Introduction
The right to vote is fundamental to a representative government. Throughout American History the right to vote has been extended several times to include a greater and greater portion of the population. This Webquest will introduce you to several major expansions in the right to vote.
Task
For this assignment, read the material for each expansion of voting rights, and use your notebook paper to write down the answers to the questions listed.
Process
1. Expanding the right to vote during the early years of the United States:
Read this article: The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy
Answer the following questions on notebook paper:
- Following the American Revolution, what requirement did most states have in place to restrict voting rights?
- What requirement for voting fell out of favor as a result of the rise of industrialization?
- By the 1840's, 90% of which group of Americans was eligible to vote?
- Which groups of people were specifically prohibited from voting during this time period.
2. Expanding the right to vote through the Fifteenth Amendment:
Read this article: Fifteenth Amendment
Answer the following questions on notebook paper:
- Which group of Americans gained the right to vote as a result of the 15th Amendment?
- In what year was the 15th Amendment ratified?
- After the end of Reconstruction, what types of discriminatory practices were used, especially in the South, to prevent Black Americans from voting?
3. Expanding the right to vote through the Nineteenth Amendment:
Read this article: 19th Amendment
- Which group of Americans gained the right to vote as a result of the 19th Amendment?
- In what year was the 19th Amendment ratified?
- When did the movement for women's rights, including the right to vote, begin?
- Between 1910 and 1918, before the passage of the 19th Amendment, how many states extended voting rights to women?
4. Expanding the right to vote through the Twenty Fourth Amendment:
Read this article: The 24th Amendment
- What type of voting requirement was prohibited by the 24th Amendment?
- In what year was the 24th Amendment ratified?
- The 24th Amendment aimed to combat what type of post-Reconstruction laws in the South that disenfranchised Black voters?
5. Expanding the right to vote through the Voting Rights Act
Read this article: Voting Rights Act
- In what year was the Voting Rights Act signed into law?
- Which Civil Rights march in Alabama brought national attention to the need for comprehensive voting rights legislation?
- As a result of the Voting Rights act, when is federal oversight of voter registration provided?
6. Expanding the right to vote through the Twenty Sixth Amendment
Read this article: The 26th Amendment
- Which group of Americans gained the right to vote as a result of the 26th Amendment?
- In what year was the 26th Amendment ratified?
- What historical events convinced many Americans to lower the voting age?