Primary Source Activities: Development of Suffrage through Pictures of Warren and Florence Harding Voting
Author: Andrew Chiles
Grade(s): 10
Description
- Hand out copies of the 15th Amendment and the 9th Amendment to the Constitution and walk the students through the meaning of the document.
- Note for the students that the ideas we currently have regarding equal suffrage are not old, and that even in the North, there would have been disagreements.
- Break the students into groups of four to observe the photographs linked to at right. The students are to look at the photographs and extrapolate from them the general mood of the people involved in the picture. The students are to then imagine a picture of the same election workers, but substituting a black couple in the Harding's place. The students are to either diagram or make a short (2-3) minute skit about their substitution. However they present their information, the students should provide an explanation as to why they believe this to be the case, with support from other documents, text reading, or photographs from the internet.
Standards
- History 9-10, Benchmark F: Identify major historical patterns in the domestic affairs of the United States during the 20th century and explain their significance.
- Indicator: Grade 10, GLI 9. Analyze the major political, economic and social developments of the 1920s including: b. Womens right to vote; c. African-American migrations from the South to the North.
- People in Societies 9-10, Benchmark B: Analyze the consequences of oppression, discrimination and conflict between cultures.
- Indicator: Grade 10, GLI 4. Analyze the struggle for racial and gender equality and its impact on the changing status of minorities since the late 19th century.
