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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Voter Qualifications Among the States

For Teachers 12th
Twelfth graders research the voting qualifications for each state.  In this American Government instructional activity, 12th graders complete a worksheet on the main ideas they have researched.  
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 2: ". . . a delegation of citizens"

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars define socialism, capitalism and poll tax. They identify and discuss the multiple sides of the issue of governmental responsibilities.
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Primary
New Deal Network

New Deal Network: Survey Graphic: Suffrage in the South

For Students 9th - 10th
This comprehensive and interesting site fully describes black suffrage in the south, and goes into detail on poll taxes. Written in 1940, it offers a fascinating perspective and historic relevance.
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Activity
Other

Fair Vote: X's and O's: A History of the Voting Rights Act and African Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
Documented essay on the history of black suffrage in American and the significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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PPT
Virginia History Series

Virgina History Series: Virginia State History Post Wwii to Present Day [Pdf]

For Students 6th - 8th
Visualize the major events in the last half of the 20th century such as major wars and civil rights issues through the lens of the state of Virginia. In addition, learn about the pop culture of this time specifically in Virginia. Enjoy...
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Lesson Plan
Discovery Education

Discovery Education: Civil Rights: An Investigation

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Through the lesson provided here, students will not only learn about civil rights and civil liberty but also understand the key roles played by President Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement. The detailed...
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Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Atlanta Compromise Speech, 1895

For Students 9th - 10th
Read an excerpt from Booker T. Washington's 1895 Atlanta Compromise speech, in which he stresses accommodation rather than resistance as way to deal with racism. Includes a short audio clip - the only surviving recording of Washington's...
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Activity
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Aftermath: The Petticoat Lobby

For Students 9th - 10th
After women were given the right to vote, the Texas Equal Suffrage League became the Texas League of Women Voters. This page provides a good introduction to the activities of the League, then and now, and also has information on the...
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Interactive
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Classroom: Right to Vote Poll Tax Ban

For Students 9th - 10th
This website provides an interactive timeline for the Right to Vote and banning the Poll Tax.
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Today in History: January 23: Poll Tax: Twenty Fourth Amendment Ratified

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief description of the history of the poll tax and the passing of the 24th Amendment to abolish it. With primary sources accompanying the text and links to other resources.
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: 24th Amendment Ends Poll Tax

For Students 3rd - 8th
This 2-page article provides a brief explanation of the Poll Tax and the eventual Amendment that abolished it.
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Interactive
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow: Voting Then, Voting Now

For Students 9th - 10th
This site explores the voting experiences for African Americans beginning in the Jim Crow era. It shares literacy tests African Americans had to take and other challenges they were given for the right to vote. This denial of the right to...
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: African American Perspectives: Time Line of African American History

For Students 9th - 10th
Timeline of African American History which links to other timelines and a larger Library of Congress site on African American perspectives.
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Lesson Plan
Center For Civic Education

Center for Civic Education: Becoming a Voter

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this lesson plan, students apply their state's requirements for registering to vote. Students learn when and how to register, how to complete a voter registration form, and when and how to reregister.
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Handout
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Classroom: Twenty Fourth Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
Text and explanation of the 24th Amendment banning poll tax.
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Handout
Social Studies Help Center

Social Studies Help Center: The Freedmen After Reconstruction Came to an End

For Students 9th - 10th
This page helps the student put the grandfather clause (and poll tax and literacy test) in the perspective of the reconstruction time period.
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Handout
Other

Melanet.com: Va. Poll Tax

For Students 9th - 10th
A summary of the Virginia Poll Tax and the woman who challenged the tax all the way to the Supreme Court and won.
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Activity
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Aftermath: African American Women and the Vote

For Students 9th - 10th
Though the suffrage movement failed to exclude African-American women, and many obstacles came in the way of their voting (e.g., poll taxes, literacy tests, etc.), "African-American women were not strangers to community activism." Learn...
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Activity
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Aftermath: Postcards, African Americans Picking Cotton

For Students 9th - 10th
Though given the right to vote, African-American men and women faced discrimination and racist practices that often prevented them from voting in the early 20th century. Read about some of these practices, and how, for example, the Texas...
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Website
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Texas Joins the Battle: African American Women, 1890s

For Students 9th - 10th
See photos that are representative of the lives of African-American women at the turn of the century and read about the discrimination black women and men faced: Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, and the "white primary" rule. A brief...
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: The 24th Amendment Ended the Poll Tax

For Students 9th - 10th
Some American citizens were never able to exercise their voting rights because of the poll tax. Learn about the intentions behind prohibiting poor Americans from voting, and how the 24th Amendment to the Constitution banned the poll tax.
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Handout
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: u.s. Constitution: Twenty Fourth Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides the text of the amendment, and annotations about its application, including footnotes citing cases in U.S. history pertaining to the topic.
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Article
Other

1890 Poll Tax List, Valencia County, Nm

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an interesting list to view; although there is no additional information, scrolling through names will give a student the idea of those people who lived in the area and were expected to pay the tax to vote.