Lesson 5: Day 2 - The 1838 Civil Rights Movement

Google Doc for This Lesson

Objective (SWBAT):

Identify the events and forces (legal, political, social) that led to the 1838 movement and explain why the right to vote was under threat

Hook (10 min):

Watch the video Voting in the Early 19th Century. . Project the blog opening quote: “Most people don't know that Black people had the right to vote in Pennsylvania before 1838…” Ask: What does that change in your understanding of “voting history”? (small share-outs) 1838BlackMetropolis Blog

Mini-lecture (5 min):

Teacher summarizes key pre-1837 context (Gradual Emancipation; “freeman” voting requirements; rising Black political activity). Use timeline to show clusters of events.

Timeline Jigsaw (25 min):

Split class into 4 groups; 

Assign each group one time cluster on the timeline (pdf) (1780–1830; 1830–1834; 1835–Jan 1838; Jan–Oct 1838).

Each pair reads the assigned timeline segment + matching blog excerpts and 

completes a 1-page sheet: 

(a) 3 key events,

(b) 2 people involved, 

(c) short cause-and-effect chain (why events matter to voting rights).

Reassemble into mixed groups so every student teaches the other three segments (peer teaching for 10 min).

Exit Journal (10 min):

Individually: Which single event from the timeline most threatened Black voting rights and why? (1 paragraph; cite evidence).