US Civics Deep-Dive — Federalism, Voting Rights Expansion 1870-2026, Current Civic Challenges via Kettering NIF Deliberation

Read aloud Heather McGhee 2021 The Sum of Us: 'Racism has a cost for everyone.' Display MG-23 Voting Rights Expansion Timeline.

• Read McGhee 2021
• Display MG-23
• Recite TWELVE PROMISES

Today is G8-DEEP civics deep-dive on federalism + voting rights + current civic challenges. FEDERALISM: TENTH AMENDMENT 1791 ('The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.') reserved powers; FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT July 9 1868 — Section 1 Citizenship Clause + Equal Protection Clause + Privileges or Immunities Clause + Due Process Clause; commerce clause Article I Section 8 (Congress can regulate interstate commerce — basis of CRA 1964 Title II); supremacy clause Article VI Clause 2 (federal law supreme over state law); NULLIFICATION debate (carries from G8-Fall — Calhoun 1832 + Civil War + Brown 1954 Cooper v. Aaron 1958 — Eisenhower forced AR National Guard); FEDERALISM HAS SHIFTED dramatically: Reconstruction nationalized rights protection; New Deal expanded federal commerce-clause power (Wickard v. Filburn 1942); civil rights era again nationalized (Heart of Atlanta 1964 + Voting Rights Act 1965); Rehnquist + Roberts Courts revived 'New Federalism' (US v. Lopez 1995 + US v. Morrison 2000); SUPREMACY upheld (Arizona v. United States 2012 immigration). VOTING RIGHTS EXPANSION 1789-2026: CONSTITUTION 1789 left voting to states (overwhelmingly white propertied men ~6% of population); 15TH AMENDMENT Feb 3 1870 (race — but immediately disenfranchised via poll taxes + literacy tests + grandfather clauses + white primaries + violence — Reconstruction's broken promise per G8-Fall MG-14b); 17TH AMENDMENT April 8 1913 (direct Senate election); 19TH AMENDMENT Aug 18 1920 (sex — but Black women effectively excluded in South until VRA 1965 per Crenshaw 1989 + NACW historians); INDIAN CITIZENSHIP ACT June 2 1924 (US citizenship to Indigenous people born in US — but state-law exclusions in AZ + NM until 1948); 23RD AMENDMENT March 29 1961 (DC presidential electors); 24TH AMENDMENT Jan 23 1964 (federal poll tax); VOTING RIGHTS ACT Aug 6 1965 PL 89-110 — Section 2 prohibited discriminatory voting practices; SECTION 5 PRECLEARANCE required federal approval for voting changes in 9 'covered' jurisdictions (AL + AK + AZ + GA + LA + MS + SC + TX + VA + parts of NY + NH + others); immediate impact MS Black voter registration 6.7% → 60% by 1969; 26TH AMENDMENT July 1 1971 (age 18 — Vietnam-era 'old enough to fight old enough to vote'); SECTION 5 PRECLEARANCE GUTTED by SHELBY COUNTY v. HOLDER 570 U.S. 529 (June 25 2013) — Roberts CJ majority 5-4 + Ginsburg dissent 'throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm'; IMMEDIATE consequences TX + NC + AL + GA implemented voter-ID + voter-roll purges + polling-place closures within days per Anderson 2018 One Person No Vote; ALSO McGhee 2021 The Sum of Us racial-economic analysis. CURRENT CIVIC CHALLENGES: VOTER ID 36 states + voter-roll purges (Husted v. Randolph 2018 SCOTUS Ohio) + POLLING-PLACE CLOSURES (~1,700 closed 2012-18 mostly in formerly-covered jurisdictions per Leadership Conference 2019); FELONY DISENFRANCHISEMENT ~4.6M Americans 2022 per Sentencing Project; DC + PUERTO RICO STATEHOOD debate (~3M + 700K Americans without voting representation in Congress); ELECTORAL COLLEGE debate — popular vote / EC mismatch 1876 (Tilden) + 2000 (Gore) + 2016 (Clinton); NPVIC National Popular Vote Interstate Compact 17 states + DC 209 electoral votes need 270; GERRYMANDERING — partisan + racial; Rucho v. Common Cause 588 U.S. 684 (June 27 2019) Roberts majority 5-4 partisan gerrymandering is non-justiciable; Allen v. Milligan 599 U.S. ___ (June 8 2023) Roberts 5-4 upheld VRA Section 2 challenge to AL congressional map; CAMPAIGN FINANCE Citizens United v. FEC 558 U.S. 310 (Jan 21 2010) Kennedy 5-4 + Stevens dissent + Buckley v. Valeo 1976; SuperPACs + dark money; 2020-2024 ELECTION INTEGRITY DISCOURSE — Jan 6 2021 Capitol attack + state-level election-administration changes + Trump v. Anderson 2024 Section 3 disqualification dispute; FREE SPEECH TENSIONS — social-media moderation + Texas v. Paxton 2024 + Murthy v. Missouri 2024; 21st-CENTURY DELIBERATION TOOLS: KETTERING FOUNDATION + NATIONAL ISSUES FORUMS NIF 3-OPTION DELIBERATION FRAMEWORK applied to civic challenges — frames issues as 3 mutually-incompatible options to discuss trade-offs (Mathews 2014 The Ecology of Democracy); SHEG STANFORD CIVIC ONLINE REASONING — lateral reading + click-restraint + source-credibility evaluation (refuses checklist literacy); NEWS LITERACY PROJECT; ALL SIDES; FACTCHECK.ORG; POLITIFACT; CIRCLE TUFTS 6 PROVEN PRACTICES (classroom instruction + discussion of current issues + service learning + extracurricular + student governance + simulations). NIF DELIBERATION EXAMPLE applied to VOTING ACCESS: Option 1 maximize ease of voting (universal mail-in + same-day registration + automatic registration); Option 2 maximize election security (strict ID + signature verification + paper ballots); Option 3 maximize representation (statehood for DC/PR + Electoral College reform + ranked-choice voting). Each option has trade-offs + value commitments. Students deliberate not 'who is right' but 'what are we as a community willing to trade-off?'

• Federalism is contested.

  model Reconstruction nationalized rights protection (14th + 15th Amendments + Reconstruction Acts); New Deal expanded federal commerce-clause power (Wickard 1942); civil rights era again nationalized (Heart of Atlanta 1964 + VRA 1965); Rehnquist + Roberts Courts revived 'New Federalism' (US v. Lopez 1995 + Shelby 2013). Federalism is contested not fixed. Per Q11 + Q12.

  prompt Why federalism has shifted dramatically?
• Trade-offs are choices.

  model Refuses 'who is right' framing. Frames issues as 3 mutually-incompatible options with trade-offs + value commitments. Students deliberate not 'win' but 'what are we as a community willing to trade-off?' Per CIRCLE Proven Practice #2 + Mathews 2014.

  prompt Why Kettering NIF 3-option deliberation?

• Name 3 voting-rights amendments + dates.
• Date Shelby 2013.
• Name 1 current civic challenge + 3 NIF deliberation options.

M-8-S-CIV-21-A Chart

24x60 wall chart; 7 amendments (15th + 17th + 19th + 23rd + 24th + 26th + ICA 1924) + VRA 1965 + Shelby 2013 contraction + ongoing struggles; centered: voting is a verb; refuses linear-progress framing.

MG-23 Chart

MG-23 VOTING RIGHTS EXPANSION TIMELINE wall chart (24x60) — 1789-2026; Constitution 1789 left voting to states (overwhelmingly white propertied men ~6% of population); 15th Amendment Feb 3 1870 (race) + immediate disenfranchisement via poll taxes + literacy tests + grandfather clauses + white primaries + violence; 17th Amendment April 8 1913 (direct Senate election); 19th Amendment Aug 18 1920 (sex — Black women effectively excluded in South until VRA 1965); Indian Citizenship Act June 2 1924 (still excluded by state law in AZ NM until 1948); 24th Amendment Jan 23 1964 (poll tax); Voting Rights Act Aug 6 1965 (federal enforcement + preclearance Section 5); 26th Amendment July 1 1971 (age 18); Section 5 preclearance gutted by Shelby County v. Holder June 25 2013; current struggles voter ID + voter-roll purges + polling-place closures + felony disenfranchisement + DC + Puerto Rico statehood + Electoral College debate + gerrymandering Rucho v. Common Cause 2019 + Citizens United v. FEC 2010 campaign finance + Trump v. Anderson 2024 Section 3 disqualification + 2020-2024 election integrity discourse. CENTERED: voting is a verb.

M-8-S-CIV-21-B Diagram

18x24 template; 1 current civic challenge framed as 3 mutually-incompatible options with trade-offs + value commitments; Kettering Foundation + Mathews 2014 + CIRCLE Proven Practice #2 attribution; example VOTING ACCESS Option 1 ease + Option 2 security + Option 3 representation.

M-8-S-CIV-21-D Chart

18x24 chart: 10th + 14th Amendments + commerce + supremacy clauses + federalism shifts (Reconstruction + New Deal + Civil Rights + New Federalism); contested-not-fixed framing per Q11 + Q12.

• Groups of 4: assigned 1 of 4 current civic challenges (voter access / Electoral College / gerrymandering / free speech); apply Kettering NIF 3-option framework + deliberate 15 min.

  scaffold NIF 3-option template
• VNPS: build current-civic-challenge map showing 1 challenge + 3 options + trade-offs.

  scaffold Pre-printed NIF template

• Name 3 voting-rights amendments.
• Date Shelby 2013.
• Apply NIF 3-option to 1 current challenge.

• Add 1 sticky to MG-6
• Preview Lesson 22: Capstone Multi-Movement Storybook

• Play iCivics 'Cast Your Vote' simulation + write 1 paragraph on voter access.