On September 17 we take a moment to celebrate the signing of the United States Constitution. This year also take a moment to celebrate the man who is considered the “Father of the Constitution,” James Madison.
The original Constitution of the United States was nearly mute on voting rights, ceding them to the states to determine. This, the second of two posts exploring the struggles of two groups to gain full voting rights, will take a look at the long road toward the full enfranchisement of women.
The original Constitution of the United States was nearly mute on voting rights, ceding them to the states to determine. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution confers voting rights on African Americans, declaring that “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
When I attended the Library’s June Summer Teacher Institute, I was struck by how much the week of immersion in primary sources altered participants’ preliminary teaching plans. Between Library of Congress website discoveries and tours of real primary source collections, attendees extensively changed and enriched their plans.
In his June 1st post celebrating the beginning of the Teaching with the Library of Congress blog's second year of publication, Stephen Wesson pointed out that for teachers and students the Library of Congress “represents a source of discovery and learning unlike any other. Last week when I joined twenty-seven K-12 educators at the second of five 2012 Summer Teacher Institutes in Washington, D.C., I did indeed witness nonstop discovery and learning in a unique and awe-inspiring setting.
Consider using primary sources to help your students learn more about the fascinating state of Hawaii and its diverse populations in celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month this May.
We were thrilled to see the wonderful responses from the blog post on teaching difficult subjects. A huge thank you to all of those who commented, made teaching suggestions and linked to this post.