Civics 101: Voting Rights, Women’s Equality Day, and Constitution Day

It’s a little bit the perfect storm. Tomorrow is Women’s Equality Day, Constitution Day is in a few weeks, and Kansas is encouraging schools across the state to develop civic engagement programs.

So it seems like a good time to share a few lessons and resources that focus on voting rights. Use the resources below to help your students develop context, connect past events with contemporary issues, and practice historical thinking skills.

Women’s Equality Day & Women’s Suffrage

Established in 1973 and celebrated on August 26, Women’s Equality Day commemorates the 1920 passing of the 19th Amendment which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to US citizens on the basis of sex.

• Women’s Equality Day resources
  National Women’s History Project
• How Women Ran for Office Before They Were Even Guaranteed the Right to Vote
  Time
• Iron Jawed Angels
  The 2005 HBO movie documenting the work of suffrage leaders Alice Paul and Lucy Burns and their imprisonment and hunger strike. Clips are also available online. Study Guide and lesson plan.
• Women’s Suffrage: Their Rights and Nothing Less
  Library of Congress
• Women’s Suffrage in the United States
  Rutgers University
• The Role of the Media in Women’s Suffrage Movements
  Suffrage and the Media
• Voting Rights for Women: Pro- and Anti-Suffrage
  EDSITEment

Voting Rights

• Securing the Right to Vote: The Selma-to-Montgomery Story
  Gilder Lehrman
• The Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights
  Anti-Defamation League
• Congress Protects the Right to Vote: The Voting Rights Act of 1965
  National Archives
• To Vote or Not to Vote
  PBS Newshour
• The Voting Rights Act, 1965 and Beyond
  Teaching Tolerance
• Voting Rights
  iCivics

 

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Glenn is a curriculum and tech integration specialist, speaker, and blogger with a passion for technology and social studies. He delivers engaging professional learning across the country with a focus on consulting, presentations, and keynotes. Find out more about Glenn and how you might learn together by going to his Speaking and Consulting page.