Pushing Towards Civil Rights

The push towards civil rights in the United States has been longstanding and is ever-evolving. While not encompassing, our civil rights unit covers the expansion and abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s, and the expansion of rights through court cases and laws. For more coverage, check out additional cases in our Landmark Library.

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Lesson Plan

Voting Rights

Explore the history of voting rights in the United States through an interactive PowerPoint presentation highlighting landmark changes. Following the presentation and class discussion, students apply the new knowledge of how voting legislation evolved to individual scenarios through a class activity. Get more great material on Voting Rights in our Google Slide DeckLove this lesson? Explore all of our free election curriculum and teaching resources at our Election Headquarters. iCivics en español! Student and class materials for this lesson are available in Spanish.
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Lesson Plan

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Students examine the key voting rights protected by this landmark civil rights law. This mini-lesson also provides an overview of the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the law in the case, Shelby County v. Holder (2013). Students analyze how the Act has affected voter behavior and provide a written reflection on the Shelby County v. Holder case.How to use this lesson: Use this lesson by itself or pair it with more iCivics resources, like The Road to Civil Rights, Voting Rights, or Voting: Will You Do It? For more suggestions, see the downloadable teacher resources below.
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Lesson Plan

Protection and Resistance: Slavery in the U.S.

Slavery was legal for over 12 generations. What impact has it had on the United States? In this lesson, students learn about the development and legal protection of the system of slavery as well as the fight to end it. Through the analysis of historical events and documents, students also discover the social impact of slavery on the United States.
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Lesson Plan

Slave States, Free States

The debate over slavery ultimately helped drive the United States into civil war, but before it did, there were decades of careful balance between slaves states and free states. In this lesson, students learn about that balance and its geography, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850.
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DBQuest

Resisting Slavery

Prior to the Civil War, over 300 enslaved people sued for their freedom in St. Louis courts. The most well-known of these “freedom suits” was that of Dred and Harriet Scott. In this DBQuest, students will explore the only known account of a freedom suit written by a former enslaved woman, Lucy Delaney. Using her autobiography, students will consider how enslaved people resisted slavery through both legal and extra-legal means. The Big Question: What decisions did families make in their fight to resist slavery?
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DBQuest

Woman Suffrage and World War I

Students will learn how World War I impacted the woman suffrage movement. Sources will show how suffragists promoted woman suffrage as a war measure, how women’s roles expanded during the war and how suffragists used the stated purpose for fighting the war— fighting for democracy— to fight for this same right at home. The sources will also show how the tactics suffragists used varied and influenced public opinion both positively and negatively.But wait there's more! Use our women's suffrage infographic A Movement in the Right Direction and our WebQuest Movement and Action: The Women's…
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Lesson Plan

A Movement in the Right Direction (Infographic)

How did women win the right to vote? Explore how the women's suffrage movement spread across the United States beginning in the late 1800s. Use this infographic to show students how two different approaches to the movement worked to grant women the right to vote.
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DBQuest

Little Rock: Executive Order 10730

When President Eisenhower authorized troops under federal authority to desegregate Little Rock Central High School in 1957, he became the first president since Reconstruction to use federal forces to help enforce equal rights for African Americans. Using the example of Executive Order 10730, students will explore how executive orders can be used to enforce the law and examine how Eisenhower justified his actions.
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Video

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund

In this video, students learn about a team of lawyers dedicated to achieving racial justice through the legal system. Formed in 1940 as part of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) raised money, amassed lawyers, and launched lawsuits throughout the country to fight segregation.
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Video

Students and the Struggle for School Integration

In this video, students learn about the activism of teenager Barbara Johns. In 1951, she organized over 450 students to protest in support of better conditions at their segregated high school in Prince Edward County, Virginia. The students' actions would lead to a lawsuit that became one of the five cases represented in the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education.
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DBQuest

Historical Monuments & Meaning

Civil War-era monuments are in the news. Some people want to remove statues because they represent ideas many find disturbing. Others want to keep the statues because they show our nation’s history, even if it is difficult. This DBQuest looks at one such statue, the Freedmen’s Memorial in Washington, DC. These primary sources will explore the complicated nature of memorial statues by looking at who funded and designed the Freedmen's Memorial, as well as a critique of the monument by a leading voice of the time, Frederick Douglass.
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Video

Breaking Barriers: Constance Baker Motley

In this video, students learn about the accomplishments of Judge Constance Baker Motley. As the first African American woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court, be elected to the New York state senate, and be appointed a federal judge, Motley broke racial and gender barriers throughout her career while fighting for the civil rights of all Americans.This video was made in conjunction with Makematic.
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