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Handout
Stanford University

King Institute Resources: Freedom Summer (1964)

For Students 9th - 10th
Discussion of one of the last major interracial civil rights efforts of the 1960s to register as many African-American voters as possible in Mississippi.
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Primary
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: The Civil Rights Movement: Major Events and Legacies

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An essay that speaks of the major events and legacies of the Civil Rights Movement.
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Handout
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Historian's Perspective: Winning the Vote: History of Voting Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Historian-authored three-part overview looks at the history of voting rights in America, touching on all the critical moments in American history when voting rights were first denied then granted to...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony

For Students 9th - 10th
Features detailed biographical information on women's rights leaders, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. Follow key events in the suffrage movement, examine historical documents and essays, and take a look at where women are...
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Handout
Other

Global Nonviolent Action Database: The Albany Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn comprehensive details about the Albany Movement which was characterized by major campaigns of civil resistance and its goal which was the enfranchisement of the black voter and full integration of all public facilities. Although...
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Website
Other

Finding Dulcina: Strom Thurmond Ends Longest Filibuster in Senate History

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Senator Strom Thurmond's epic filibuster in an attempt to forestall the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. There is a brief biography of Thurmond and his political life, as well as information about the use of the...
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PPT
Other

Object of History: The Voting Machine (Voting Technology in 1900)

For Students 9th - 10th
Written and audio explanation of the history of voting and the invention of the voting machine. Includes a photo of the 1898 Standard Voting Machine and other objects that relate to the voting process.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Our Place in the Politics of the Country

For Students 9th - 10th
Although the 15th amendment gave the freedom to vote to African Americans, little was done to enforce it. 90% of African-Americans living in the South were not able to vote, and in the North where voting was easier, the African American...
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Website
Other

Amistad Digital Resource: Voting Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
Article discusses African Americans and their push for the right to vote which eventually resulted in blacks being elected as officials in the 1940s.
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Activity
The National Alliance on Mental Illness

Nami: Maine Upholds Voting Restrictions

For Students 9th - 10th
This article discusses how Maine has upheld certain voting restrictions for the mentally ill.
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Handout
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The 1890s: End of an Era and the Quest for Civil Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of an online exhibit called "Forever Free," this section deals with African Americans' efforts to establish themselves in society, despite increases in racism. Addresses topics such as Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, and voting rights.
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Website
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Texas Joins the Battle: A Haunting Question

For Students 9th - 10th
Suffragists in Texas attempted to have their voice heard. However, the issue of race often tore these women apart, and ultimately ended the Texas Equal Rights Association in 1896. Explore the words and strategies of this period's...
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Website
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The Movement Comes of Age: Holland's Magazine, March May, 1913

For Students 9th - 10th
This site offers excerpts from an essay content sponsored by "Holland's" magazine. The topic: women's suffrage. A good place to get the ideas and perspectives of real women from the early 20th century, and to learn how suffragists spread...
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Handout
National Women's Hall of Fame

National Women's Hall of Fame: Elizabeth Cady Stanton

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief biography of this famous women's rights leader.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Constitution Through Compromise

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about how compromises were reached at the Philadelphia convention that dealt with issues between large and small states, and slave and free states. Take the quick quiz to assess knowledge about the writing of the Constitution.
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Handout
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Classroom: Twenty Sixth Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
Text and brief explanation of the 26th Amendment which expanded voting rights to citizens from age 18.
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Activity
US Department of Justice

Introduction to Federal Voting Rights Laws

For Students 9th - 10th
From the U.S. Justice Department, this is a history of voting rights laws in the United States, including a discussion of the Fifteenth Amendment.
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Primary
US Department of Justice

Civil Rights Division: Voting Rights Act 1965

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the amendments to the Voting Rights Act made in 2006. The Congress revisited the original act to assess the progress and what still needed to be addressed.
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Lesson Plan
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Securing the Right to Vote: Selma to Montgomery Story

For Teachers 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson plan asking this essential question: "What conditions created a need for a protest march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 and what did that march achieve?"
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Expansion of the Vote: A White Man's Democracy

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about how the ability to vote changed from requiring the ownership of property to almost complete enfranchisement of white males by 1840. There was disenfranchisment of women and free blacks in the same period of time.
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Activity
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: The First March From Selma

For Students 3rd - 8th
This article details a key event in the civil rights struggle--the demonstration organized by the Rev. Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965, when 525 people met a police blockade on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
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Handout
Other

Whc Women's Suffrage: The Fight for Washington Women's Suffrage

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief history of women's suffrage in Washington state as the legislature developed policies in both the Territorial Legislature and as it prepared to become a state.
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Handout
Alabama Humanities Foundation

Encyclopedia of Alabama: Selma to Montgomery March

For Students 9th - 10th
One of the most famous events in Civil Rights history, this report covers the Selma to Montgomery March for voting rights.
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Handout
Other

Celebrating Rights and Responsibilities: Story of the 15th Amendment in Maryland

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource houses an essay on the passing of the 15th Amendment in Maryland. The essay discusses the political motivations behind the passing and how this affected the black population of the state.