Assessment
Now that you are familiar with legislation and court decisions that have expanded civil rights, a local museum needs your help to create a small exhibit for the museum. Your exhibit will highlight how legislation and court decisions have impacted the exercise of civil rights in the United States, and why these changes are significant. The exhibit should include expository writing, with the purpose of informing, describing, and explaining. You may find it helpful to complete this Activity on Expository Writing before you begin.
Steps
Select two from the following Supreme Court decisions that expanded civil rights:
Brown v. Board of Education
Gideon v. Wainwright
Miranda v. Arizona
Mapp v. Ohio
Select two from the following legislative actions that expanded civil rights:
14th Amendment
15th Amendment
19th Amendment
24th Amendment
26th Amendment
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Research each decision and policy and find a picture to represent each one. Take notes on the background and outcome of each case or law. You may find this Research Activity helpful. Be sure to cite the sources the information and images you use in your exhibit in MLA Format.
Choose a Web 2.0 tool to create a visual exhibit about your four events. There are many 21st century tools available for creating products in an online environment. Use the Web 2.0 tool of your choice to create a slideshow or video. To learn more and locate a tool to help you complete the assignment, visit the Web 2.0 tools area.
For each event, include:
an image to represent the case decision or legislation
a minimum of one well-written paragraph explaining the background of the event
the significance of the event to the expansion of civil rights
Check your exhibit for spelling and grammar.
***Example***
Long before the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776 creating the United States of America, slavery was prevalent in the region. At the start of the Civil War in 1861, the majority of African Americans were enslaved. While the Emancipation Proclamation declared about three million slaves in the southern states free from slavery in 1863, it did not abolish slavery, or free slaves outside of the Confederate states. After the Civil War ended, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1865, finally declaring that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” This amendment formally abolished legal slavery in the United States and made it possible for African Americans across the United States to legally claim the liberties described in the nation’s founding documents. Later court cases, amendments and legislation would be required to ensure these freedoms were protected and freely exercised throughout the nation.
Our Documents. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). n.d. Web. March 22,2012.
Abolition Of Slavery 1865 / Woodcut. Fine Art. Encyclopædia Britannica Image Quest. Web. 22 Mar 2012.
Note: This example shows one way you can format an event image and paragraph in your exhibit. Remember, your complete exhibit should include four images and four paragraphs–one for each of the four events you selected.