Welcome to The Dirksen Congressional
Center's Communicator - a web-based e-newsletter providing
educators with news and ideas to enhance civic education and
improve the understanding of Congress -- http://www.webcommunicator.org
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Monthly Feature - Civil Rights Act of
1964
2. Monthly Theme - Political Parties: The Development
3. Featured Grant-funded Project
4. News and Views from The Center
5. Trivia -- Puzzled by Political Parties?
6. Postscript Information
1. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
In July of this year, the nation will mark the 40th anniversary
of President Lyndon Johnson's signing of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964. The Dirksen Center, named for then Senate Minority Leader
Everett McKinley Dirksen who was instrumental in the passage
of that landmark act, has posted extensive information about
the legislation on its CongressLink Web site. In fact,
these materials are among the most frequently visited by the
site's users.
There is an extensive description of how this bill became law
at http://www.congresslink.org/civil/essay.html.
After outlining the major features of the Act, the essay deals
with the social conditions and political factors shaping the
legislative climate. The process by which the bill wound its
way through the House and Senate receives detailed attention,
too, in a story illustrated with occasional photographs from
The Center's archival holdings and with links to historical annotations. CongressLink also
hosts images and transcriptions of key documents related to the
Act at http://www.congresslink.org/civil.html.
They include the White House press release in February 1963 in
which President John F. Kennedy introduced his proposal for civil
rights reform. There are also excerpts from Senator Dirksen's
personal notebook and his speeches on the subject along with
samples of the correspondence he received during the Senate's
consideration of the bill.
The story of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is interesting and instructive
because it illustrates how a historically important piece of
legislation became part of our nation's heritage. An examination
of the Act also provides a way to understand the climate of opinion
regarding African American rights, the nature of civil rights
activity, the obstacles to political and social change, the role
of politics in the way issues are handled, the actions of individual
senators and representatives, and the nature of legislative activity
in general. The intricate process that makes a bill become law
is a combination of all these factors.
2. POLITICAL PARTIES: THE DEVELOPMENT --
The resources introduced in our April issue of Communicator will
help your students trace the history of political parties
and consider why two parties can dominate government.
The Constitution did not mention political parties, but two
national parties emerged soon after its ratification in 1789
-- the Federalists, who favored strong central government, and
the Democratic-Republicans, who wanted limited government. The
First American Party System: Federalists and Democratic-Republicans:
The Platforms They Never Had is a lesson plan to help students
learn more about the statements of party beliefs and goals and
be able to summarize the key positions of the Federalists and
Democratic-Republicans. Find this lesson at: http://www.congressforkids.net/games/Elections_politicalparties/
2_politicalparties.htm.
A split in the Democratic-Republican party gave birth to the
Democratic party in the mid-1820s. The Republican party was organized
in 1854 after the breakup of the Whig party, which had formed
in 1834. These two parties, of course, continue to dominate elections
today. To determine whether or not you tend to be a Democrat
or Republican, take the surveys posted at http://www.madrabbit.net/webrabbit/quizshow.html or
the political
spectrum test associated with the lesson plan at http://www.congresslink.org/lessonplans/TQElection.htm.
*NEW* The American Democracy: Political Parties, Candidates,
and Campaigns multiple-choice quiz will challenge students'
knowledge about America's two-party system and its role in
American politics. Students will be questioned about the historical
development of political parties in the United States which
examine the role of minor parties and the reasons for the emergence
and persistence of the two-party system. Find this quiz at: http://congressforkids.net/games/Elections_politicalparties/2_politicalparties.htm
3. FEATURED GRANT-FUNDED PROJECT
This month our featured grant-funded project is a Congressional
Research Award of $3,500 awarded to Jennifer Schenk from
Rutgers University. Jennifer's research, How Candidates
for Congress Claim to be Representative of Constituents,
will look at the role of descriptive representative vs. substantive
representative to examine the different ways male and female
candidates to Congress propose to represent others. Learn more
about this project and others at: http://dirksencenter.org/grantcongresearchaward.htm#Grntrecipient00
4. NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE DIRKSEN CENTER
** Dirksen Center Announces Grant Awards **
The Dirksen Center will distribute $32,340.00 in Congressional
Research Awards to ten projects in 2004. Since 1978, The
Center has awarded over $585,000 to more than 315 research
projects.
According to Center staff member Frank Mackaman, political scientists
will use the grants to study such topics as Issue Avoidance
among Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Analyzing
Minority Party Floor Motions Across Congressional Partisan Eras, Balancing
Acts: Congressional Power, Executive Privilege and the Public's
Right to Know, and more.
Recipients this year include Ph.D. candidates and faculty from
Penn State University, the University of North Carolina, American
University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and
the University of Florida, among others.
A complete list of this year's Congressional Research Award recipients
is posted at http://dirksencenter.org/grantcongresearchaward.htm#Grntrecipient00.
**Congress for Kids Earns 5 Stars!**
Congress for Kids -- http://www.congressforkids.net --
received 5 stars and was cited as "Hot" in SBC's Knowledge Network
Explorer - Blue
Web N' site.
5. Puzzled by Political Parties?
1. By 1856, the Democratic party was made up mostly of ___________.
A) Anti-Nebraska Whigs
B) Northerners
C) Know-Nothings
D) Southerners
2. The __________ _____ was formed by people from different
groups who wanted to stop the spread of slavery in the western
territories.
A) American party
B) Whigs
C) Republican party
D) Know-Nothings
3. The outspoken leader of the anti-war Peace Democrats in the
North during the Civil War was…
A) Charles Sumner
B) Samuel Chase
C) Thaddeus Stevens
D) Clement Vallandigham
Answers to the March issue of Fun, Facts, and Trivia link
here: http://www.webcommunicator.org/funfactstrivia0304ans.htm.
That will do it for this month! Encourage your colleagues to
subscribe to the Communicator. If you have questions,
comments, or suggestions, contact Cindy Koeppel. Your feedback
makes a difference!
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