Rights and Responsibilities Sorting Challenge
Weighing the Evidence
All documents and text associated with this activity are printed below, followed by a worksheet for student responses.Introduction
Every community has rules. There are things people have to do, called responsibilities. There are also special things that people get to do, which are called rights. Some have changed over time, while others have been the same since America's founding. We can learn about rights and responsibilities from historical documents.
Explore these documents and decide whether they are about people's rights or people's responsibilities. Click on the orange (new window) icon inside each image to look at the document more closely. Then, drag each document to the correct side of the scale.
Name:
Class:
Class:
Worksheet
Rights and Responsibilities Sorting Challenge
Weighing the Evidence
Examine the documents and text included in this activity. Consider how each document does or does not support two opposing interpretations or conclusions. Fill in the topic or interpretations if they are not provided. To show how the documents support the different interpretations, enter the corresponding document number into the boxes near the interpretation. Write your conclusion response in the space provided. Interpretation 1
Rights: These documents are about the things people get to do when they are Americans.
Rights: These documents are about the things people get to do when they are Americans.
Are these documents about American citizens' rights or responsibilities?
Interpretation 2
Responsibilities: These documents are about the things Americans have to do to be good citizens.
Responsibilities: These documents are about the things Americans have to do to be good citizens.
1
Activity Element
Nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., to be Chief Justice of the United States
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2
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Woman suffrage in Washington, District of Columbia. Suffragettes bonfire and posters at the...
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3
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Photograph of Army Recruiting Notice
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4
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Manzanar Free Press for Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1942
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5
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"Be Patriotic sign your country`s pledge to save the food."
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6
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Act of April 25, 1898, Public Law 55-69, 30 STAT 364, which declared war between the United States and Spain
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Conclusion
Rights and Responsibilities Sorting Challenge
Weighing the Evidence
Congratulations! Now that you know about different groups of Americans' rights and responsibilities, stretch your thinking! Answer these questions:
- In your own words, what does right mean?
- What is one right you have?
- In your own words, what does responsibility mean?
- What is one responsibility you have?
Your Response
Document
Nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., to be Chief Justice of the United States
9/6/2005
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Senate.
National Archives Identifier: 6704655
Full Citation: Nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., to be Chief Justice of the United States; 9/6/2005; Records of the U.S. Senate, . [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/nomination-of-john-g-roberts-jr-to-be-chief-justice-of-the-united-states, April 19, 2024]Nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., to be Chief Justice of the United States
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Document
Woman suffrage in Washington, District of Columbia. Suffragettes bonfire and posters at the White House
1917 - 1918
The National Women’s Party (NWP), previously known as the Congressional Union, was led by Alice Paul and used civil disobedience tactics similar to those of British suffragists – such as hunger strikes and protesting at public events – to fight for women's suffrage.
Members of the NWP were the first political activists to picket in front of the White House. They began peacefully protesting six days a week in January 1917, but encountered hostile crowds after the United States entered World War I in April. Dozens of women were arrested, many of whom were jailed and force-fed. The resulting publicity and public outcry over their treatment is often credited with compelling President Woodrow Wilson to support woman suffrage.
The protesters demonstrated for nearly 30 months until Congress passed a joint resolution proposing a 19th amendment on June 4, 1919. The banner they are holding in this photograph reads:
President Wilson is deceiving the world when he appears as the prophet of democracy
President Wilson has opposed those who demand democracy for this country
He is responsible for the disfranchisement of millions of Americans
We in America know this
The world will find him out.
The original caption for this photograph reads: Woman suffrage in Washington, District of Columbia. Suffragettes bonfire and posters at the White House, Washington, District of Columbia.
Members of the NWP were the first political activists to picket in front of the White House. They began peacefully protesting six days a week in January 1917, but encountered hostile crowds after the United States entered World War I in April. Dozens of women were arrested, many of whom were jailed and force-fed. The resulting publicity and public outcry over their treatment is often credited with compelling President Woodrow Wilson to support woman suffrage.
The protesters demonstrated for nearly 30 months until Congress passed a joint resolution proposing a 19th amendment on June 4, 1919. The banner they are holding in this photograph reads:
President Wilson is deceiving the world when he appears as the prophet of democracy
President Wilson has opposed those who demand democracy for this country
He is responsible for the disfranchisement of millions of Americans
We in America know this
The world will find him out.
The original caption for this photograph reads: Woman suffrage in Washington, District of Columbia. Suffragettes bonfire and posters at the White House, Washington, District of Columbia.
Transcript
President Wilson is deceiving the world when he appears as the prophet of democracyPresident Wilson has opposed those who demand democracy for this country
He is responsible for the disfranchisement of millions of Americans
We in America know this
The world will find him out.
This primary source comes from the Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs.
National Archives Identifier: 533773
Full Citation: Photograph 165-WW-(600A)9; Woman suffrage in Washington, District of Columbia. Suffragettes bonfire and posters at the White House; 1917 - 1918; American Unofficial Collection of World War I Photographs, 1917 - 1918; Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, ; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/suffrage-bonfire, April 19, 2024]Woman suffrage in Washington, District of Columbia. Suffragettes bonfire and posters at the White House
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Document
Photograph of Army Recruiting Notice
1799
Original caption: Army recruiting notice used during the period of threatened war with France, 1799. Copy of engraving by B. Jones.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Office of War Information.
National Archives Identifier: 535913
Full Citation: Photograph of Army Recruiting Notice; 1799; Records of the Office of War Information, . [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/photograph-of-army-recruiting-notice, April 19, 2024]Photograph of Army Recruiting Notice
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Document
Manzanar Free Press for Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1942
8/12/1942
This document was digitized by teachers in our Primarily Teaching 2013 Summer Workshop in Washington, DC.
This primary source comes from the Records of the War Relocation Authority.
National Archives Identifier: 7542774
Full Citation: Manzanar Free Press for Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1942; 8/12/1942; Manzanar Publications, 4/11/1942 - 10/19/1945; Records of the War Relocation Authority, ; National Archives Building, Washington, D.C.. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/manzanar-free-press, April 19, 2024]Manzanar Free Press for Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1942
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Manzanar Free Press for Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1942
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Manzanar Free Press for Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1942
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Manzanar Free Press for Wednesday, Aug. 12, 1942
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Document
'Be Patriotic sign your country's pledge to save the food.'
ca. 1917 - ca. 1919
This primary source comes from the Records of the U.S. Food Administration.
National Archives Identifier: 512497
Full Citation: Poster 4-P-58; 'Be Patriotic sign your country's pledge to save the food.'; ca. 1917 - ca. 1919; World War I Posters, 1917 - 1919; Records of the U.S. Food Administration, ; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/be-patriotic-sign-your-countrys-pledge-to-save-the-food, April 19, 2024]'Be Patriotic sign your country's pledge to save the food.'
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Document
Act of April 25, 1898, Public Law 55-69, 30 STAT 364, which declared war between the United States and Spain
4/25/1898
Transcript
[handwritten at top of page] ASH[stamped in upper left corner] DEPT. OF STATE
[stamped in upper right corner] Bureau of Rolls & Library
Public no 69
APR 26, 2.31 PM 1898
CHF CLMS. OFFICE
RESERVED
APR 26 1898
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[rest of document typeset]
H. R. 10086.
[double line border printed on page, typeset text enclosed]
Fifty-fifth Congress of the United States of America;
At the Second Session,
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday, the sixth day of December, one
thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven.
[double horizontal line through middle of page]
AN ACT
Declaring that war exists between the United States of America and the
Kingdom of Spain
[double horizontal line through middle of page]
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled, First. That war be, and the same is
hereby, declared to exist, and that war has existed since the twenty-first day of
April, anno Domini eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, including said day,
between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain.
directed and empowered to use the entire land and naval forces of the United
States, and to call into the actual service of the United States the militia of the
Several States, to such extent as may be necessary to carry this Act into effect.
Second. That the President of the United States be, and he hereby is,
[signed] Thomas B Reed
[typeset line and text] Speaker of the House of Representatives.
[signed] Garret A Hobart
[typeset line and text] Vice-President of the United States and
President of the Senate.
[handwritten and signed] Approved
April 25, 1898
William M McKinley
This primary source comes from the General Records of the United States Government.
National Archives Identifier: 299824
Full Citation: Act of April 25, 1898, Public Law 55-69, 30 STAT 364, which declared war between the United States and Spain; 4/25/1898; General Records of the United States Government, . [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/act-of-april-25-1898-public-law-5569-30-stat-364-which-declared-war-between-the-united-states-and-spain, April 19, 2024]Act of April 25, 1898, Public Law 55-69, 30 STAT 364, which declared war between the United States and Spain
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