American Voting Rights:
Deep Dive Into Primary Sources
- Introduction and Overview
Grade Level
High School
Overview
During this lesson, students will explore the evolution of voting rights throughout American history. During a jigsaw activity, with various groups of students tackling different eras of history, students will be provided with quotes and primary sources and then come back to the rest of the class to teach their peers. Students will gain a fuller understanding of how the right to vote has evolved and why it is critical aspect of using our voice in our American democracy.
Time Needed
1-2 class periods
Objectives
After this session, students will be able:
- Discuss the impact on voting on the rights of citizens;
- Provide examples of how the right to vote has expanded and contracted throughout American history;
- Understand how federal legislation, state legislation, court rulings, and executive actions all impact our ability to access the polls.
Materials Needed
- Screen/board
- Video playing capacity, if using
- Powerpoint
- Case study packets—copies for students
Introduction
Ask students to respond to the prompt: “Is voting an essential aspect of citizenship?”
If students seem hesitant to share in the large group, consider asking them to discuss with a partner and then ask a few pairs to report out on their discussion.
If appropriate for the students’ level, consider displaying the Alexis de Tocqueville quote in the PowerPoint:
Once a people begins to interfere with the voting qualification, one can be sure that sooner or later it will abolish it altogether. That is one of the most invariable rules of social behavior. The further the limit of voting rights is extended, the stronger is the need felt to spread them still wider, for after each new concession the forces of democracy are strengthened, and its demands increase with the augmented power. The ambition of those left below the qualifying limit increases in proportion to the number of those above it. Finally the exception becomes the rule; concessions follow one another without interruption, and there is no halting place until universal suffrage has been attained.
-Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835
Check for understanding of Alexis de Tocqueville, and who he was or what he wrote about in Democracy in America, in the early 19th century. Ask students to consider why voting is important.
Exploring the History of Voting in the United States
At this point, the lesson is adaptable based on student learning and literacy strengths. The video under Setting the Stage may be used to introduce the jigsaw activity, or prepare students for broader discussion.
Setting the Stage—share video with students
The Fight for the Right to Vote in the United States (4:30)
Jigsaw Activity
Split students into five groups, assign each group one of the voting “eras” and distribute coordinating handouts. Give students up to 30 minutes to read their handouts and answer discussion questions.
To debrief, depending on time, you can either:
- Have one member from each group present their groups case studies and discussions to the entire class; or
- Shuffle students into new groups with at least one representative from each era and allow students to teach each other in smaller groups.
Debrief & Wrap-Up
As a group, discuss with students, or use as writing prompts for short assessment:
- Why is voting important?
- Who has the right to vote, generally?
- How is voting part of a tradition or pattern in our country?
- What do you know about voting in your state?
The Washington Post’s How to Vote Tool could be a useful resource for discussion or short answer assignment: https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/how-to-vote/
- Is it easy to vote in your state? What kind of requirements are in place? Are these reasonable? Do you plan to vote when you are old enough?
Additional Resources
Clickable voting Rights interactive timeline
https://timeline.k8s.wgbhdigital.org/timeline/142/
PBS Things Explained: History of Voting in United States expanded history video (9:40)
https://illinois.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/c25fa636-8c55-407e-9634-cee665de60fb/history-of-us-voting-rights-things-explained/
Facing History Voting Rights in the United States
https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/voting-rights-united-states-0