyoming______ Act__. Who was the president at that time? When was that? __1869___ __President Calvin Coolidge___ Residents of the District of Columbia, our Although the 15th Amendment said that race nation’s capital, gained the right to vote in could not keep men from voting, some states presidential elections in the year __1961__ prevented African Americans from voting. when the __23rd__ Amendment was passed. Name three barriers: 1. literacy tests 2. grandfather clause 3. the poll tax The Civil Rights Movement brought changes The Constitution changed the voting age to the voting laws and practices in the U.S. from 21 to __18__ when the __26th__ What did the 24th Amendment ban in 1964? Amendment was passed in 1971. Which war ___poll taxes_ What was passed in 1965? influenced this change? __The Vietnam War_ ____Voting Rights Act____ Guided Notes Voting Rights **TEACHER GUIDE ** Do they have the right to vote? Use today’s lesson and the voting rights chart to decide whether or not each person can vote and to state the reasons behind your decision. Hi! I’m Mike. I am 17 years old and live in Illinois in 2011. Can I vote? 1. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Mike’s voting rights. 2. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Shari’s voting rights. Good day, I’m John! I am a poor man living in Rhode Island in 1792. Can I vote? 3. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines John’s voting rights. 4. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Smith’s voting rights? Hi! I’m Lea. I am 35 and live on the Cherokee reservation in North Carolina in 1987. Can I vote? My name is Shari. I am 63, I live in Indiana, and the year is 1998. Can I vote? My name is Smith. I live in Alabama in the year 1955. I can read, but I live in poverty. Can I vote? 5. How do you know? Describe the laws or amendments that determine Lea’s voting rights. Activity p.1 Voting Rights **TEACHER GUIDE ** Do they have the right to vote? Use today’s lesson and the voting rights chart to decide whether or not each person can vote and to state the reasons behind your decision. My name is Mary. It is 1962 and I live in D.C. and would like to vote for the President. Can I? 6. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Mary’s voting rights. 7. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Steve’s voting rights. I am, Marvin, a wealthy land owner in Maine. It is 1815. Can I vote? I’m Steve. It is 1972, and I turned 18 while fighting in Vietnam. Can I vote? 8. How do you know? Describe the law or amendment that determines Marvin’s voting rights. 9. How do you know? Describe the laws or amendments that determine Susan’s voting rights. Be careful on this one! I’m just a kid and can’t vote yet. But, I bet you could help me with my homework. I learned that early in U.S. history, only male landowners could vote. Is this true? I am Susan. It is 1880, and I am a former slave living in Wisconsin. Can I vote? 10. Where did the colonists get the idea that only male land owners should vote? Activity p.2 Voting Rights Name: Voting Rights: A Brief History GROUP OF AMERICANS Adult White Men with Property DATE Colonial Traditional English Law and Times Custom 1789 All White Adult Men LAW OR AMENDMENT The Constitution gave the states the power to decide who could vote. State Constitutions lifted the 1820sproperty requirement over a 1880s period of 60 years. 15th Amendment: voting shall All Adult Men Women 1870 1920 not be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. 19th Amendment: voting shall not be denied an account of sex Indian Citizenship Act: gave Native Americans 1924 native peoples the rights and privileges of American citizenship 23rd Amendment: DC Residents of Washington, DC 1961 All American Citizens 1964 residents can vote for the president and have electoral votes based on population, as long as the number is less than the least populous state. 24th Amendment: banned the use of poll taxes in elections Voting Rights Act: further All American Citizens Citizens 18 years old and up 1965 protected the voting rights of all Americans by reinforcing the 15th Amendment. 26th Amendment: citizens who 1971 are 18 years of age or older cannot be denied the right to vote on account of age FACTOID Many believed only landowners were responsible enough to make political decisions. The Founding Fathers couldn't agree on rules for voting, so they passed the responsibility on to the states. Thomas Paine supported ending the property requirement, while John Adams feared 'mob rule' without it. This was one of three 'Civil War Amendments' granting freedom and rights to ex-slaves. Later, many state laws, called Jim Crow Laws, were passed to undermine them. Women could vote in Wyoming by 1869, but it took the work of Susan B. Anthony and many others to get the amendment passed to extend this right nationwide. Previously, Native Americans were not considered Americans, but rather members of their own tribal governments. Washington, DC is not a state and only has a non-voting representative in Congress. Before the 23rd Amendment, these citizens could NOT vote for the President! A poll tax was one of many restrictions placed on African Americans’ voting rights in the Jim Crow South. This act outlawed voting practices used to discriminate against African Americans, like literacy tests and voter intimidation. In the 1960s and '70s thousands of young men were drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. Many were too young to vote. Supporters of this amendment chanted, "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote!" Voting Rights Chart