Hannah teaches high school social studies in the Greater Boston area. Specializing in post-Reconstruction American history and AP European history, Edsall pursues teaching history from multiple perspectives using primary sources and strives to make history relevant to her students. She is also the advisor for her school's social justice club, where she spends afternoons discussing prejudice, discrimination, politics and current events with over 20 students.
This lesson is the fourth in a series called Expanding Voting Rights. The overall goal of the series is for students to explore the complicated history of voting rights in the United States. Two characteristics of that history stand out: First, in fits and starts, more and more Americans have gained the right to vote. Second, over time, the federal government's role in securing these rights has expanded considerably.