COMPETENCIES
1026.1.3 : Explain Actions of Individuals. The learner explains the effect of the actions of individuals in U.S. history.
1026.1.4 : Explain Effects on Society. The learner explains the effect of institutions on society.
INTRODUCTION
One of the most important of all the rights held by Americans is that of the franchise—the right to vote. This fundamental right was not originally allowed for a vast majority of the American population. Men without landed property, Black men, all women, and citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 were all excluded from the franchise at the beginning of the republic. Only through diligent, hard-fought efforts was democracy expanded and more Americans have the right to exercise the franchise. Expanding voting rights is a near-constant theme in United States history.
In this assessment, you will examine several major events that shaped the history of voting in America and consider the social movements that were formed both to expand and deny the right to vote to these groups. You will examine discussions, debates, organizations, and protests as the right of the franchise is ultimately expanded in the form of the 15th and 19th Amendments to the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
REQUIREMENTS
Your submission must be your original work. No more than a combined total of 30% of the submission and no more than a 10% match to any one individual source can be directly quoted or closely paraphrased from sources, even if cited correctly. The similarity report that is provided when you submit your task can be used as a guide.
You must use the rubric to direct the creation of your submission because it provides detailed criteria that will be used to evaluate your work. Each requirement below may be evaluated by more than one rubric aspect. The rubric aspect titles may contain hyperlinks to relevant portions of the course.
Tasks may not be submitted as cloud links, such as links to Google Docs, Google Slides, OneDrive, etc., unless specified in the task requirements. All other submissions must be file types that are uploaded and submitted as attachments (e.g., .docx, .pdf, .ppt).
A. Explain the role of social movements in the expansion of voting rights through the Fifteenth Amendment (suggested length of 3–4 paragraphs) using specific details and supporting evidence by doing the following:
- Describe a key argument in support of the Fifteenth Amendment.
- Describe a key argument in opposition of the Fifteenth Amendment.
- Explain how actions of supporters of the Fifteenth Amendment led to its ratification.
- Compare the stated purpose of the Fifteenth Amendment with the actual effects on Black Americans after the passage of the amendment.
B. Explain the role of social movements in the expansion of voting rights through the Nineteenth Amendment (suggested length of 3–4 paragraphs) using specific details and supporting evidence by doing the following:
- Describe a key argument proposed by the supporters of the Nineteenth Amendment.
- Describe a key argument in opposition to the Nineteenth Amendment.
- Explain how actions of supporters of the Nineteenth Amendment led to its ratification.
- Compare the stated purpose of the Nineteenth Amendment with the actual effects on women after the passage of the amendment.
C. Explain the role of social movements in the expansion of voting rights through the Voting Rights Act (suggested length of 3–4 paragraphs) using specific details and supporting evidence by doing the following:
- Describe a key argument proposed by supporters of the Voting Rights Act.
- Explain how actions of supporters of the Voting Rights Act led to its passage.
- Describe a moment of conflict surrounding the Voting Rights Act.
- Compare the stated purpose of the Voting Rights Act with its actual effects on Black Americans after the passage of the act.
D. Acknowledge sources, using in-text citations and references, for content that is quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.
E. Demonstrate professional communication in the content and presentation of your submission.