Voting Rights Lesson Plan & Voting Rights History | iCivics - Free Printable

Let’s go through each blank step by step, using what we know about U.S. voting rights history.

---

First box (top left):
“The Founding Fathers left it up to ______ to decide who could vote.”
→ In the early days of the United States, the Constitution didn’t say exactly who could vote — that was left to each state. So states made their own rules.

✔ Answer: the states

---

Second box (top right):
“In colonial times and during the early years of our country, when men had to prove that they owned ______ in order to be able to vote...”
→ Back then, many places required men to own land or property to vote. This was because people thought only those with a stake in society (like landowners) should have a say.

✔ Answer: property (or “land” — both are acceptable, but “property” is more general and often used in textbooks)

---

Third box (middle left):
“The 15th Amendment passed in ______ said the right to vote could not be denied on account of ______, or ______. But it only applied to ______.”
→ The 15th Amendment was passed in 1870. It said you couldn’t deny someone the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (meaning if they were once enslaved). BUT — it only applied to men. Women still couldn’t vote.

✔ Answers:
- Year: 1870
- Reasons: race, color, previous condition of servitude
- Applied to: men

*(Note: Sometimes “previous condition of servitude” is shortened to “slavery” for simplicity, but the exact phrase from the amendment is better here.)*

---

Fourth box (middle right):
“Over time, voting rights changed in two ways: By changing ______ laws and by amending the ______.”
→ Voting rules changed when state laws changed (like lowering the age or removing property requirements), and also when the Constitution was amended (like with the 15th, 19th, etc.).

✔ Answers:
- First blank: state
- Second blank: Constitution

---

Fifth box (bottom left):
“Despite the 15th Amendment, some states prevented black people from voting. Name three barriers:”
→ Even though the 15th Amendment said race couldn’t stop someone from voting, Southern states found sneaky ways to block Black voters. Three common ones were:

1. Poll taxes – You had to pay money to vote. Many poor Black citizens couldn’t afford it.
2. Literacy tests – You had to read and explain hard parts of the Constitution. Officials gave harder tests to Black people.
3. Grandfather clauses – If your grandfather couldn’t vote before 1867, you couldn’t vote either. Since most Black men’s grandfathers were enslaved and couldn’t vote, this blocked them.

✔ Answers (any three of these):
1. Poll taxes
2. Literacy tests
3. Grandfather clauses

*(Other possible answers: intimidation, violence, complex registration forms — but the top 3 above are most commonly taught.)*

---

Sixth box (bottom right):
“Women were guaranteed the right to vote in the year ______ when the ______ Amendment was passed. But some women in votes earlier than that. Which state gave women the vote first? When was that?”
→ Women got the right to vote nationwide in 1920 with the 19th Amendment.
BUT — some states let women vote before that! The very first state to give women full voting rights was Wyoming — and they did it in 1869!

✔ Answers:
- Year women got national right: 1920
- Amendment: 19th
- First state: Wyoming
- When: 1869

---

Final Answer:

Top Left: the states
Top Right: property
Middle Left: 1870, race, color, previous condition of servitude, men
Middle Right: state, Constitution
Bottom Left: poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses
Bottom Right: 1920, 19th, Wyoming, 1869