Name: _______________
Due Date: _________
SS.7.C.3.7: Analyze the impact of the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments on participation of minority groups
in the American political process.
SS.7.C.3.7 Benchmark Clarification 1: Students will recognize the rights outlined in these amendments.
Amendment
Ratification Date
Rights Included in the Amendment
13th Amendment
1865
This amendment made slavery illegal in the United States.
14th Amendment
1868
This amendment stated that anyone born in the United States was a citizen of the
United States and that they had the same rights as any other citizen of the United
States.
15th Amendment
1870
This amendment stated that race could not be used as a reason for taking away
someone’s right to vote.
19th Amendment
1920
This amendment gave women the right to vote and made it illegal to discriminate
against women voting.
24th Amendment
1964
This amendment said that poll taxes were illegal, and that failure to pay a poll tax
could not be a reason to take away someone’s right to vote.
26th Amendment
1971
This amendment said that any United States citizen age 18 or older could vote.
(Before 1971, the federal government and some states allowed only people who
were 21 or older to vote.)
SS.7.C.3.7 Benchmark Clarification 2: Students will evaluate the impact these amendments have had on various social
movements.

The 13th Amendment: Slaves were considered property. They were not considered citizens, and so they could not
vote. While this amendment did not increase voting rights, it gave all slaves their freedom. It was an important first
step toward voting rights for former slaves.

The 14th Amendment: This amendment said that anyone who had been born a slave was a citizen of the United
States. It also said that state governments could not pass laws that limited U.S. citizens’ rights. Finally, it extended the
right to vote to all males age 21 and over. The impact of the 14th Amendment on social movements in the U.S. was
important. The U.S. Constitution now protected all U.S. citizens (including former slaves) from state laws that
discriminated against them because of their race. This meant that African-Americans and women could go to court
when they believed that state laws discriminated against them and violated their rights as U.S. citizens.

The 15th Amendment: This amendment protected the right to vote for any male over the age of 21. It strengthened
the 14th Amendment. The former slave states opposed the ratification of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.
They decided to try other ways, especially passing new laws, to keep African-Americans from voting. For example, in
Alabama, African-Americans had to take a 68-question “literacy” test that had to be answered completely and
perfectly in a short time. If African-Americans taking the test missed even one question, they could not register to
vote. In Mississippi, African-Americans were asked questions that had no correct answer, such as “How many seeds
are in a watermelon?” Failing to answer such questions correctly meant that these U.S. citizens were not allowed to
register to vote. The impact of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments on various social movements was significant.
For example, individual citizens and interest groups sued states because state laws denied them their rights as U.S.
citizens. Interest groups also organized marches and took part in civil disobedience as a way to protest these state
laws. The number of protest activities and lawsuits against states increased greatly beginning in the 1950s.

The 19th Amendment: A person’s gender (meaning whether someone is male or female) could not be used as a
reason to deny suffrage, or the right to vote. This amendment said that states and the federal government could not
prevent women from voting. The ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women power that they had not had
before. Beginning in the 1960s, women began to form interest groups to make sure they had equal job opportunities,
and other economic and social opportunities. Women have also taken part in marches and protests for women’s
rights. Today, more women than ever run for, and win, elected offices at all levels of government. Several women
Name: _______________
Due Date: _________
have run for president and vice-president, although no women have been elected president or vice president yet
women have also sued in court when federal and state laws discriminate against them because they are women.

The 24th Amendment: Before the 24th Amendment, many states tried to charge people money (a poll tax) to let
them vote. This often kept minorities (especially African-Americans in the former slave states) or poor people from
voting. The ratification of the 24th Amendment allowed more minorities and poor people to vote because it made
poll taxes unconstitutional. One impact of this amendment is that candidates and elected leaders now pay more
attention to the concerns of the poor and minorities because they know that these individuals can vote in elections.

The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, said that any United States citizen age 18 or older could vote. Before 1971, the
federal government and some states, only allowed people age 21 or older to vote. One impact of this amendment is
that candidates and elected leaders pay more attention to the concerns of young people because they know that
these young people can vote in elections.
SS.7.C.3.7 Benchmark Clarification 3: Students will analyze historical scenarios to examine how these amendments have
affected participation in the political processes.
Even though the 15th Amendment had been ratified to allow all races the right to vote, some states passed laws that made it
difficult for former slaves (African-Americans) to register to vote. For example, Alabama required people to register at a
specific office in a courthouse that was only open for two or three days a month. Sheriff’s deputies were often placed at the
courthouse on registration days to make African-Americans scared to register. If African-Americans did actually make it
through the door to register, they then were required to correctly answer all 68 questions on a “literacy” test within eight
minutes. Many white voters were still allowed to register even if they did not pass the exam. African-American voters were
not allowed to register.
In Mississippi, African-Americans who tried to register to vote were asked unanswerable questions like, “How many bubbles
are there in a bar of soap?” or “How many seeds are there in a watermelon?” Whites typically passed and were allowed to
register, no matter what they answered. African-Americans, however, were almost never allowed to register to vote.
These unfair practices allowed states to claim that they really were following the 15th Amendment. The states’ leaders said
they were allowing people of all races who were properly registered to vote, even though they made the registration process
nearly impossible for African-Americans. They also used the argument of “states’ rights,” which meant that state leaders
believed states could make their own laws for elections and voting, even if they made it impossible for certain people to
actually register to vote.
SS.7.C.3.7 Benchmark Clarification 4: Students will recognize how the amendments were developed to address previous civil
rights violations.
Even though the 15th Amendment was supposed to allow all races to vote, some states did everything they could to prevent
minorities from voting. Many Americans saw that this was unfair, and several laws were passed during the 1960s to protect
the civil rights of minority groups, including African-Americans and Hispanics. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 said employers could
not discriminate based on race or gender. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made racial discrimination illegal in voting laws. This
act specifically banned the use of “literacy” tests to decide whether someone could register to vote. The Civil Rights Act of
1968 banned discrimination based on race or gender in the selling or renting of housing.
Even though the 19th Amendment guarantees that voters cannot be discriminated against based on their gender, there was a
push to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and 1980s. This amendment would prohibit all discrimination based
on gender. The amendment was introduced in Congress in the 1920s and ratified by Congress in the 1970s, but to this day it
has never been ratified by enough states to be added to the U.S. Constitution.
Vocabulary: define each word/phrase in your own words – complete sentences
Discriminate: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Poll tax: ________________________________________________________________________________________________
Ratification: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Name: _______________
Due Date: _________
Civil disobedience: _______________________________________________________________________________________
Literacy test: ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Suffrage: _______________________________________________________________________________________________
Unconstitutional: ________________________________________________________________________________________
States’ rights: ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Civil rights: _____________________________________________________________________________________________
Equal Rights Amendment: _________________________________________________________________________________
Voting Rights Act of 1965: _________________________________________________________________________________
Quiz: For each question, circle the best answer.
Low Complexity Question
How did the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
impact political participation?
A. All persons who passed a literacy test could now
vote.
B. All children of foreign citizens could now vote.
C. All African-Americans could now vote.
D. All women could now vote.
Moderate Complexity Question
The photograph below illustrates an event in U.S. history.
Source: Library of Congress
What was Congress’ response to the social movement
symbolized in the photograph?
A. decreased commerce opportunities
B. increased economic opportunities
C. increased religious opportunities
D. decreased military opportunities
Hint: The correct answer should identify the main effect of
the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Hint: Analyze the words on the sign and the people in the
image. Think about how the people look, what they are
doing, and why they may have been photographed. The
correct response should describe a goal of legislation
enacted during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s.
Name: _______________
Due Date: _________
High Complexity Question
The newspaper below details an important step in
amending the U.S. Constitution.
How did the passage of this amendment to the U.S.
Constitution impact the political process in the United
States?
A. Women were allowed to contribute to political
campaigns.
B. Women were allowed to hold citizenship rights.
C. Women were allowed to hold public offices.
D. Women were allowed to vote in national
elections.
Hint: The question asks how the constitutional
amendment granting women the right to vote changed the
political process in the United States.