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History of Voting in the United States: Create a Virtual Exhibit

Activity 1: Historical Analysis and Interpretation: Voter Reform and Machine Politics

  1. Watch the introductory movie together as a class http://objectofhistory.org/objects/intro/votingmachine, then discuss the information presented in the film about the history of voting in the United States and the role of the 1898 Standard voting machine.
  2. Visit the Virtual Object section in the Introduction. Ask students to remember the importance of closely examining objects when using them as historical evidence. Provide them with a few minutes to use the Quicktime Virtual Reality version of the 1898 Standard voting machine. http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/onyourown/votingmachine.
  3. Allow students to spend time examining the sources in the Explore section of the 1898 Standard voting machine Object Lesson http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/explore/votingmachine/. Remind students that the Explore section contains primary and secondary sources, organized into three main categories:
    1. The Object category contains sources related to the 1898 Standard voting machine as a piece of material culture.
    2. The Object in History category contains sources related to the place of the 1898 Standard voting machine within the context of the history of voting in United States history.
    3. The Object in the Museum category contains information related to how NMAH acquired and displayed 1898 Standard voting machine.
  4. Remind students that the video clips of the curators discussing the objects constitute the secondary sources on the site. All the other materials are primary sources.
  5. Remind students that each primary source is accompanied by supporting information that is essential to critical historical thinking. First, at the top of the source is an annotation that provides contextual information. Second, at the bottom of the same, is the sourcing information, including author, title, and date of creation. Instruct students to consider all of this information carefully as they work.
  6. Remind students that primary sources and curator interviews from the Explore section are organized into two thematic tours. The brief tour deals with voter reform and machine politics. The extended tour deals with the expansion and contraction of the franchise between the Reconstruction amendments and the granting of women's suffrage.
  7. Ask students to explore the Tour, the Object, and the Object in History sections of the website. Instruct them to include "The Shame of the Cities" by Lincoln Steffens and George Washington Plunkitt's rebuttal, "On the Shame of the Cities" in their investigation.
  8. Lead a discussion about why some people saw political machines as a source of corruption while others saw them as a source of security. Make sure that the discussion includes the role that political machines played in the lives of American immigrants. List students' ideas on the board under the headings of Corruption and Security. Encourage students to include the ideas of Steffens and Plunkitt in their comments.
  9. Discuss the connection between political machines and the evolution of voting methods.