Fernando M. Reimers et al.

“The year is 1849. If you do not own property, you are not allowed to vote.”
(In 1850 the requirement that voters own property and pay taxes was lifted.)

“The year is 1790. Only white male property owners can vote.”

Activity 7.2.2

Understanding the History of the Right to Vote in the
United States

The teacher splits the class into four groups. Each group researches one
of the following suffrage movements: women’s suffrage, African Americans’
suffrage, voting rights based on property (the lifting of property require—
ments), and Native Americans’ suffrage.

Each group should undertake its research based on the following questions:
What were the arguments for and against suffrage?

Do you believe those arguments were justifiable?
Why did the right to vote not extend to these groups in particular?

$WPT“

What methods were used by each of the groups to bring their cause
to the forefront?

5. How does the granting of the right to vote to each of these groups
affect citizens’ right to vote today?

(Note that the students can analyze data on demographics from the
US Census Bureau’s site to examine the trends in elections in the
United States over time:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/
p20/2008/tables.html)

Based on this information, each group presents its analysis to the class, and
the class creates a time line of the history of suffrage in the United States.

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