The United States of America, is known to most as the land of the free and the home of the brave. A place where everyone has the opportunity to be whoever they want to be. President John F. Kennedy once said, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty”. He is expressing that the freedom and opportunities the citizens have, is what makes people proud to be an American. Because of our founding fathers, The Constitution, and The Bill of Rights, every person that lives in the United States has the right to speak freely, the liberty of voting for future leaders, freedom of religion …show more content…
This right that women were granted was also known as woman suffrage. The Voting Acts Right of 1965 was when African Americans were given the opportunity to vote. The 19th amendment of the Constitution, which was revised in 1992, states that,” The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” This amendment expresses that all citizens of the United States are permitted to vote in every election. The citizens of America have the liberty and freedom to do and say many things that people of other nations and country can not do. To many people, the opportunities Americans are given are thought of as free, but, in reality, they are not. Many people risk their lives to protect the residents of the United States and the freedom they are given. Today, there are many active members of the military who are in conflict with the countries of Iraq and Afghanistan. A great number of those soldiers have lost their lives protecting their nation, family, and friends. Since tensions between America, Iraq, and Afghanistan have rose, large amounts of American soldiers have been sent overseas to protect their country but only few have returned home safely. The freedom that the people of the United States are given to them by the selflessness of the soldiers of the American Military. Every person that lives in the United States has the right to free speech, to vote, and able to protect
In most modern governments, such as the United States of America, give the right to vote to almost every responsible adult citizen. There were limiters on the right to vote when the US Constitution was written, and the individual states were allowed to setup their own rules governing who was allowed to vote. Women were denied the right to vote until the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution which was passed in 1920. In order to understand how women struggled to obtain the right to vote, some key factors must be looked at in further detail; why suffrage rights were not defined in the Constitution, the efforts that women put forth to obtain the right to vote, why there are present-day restrictions on
The 19th Amendment guarantees any woman the right to vote in a political election. Prior to August 18, 1920, this amendment did not exist. This was a very powerful boundary for women to overcome, as it took decades of unrest. Beginning in the mid-1800s “suffragettes,” otherwise known as women who wanted to right to vote in elections, began protesting, lobbying, and attending rallies. Many American citizens found that this was scandalous, unladylike, and a radical challenge to the constitution.
Before two fundamental amendments were passed, the only persons who were allowed to vote were Caucasian males, and criminal white males were not explicitly denied voting rights until a certain amendment. The Constitution itself does not overtly state who is allowed to vote. However, one exception is the Fifteenth Amendment where it states that voting rights shall not be denied on the merit of race or color, this implicitly allowed African-Americans to vote. Another exception is the Nineteenth Amendment which stated that the right to vote shall not be denied on the account of sex. The long-awaited ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment was a pivotal moment in the women’s suffrage movement. Those amendments explicitly endorsed and allowed certain groups of people to vote. The ratification of the Fifteenth and the Nineteenth Amendments were a colossal step towards the universal suffrage ideal. Nevertheless, the United States has yet to reach universal suffrage because the Constitution does clearly disenfranchise convicted felons; however, all states have the power to restore voting rights to previously incarcerated or currently incarcerated convicted
August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted American women the right to vote. It was not until 1848 that the movement for women’s rights began to organize as a nation.
In 1848, the movement for the rights of women began to become widespread throughout the country. Women protested for many things throughout their campaign, but the focalpoint was the right to vote in presidential elections. About 70 years later, their wish came true. The 19th amendment was added, giving women the right
Women were granted the right to vote back in the year 1920 on August 26 with the passing of the 19th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits all United States citizens from being denied the right to vote based on gender. Consequently, roughly 26 million women earned their citizenship, which in turn granted the ability
Multiple amendments and laws have been passed in order to ensure Americans have a safe and fair voting system. The 15th Amendment to the United States gave African-American men the right to vote, but many men were not able to vote until 100 years after the amendment was passed due to poll taxes and literacy tests (Primary Documents, n.d.). The 19th Amendment gave American women the right to vote. The process for women's suffrage was long and hard, but finally came to success in 1920 (19th Amendment, n.d.). The 24th Amendment banned poll taxes that limited voting to the wealthiest
The United States of America was founded on the basic principles and ideals that gave citizens a voice in the dictation of their country. The “We the People” mindset has been a clear example of the American citizen’s right to the ballot. This right was originally only given to white men. Not everyone was entitled to enfranchisement. Some citizens had to fight for their right to vote. Passed in 1870, just five years after the War Between the States, the 15th Amendment was passed, granting African American men the right to vote. While this was a huge step towards equality at the ballot box, a large portion of the population was still missing basic equalities. Women still were not granted the right to vote, and had no say in any political
In 1870 the 15th Amendment was ratified, it gave the right to vote to the blacks. It wasn’t forced until Martin Luther King Jr. and African citizens demanded their voting rights in the civil right movement. As a result The African citizens achieved the1965 Voting Rights Act. In 1920 the 19th amendment gave the women the right
On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the American Constitution was ratified, gifting women in America the right to vote. This single event in history was a huge victory for social, political, and feminist activists of that time; however, that did not pave way for the world to open its eyes for women to be recognized for the basic human rights they were entitled to by their creator.
I believe that a U.S. citizen is entitled to the basic freedoms that are written in the 1st amendment: freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. This means to me that citizens can choose whatever religion to believe in or not without fear of punishment. Citizens can express their opinions openly whether verbally or written or through the press as along as it not harmful or threatening to others well-being. Citizens have a right to assemble in groups whether it is a public or private gatherings for social, political, religious, and/or recreational matters. The right to petition allow citizens to oppose government actions that they believe are unfair or wrong to the people. Some examples of petitioning the government are writing
The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution is the women’s right to vote. Statistically, in 1910, women could only vote in the following states: “Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. Women’s active role in progressive reform movements energized the suffrage cause. A vital suffrage movement in Great Britain echoed in America as well. In 1911, California voters approved woman suffrage.” Consequently, women has come a long way in their voting rights, but in comparison to men, we are still not created equal. On Election Day in 1920, millions of American women exercised their right to vote for the first time. On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution is ratified. Thus, the 19th
After passing of 19th Amendment in August 1920 that gave women's suffrage constitutional right to vote, "equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
According to History of voting rights web page, the first presidential election in the Unites States was held in 1789, when president George Washington won the election. At the time the U.S was founded, its female citizens did not share the right to vote. In 1848 women started protesting and fighting for their right to vote. This movement went on for 70 years of protesting. Finally, they won the battle in 1920 and the 19th amendment was passed granting woman their right to vote. Voting equality was not complete, because African Americans did not have the right to vote. They started demanding they right without giving up. In 1965 after years of protesting the 15th amendment granted African America the right to vote. The 26th Amendment changed a portion of the 14th Amendment grating 18 years old the right to vote in 1972. Voting is one of our most important right as citizens. As long as this country has existed, communities like ours have had to fight for the right to vote. There are still people today who do not want some people to vote. It’s our turn to stand up and vote to preserve this right the honor of those who went before us.
The 19th amendment of 1920 granted all women the right to vote. Now 100% of Americans, with the exception of certain felons, over the age of 21 could vote. On the surface, it seems that the 19th Amendment finished the job. Everyone can vote. That is not entirely true.