Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Vote: The Machinery of Democracy Homepage"

Preparing for the Oath: Voting

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 10:46:21 GMT

Learn more about the American voting system using short videos, mini-activities, and practice questions in this segment of Preparing for the Oath: U.S. History and Civics for Citizenship. The seven questions included in this segment cover constitutional amendments about voting, political parties, and when Americans elect their president.

This site was designed with the needs of recent immigrants in mind. It is written at a “low-intermediate” ESL level.

The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden Homepage

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 14:43:08 GMT

This online exhibition examines the history of the American presidency. Through the use of objects from the museum's extensive collection, an interactive timeline and interactive activities, students will study the realities of the presidency, from its origins to the present, as well as the lives of the men who have held the office.

Winning the Vote for Women

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:50:48 GMT

For more than a century, women in the United States struggled to obtain the right to vote. In 1920, the suffrage movement finally achieved victory with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. By using this OurStory module, children and adults can enjoy exploring the history of the women's suffrage movement and women's role in civic life today. Focused on actively reading Mama Went to Jail for the Vote, a historical fiction picture book about the women's suffrage movement, this module also includes links to a hands-on activity, field trip, object-based learning experience, and technology exploration.

The Voting Machine and Election Reform

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 14:05:55 GMT

This object-based learning activity revolves around an 1898 Standard Voting Machine, the fight against voting fraud and the extension of voting rights in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Students will learn how voting technology was used to democratize the voting process in the United States. After exploring the Voting Machine and its importance as a source of historical information, students will visit the forum section of the site to hear NMAH curators and historians discuss the object and then use what they have learned to complete the Virtual Exhibit Activity.

This resource is included in The Object of History, a cooperative project between the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and George Mason University's Center for History and New Media.