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Who Votes? Who Belongs?

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Lesson Plan

Who Votes? Who Belongs?

Students will be able to identify key historical moments and legislative acts that expanded or restricted voting rights and citizenship in the U.S., analyze the reasons behind these changes, and evaluate the ongoing impact of these historical developments on contemporary American society.

Understanding the history of voting rights and citizenship is crucial for students to grasp the complexities of American democracy. It highlights the long struggles for equality and challenges them to critically examine how historical power structures have shaped who participates in our society.

Audience

9th Grade Students

Time

90 minutes

Approach

Through slides, discussion, and a timeline activity.

Materials

Prep

Teacher Preparation

20 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up: Brainstorming Citizenship (10 minutes)

10 minutes

  1. Begin by asking students: "What does it mean to be a citizen in the United States?" and "Who do you think has always had the right to vote in the U.S.?"
    2. Facilitate a brief class discussion, encouraging initial thoughts and assumptions. Record key ideas on the board.

Step 2

Introduction to Historical Context (15 minutes)

15 minutes

  1. Present the Who Votes? Who Belongs? Slide Deck (Slides 1-5).
    2. Introduce the lesson's objectives and the concept of evolving definitions of citizenship and voting rights.
    3. Review the Key Vocabulary List with students, clarifying any unfamiliar terms.

Step 3

Interactive Timeline Activity (30 minutes)

30 minutes

  1. Divide the class into small groups (3-4 students).
    2. Assign each group a specific historical period related to U.S. voting rights/citizenship (e.g., Founding Era, Antebellum Period, Reconstruction, Women's Suffrage, Civil Rights Era, Modern Era).
    3. Provide each group with markers and a section of chart paper or a designated space on the whiteboard.
    4. Instruct groups to research or brainstorm key events, laws, and groups affected regarding voting rights and citizenship during their assigned period. (Teacher can provide guiding questions or a brief reading if preferred, though this lesson focuses on direct instruction and discussion).
    5. Have each group present their findings, adding their contributions to a collaborative class timeline on the board or chart paper.

Step 4

Deep Dive: Case Studies and Discussion (20 minutes)

20 minutes

  1. Return to the Who Votes? Who Belongs? Slide Deck (Slides 6-10) to highlight specific case studies (e.g., 15th Amendment, 19th Amendment, Indian Citizenship Act, Voting Rights Act of 1965).
    2. Facilitate a discussion around each case study: Who gained rights? Who was still excluded? What were the challenges faced?
    3. Pose questions like: "How did the concept of 'We the People' change with each of these milestones?" and "What factors do you think led to these changes?"

Step 5

Conclusion & Reflection (15 minutes)

15 minutes

  1. Present the final slides of the Who Votes? Who Belongs? Slide Deck (Slides 11-12) summarizing the journey of voting rights and citizenship.
    2. Ask students to reflect in their notebooks or on a separate sheet of paper: "How has the understanding of citizenship and voting rights in the U.S. evolved from your initial ideas? What is one key takeaway from today's lesson?"
    3. Conclude with a brief sharing of reflections, emphasizing the ongoing nature of democratic participation.
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Slide Deck

Who Votes? Who Belongs?

The History of Citizenship and Voting Rights in the U.S.

Think-Pair-Share:

  • What does it mean to be a 'citizen' in the United States?
  • Who do you think has always had the right to vote in the U.S.?

Welcome students and introduce the topic. Start with open-ended questions to activate prior knowledge and get them thinking about the day's focus.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify key historical moments and legislative acts that expanded or restricted voting rights and citizenship.
  • Analyze the reasons behind these changes.
  • Evaluate the ongoing impact of these historical developments on contemporary American society.
  • We'll also be reviewing our Key Vocabulary List!

Introduce the lesson's main objective and briefly explain why this history is important for understanding modern America. Go over the vocabulary terms with the students using the vocabulary list.

The Founding Era: A Limited Vision

Originally, who could vote and be a citizen?

  • White
  • Male
  • Land-owning
  • Over 21 years old

Excluded:

  • Women
  • Enslaved people and most free African Americans
  • Native Americans
  • Non-landowners
  • Immigrants (initially)

Provide context for the founding of the nation. Emphasize the limited scope of early citizenship and voting rights.

Early Expansions & Persistent Exclusions

  • Early 1800s: Most states removed property ownership as a voting requirement for white men.
  • Yet, exclusions remained strong:
    • The fight against slavery intensified.
    • Women began advocating for suffrage.
    • Native Americans were largely considered separate nations, not citizens.

Transition to the early expansions and challenges. Briefly mention property requirements changing and the ongoing fight for rights.

Building Our Timeline

Today, we're going to create a class timeline to visualize how the definition of who can vote and who is a citizen has changed over time.

Each group will focus on a key historical period!

Introduce the idea of a historical timeline that the class will collaboratively build. This slide serves as a visual anchor for the upcoming activity.

Reconstruction: The 15th Amendment (1870)

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

  • Impact: Theoretically granted African American men the right to vote.
  • Reality: Faced severe resistance through poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and violence.

Introduce the 15th Amendment and its impact. Discuss the loopholes and continued disenfranchisement tactics.

Women's Suffrage: The 19th Amendment (1920)

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

  • Impact: Granted women the right to vote after decades of activism.
  • Note: While a huge step, many African American women in the South still faced racial barriers to voting until the Civil Rights Era.

Discuss the Women's Suffrage Movement and the eventual passage of the 19th Amendment.

Native American Citizenship (1924)

Indian Citizenship Act of 1924:

  • Granted full U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans born in the United States.
  • Why was this needed? Many Native Americans were not considered citizens despite living in the U.S. for generations.
  • Challenges: Even after 1924, some states still denied Native Americans the right to vote through various means, sometimes until the 1950s or even later.

Explain the unique situation of Native Americans and the path to their citizenship and voting rights.

The Civil Rights Era: Voting Rights Act of 1965

  • Ended discriminatory voting practices: Outlawed literacy tests and other methods used to prevent African Americans from voting.
  • Federal oversight: Required states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval before changing voting laws.
  • Impact: Dramatically increased voter registration and turnout among racial minorities, especially in the South.

Focus on the Civil Rights Movement and the landmark Voting Rights Act. Emphasize its significance in enforcing previous amendments.

Youth Vote: The 26th Amendment (1971)

"The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age."

  • Context: Passed during the Vietnam War, with the slogan "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote."
  • Impact: Lowered the national voting age from 21 to 18.

Briefly mention the 26th Amendment, expanding on the idea that voting rights continued to evolve.

A Long and Ongoing Journey

  • The definition of "who votes" and "who belongs" has dramatically expanded over time.
  • This expansion was not automatic; it was a result of persistent activism, struggle, and legislative change.
  • Our democracy is a living, evolving system, shaped by its citizens.

Summarize the journey and reiterate the core concept of an evolving democracy. Encourage students to think about future challenges.

Reflect and Connect

How has your understanding of citizenship and voting rights in the U.S. evolved from your initial ideas?

What is one key takeaway from today's lesson?







Prompt students for final reflections. This serves as a cool-down activity and helps solidify their learning.

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Reading

Key Vocabulary List

1. Citizenship: The status of being a legal member of a country, with specific rights and responsibilities.

2. Suffrage/Franchise: The right to vote in political elections.

3. Disenfranchisement: The state of being deprived of a right or privilege, especially the right to vote.

4. Naturalization: The process by which a foreign citizen becomes a citizen of a new country.

5. Amendment (Constitutional): A formal change or addition to the U.S. Constitution.

6. Poll Tax: A tax required as a qualification for voting, often used to prevent poor African Americans from voting.

7. Literacy Test: A test of a person's ability to read and write, formerly used in some Southern states to prevent African Americans from voting.

8. Grandfather Clause: A clause that allowed people to vote only if their ancestors had voted before 1866 or 1870, effectively disenfranchising African Americans whose ancestors had been enslaved.

9. Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws enacted in the Southern and some border states of the United States from the late 19th to the mid-20th centuries. These laws enforced racial segregation and denied African Americans fundamental rights.

10. Abolitionist: A person who supported the ending of slavery.

11. Suffragist: A person who advocated for the extension of voting rights, especially for women.

12. Reconstruction Era: The period (1865-1877) following the Civil War, during which efforts were made to address the inequalities of slavery and its political, social, and economic legacy and to solve the problems arising from the readmission to the Union of the 11 states that had seceded.

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