Articles on literacy tests

Displaying all articles

A group of voters lining up on May 3, 1966, outside the polling station in Peachtree, Ala., after the Voting Rights Act was passed the previous year. MPI/Getty Images

Up‑and‑down progress of voting rights in America has been shaped by these 10 key moments

Gibbs Knotts, Coastal Carolina University and Christopher A. Cooper, Western Carolina University

The history of voting and elections in America doesn’t follow a steady path toward progress or retreat. It is marked by intense struggles, monumental victories and devastating losses.
The founders believed education was crucial to democracy. Here, a one-room schoolhouse in Breathitt County, Ky. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott/Library of Congress

America’s founders believed civic education and historical knowledge would prevent tyranny – and foster democracy

Maurizio Valsania, Università di Torino

Democracies degenerate because of cunning leaders. Democracies also crumble because of the people themselves – and the US founders believed education would be crucial to maintaining democracy.

Related Topics

  1. Bush v. Gore
  2. Civil rights movement
  3. Gerrymandering
  4. Jim Crow
  5. Republican Party
  6. Shelby County v. Holder
  7. Thomas Jefferson
  8. Voting Rights Act

Top contributors