President Gerald Ford signing the extensions to the Voting Rights Act into law, 1975 (National Archives) The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made discrimination at the ballot box unconstitutional, but it was its special provisions that helped maintain its power. From the original VRA’s passage, the special provisions were set to expire in 1970, which … Continue reading Legacy of the Voting Rights Act – Expansions of the 1970s
President Lyndon B. Johnson greeting Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and other civil rights leaders after signing the Voting Rights Act into law, 1965 (Public Domain) Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 eliminated all forms of discrimination on the grounds of race, ethnicity, sex, or national origin, it did not fully … Continue reading Dawn of the Voting Rights Act – Voting Rights Act of 1965
Group of “Silent Sentinels” calling for women’s suffrage in front of the White House, 1917 (Public Domain) The passage of the Fifteenth Amendment granted the right to vote to all American men. As the former Confederate states returned to the Union, they rewrote their laws with the intention of disenfranchising the millions of newly-freed African-Americans … Continue reading Road to the Voting Rights Act – A Century of Civil Rights
Thomas Kelly print celebrating the Fifteenth Amendment's passage, 1870 (Library of Congress) On August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act reinforced the Fifteenth Amendment by declaring that the right to vote was not to be abridged on account of racial identity. While the significance of this landmark piece of legislation is noteworthy, the pursuit for … Continue reading Road to the Voting Rights Act – Voting Rights from 1789 to 1869
Transcribed first page of Voting Rights Act of 1965 (National Archives) The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum is pleased to announce a new series of educational blogs! Over the next seven weeks, a collection of research writings covering the history of the Voting Rights Act will be published on our own Reagan Library Education … Continue reading New Blog Series: History of the Voting Rights Act
On January 28, 1986, the nation watched as the Challenger space shuttle launched. 73 seconds after it took off, the Challenger broke apart, killing all seven astronauts on board. This year marks the 35th anniversary of the tragedy. This research and assignment guide looks at the shuttle, the first teacher in space Christa McAuliffe, and … Continue reading The Challenger Space Shuttle and President Reagan’s Response: Research and Assignment Guide
President Reagan sitting at his desk and being filmed by NBC working in the Oval Office for the program "A Day in the Life of the President." In 1909, President William Taft became the first President to walk into the Oval Office, located in the center of the south side of the West Wing. In … Continue reading President Reagan and the Oval Office
On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot and rushed to surgery. In the midst of this tragedy, his cabinet had to handle a major question: would the President be able to do his job, or would the 25th Amendment need to be invoked? This case study is part of a larger presentation from the … Continue reading Who’s in Charge? The 25th Amendment and the Attempted Assassination of President Reagan
Media Literacy Week is November 6 - 10, 2017 and the Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, a part of the National Archives and Records Administration, is happy to share classroom-ready materials specifically designed to build stronger literacy skills in students. Through innovation and technology the National Archives sets the gold-standard in education for using primary sources in … Continue reading Media Literacy Week
In 2015 the Reagan Presidential Library began developing a one-of-a-kind experiential learning simulation called the Situation Room Experience. Developed primarily for high school juniors and seniors, the game allows students to step into the role of a government official or member of the press to deal with a modern, fictional, foreign policy crisis based on … Continue reading The 25th Amendment: The Situation Room Experience and United States History
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