Voting in American Society
(Civil Rights Movement and 21st C.)
PBAT Questions:
Has voter suppression affected American history?
Is voting an important right in American society?
Guide for Voting Rights PBAT
Is voting an important right in American society?
Your research is in the next sections of this webpage
Historical Background
Timeline of voting
https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/history-of-voting-in-america-timeline.pdf
Jim Crow laws in the American South
Historic suppression of the Black (African American) and Female vote in American History
When Women started voting, some things changed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/lifestyle/100-years-of-womens-suffrage-whats-changed/
Reactions by Civil Rights Movement to change this
March from Selma to Montgomery, "Bloody Sunday"
https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/us/1965-selma-to-montgomery-march-fast-facts/index.html
Fannie Lou Hamer tried to register to vote - 1960s
Ella Baker and the foundations of SNCC
SNCC and Voter Registration
John Lewis
Malcolm X "The Ballot or the Bullet" Speech
https://www.pbs.org/video/american-experience-ballot-or-bullet/
Women's Suffrage (vote)
https://www.womenshistory.org/resources/timeline/womans-suffrage-timeline
Legal Changes because of the Civil Rights Movement
Civil Rights Act 1964
Voting Rights Act 1965
Main Evidence: Voter Suppression in the 21st C. (Preclearance and 2013)
Gerry-mandering election districts
Georgia "run-of" election of Senators, January 2021
Counter-argument
Voter ID laws
Voter Purge (removal)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/17/georgia-purged-voters-its-rolls-its-second-state-make-cuts-less-than-week/
Voting Doesn't Matter
Rebuttal or other evidence
If voting doesn't matter, why do they try to take it away all the time?
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/07/is-america-a-democracy-if-so-why-does-it-deny-millions-the-vote
The most people of all time in American History voted in November 2020.
What does it mean for politicians if more people vote?
2021 Suppression all over again
Additional WEBSITES for primary and secondary sources
Films based on events you might find interesting
Eyes on the Prize (documentary series on YouTube)
Selma
Hidden Figures
Greenbook
Mississippi Burning
Malcolm X
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (on Netflix)