Rubric:

See OSPI website, above.

Graphic Organizer:  See OSPI website, above.

Worksheet: Print out for student use.

Common Readings (everyone read):

• How laws are made (look at all three sections):  http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/lawmaking/index.html
• Election Process (look at section on President and Vice President): http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/election/index.html
• Who can vote and who can be elected? (lists standards)

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0878573.html

U.S. Constitution – Common Readings (everyone read):

VOTING RIGHTS – THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE (the right to equal treatment)

• We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among them are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

VOTING RIGHTS – THE CONSTITUTION  (the right to justice /fairness)

• U. S. Constitution, Preamble: We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. (1776)

     http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States_of_America  (see picture of original Constitution)

     http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/documents/constitution/index.html

     (explains how the Constitution was created)

VOTING RIGHTS – THE BILL OF RIGHTS (the right to protest when      treated unfairly/unjustly)

• Amendment 3 (Article the Third):  “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” 

     http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights      (explanation with picture)

     http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/citizenship/rights.html (explains   content of the Bill of Rights)

• Amendment 14: Says that the Bill of Rights now applies to state governments as well as to the national government.  In other words, the states must give the same rights to individuals that the constitution gives.

     http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Additional_amendments_to_the_United_States_Constitution (see sections 1 and 2)

Other Laws - Readings about Amendments to the Constitution
(choose two topics to research)

AFRICAN AMERICAN VOTING RIGHTS (the right to vote no matter what your Race/Culture may be):

• Amendment 15: Forbids the U.S. or any state from preventing a person from voting because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”  (1870)

     http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=44 (original text and explanation)

POOR PEOPLE VOTING RIGHTS: (the right to vote no matter how poor you are.):

• Amendment 24, Section 1 (Voting Rights Act): Forbids the United States or any state to abridge or deny any citizen the right to vote for the President or Vice President or for any state representative in congress because of failure to pay a poll or any other tax. (1964)

     Amendment 24, Section 2: Gives Congress the power to enforce this    article by appropriate legislation. (1964)

      http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Voting_Rights_Act  (original text)

     http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=100  (original text and        explanation)

WOMEN VOTING RIGHTS (the right to vote whether man or woman):

• Amendment 19: Gives women the right to vote. (1920)

     http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=63 (original document and   explanation)

     http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage/resolution.html (original petition to give women the right to     vote)

     http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/woman-suffrage/  (other     documents, including final ratification by Tennessee)

AMERICAN INDIAN VOTING RIGHTS (the right to citizenship if an Indian, and thus the right to vote):

• “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all noncitizen Indians born within the territorial limits of the United States be, and they are hereby, declared to be citizens of the United States: Provided, That the granting of such citizenship shall not in any manner impair or otherwise affect the right of any Indian to tribal or other property.”

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Citizenship_Act_of_1924  (law    and commentary with photo)

     http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/jun02.html (links to photos and     music)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RESIDENTS VOTING RIGHTS (the right to vote no matter where you live):

• Amendment 23: Gives the District of Columbia three electoral votes for the election of President and Vice President.  (1961)

     http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Additional_amendments_to_the_United States_Constitution  (original text)

VOTING MACHINES (the right to have voting machines that work and that count votes accurately):

• Help America Vote Act of 2002: (Provides federal funds for states to purchase or lease new voting equipment.  Initiated after punch-card ballot problems during 2000 Presidential election.)

   http://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/future.html

     http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm (actual text of law – read first        paragraph only)

Voting Practices History –
(choose the same two topics you chose above):

Research your topic in Encyclopedia Britannica Online.  Use Logon: mtbaker, Password: whatcom.  Choose topics voting rights, women’s rights.

www.school.eb.com

AFRICAN AMERICANS (history of voting problems):

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disfranchisement_after_the_American_Civil_War  (detailed look at the history of voting rights violations against blacks – scroll down to “black and white disfranchisement”)
• http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart9b.html  (brief overview of civil rights era, with pictures, and including voting rights act – see part 1 as well)

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (history of voting problems):

• http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Voting_rights_in_the_District_of_Columbia  (provides a history of voting rights issues in DC)
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_Voting_Rights_Amendment  (overview and text of the law)

VOTING MACHINES (history of voting machine problems):

• http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm  (actual text of Help America Vote Act of 2002 – very long, just read the top paragraph)
• http://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/future.html  (shows some of the new voting machines available for use since the passage of the law)
• http://americanhistory.si.edu/vote/intro.html  (Click on numbers for samples and explanations of various voting materials and their problems with accuracy or accountability; includes interactive display of voting machinery – click on “Launch the Flash Interactive Exhibition”)

WOMEN (history of voting problems):

• http://www.42explore2.com/suffrage.htm  (amazing site with many links)
• http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/vfwhtml/vfwtl.html  (time line)
• http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/suffrg:portrait  (photos of famous suffragettes)
• http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/the-first-womens-rights-convention.htm  (first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls)
• http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/declaration-of-sentiments.htm  (Declaration of Sentiments proclaiming the equality of rights for women, from the Seneca Falls convention)
• http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/report-of-the-womans-rights-convention.htm  (original convention report in full)

 Books in our Collection: (Acme Library)

Constitution:

Burgan, Bill of Rights (History, with good pictures)

Cathesrow, We the Kids (Picture book about the Preamble to the Constitution)

Morris, The First Book of the Constitution (Good explanation of the Bill of Rights on p. 54)

Prolman, The Story of the Constitution (old book, but fairly good diagram of the three branches of government in the back)

Elections and Voting:

Cronin, Duck for President (a fun picture book looks at campaigns and elections)

DeGezelle, Voting in Elections

Nobelman, Election Day

Peterson, Electing our Presidents

Women’s Rights

Dipucchio, Grace for President (fun picture book about a girl running for class president - explains the idea of the electoral college, too)

OTHER INTERESTING SITES, JUST FOR FUN IF YOU HAVE EXTRA TIME:

WASHINGTON STATE (voting rights history): http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/timeline/index.htm  (Time line history of voting rights in Washington State)

Info Please Homework Center site, US Government: http://www.infoplease.com/homework/social-studies-united-states-government.html#SS-USG-ELECTIONS

Research your topic in Encyclopedia Britannica Online.  Use Logon: mtbaker, Password: whatcom.  Choose topics voting rights, women’s rights.

www.school.eb.com

FILMS:

School House Rock (particularly how a bill becomes a law)

Legacy of a Dream (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

(F. Gregory, 9/08, with help from Kim Schwartzman, Al Corning, Barb Webb)