Right To Vote In America

Once African American’s were given the right to vote the infamous literacy tests became a prerequisite to vote in southern states. This was a nuisance to the African Americans because they were in place to put a barrier between African Americans and voting, these test were impossible for most African Americans. Another part of the voting process that became difficult and complicated for African Americans was the Application itself. The application differed from state to state but in order to fill it out completely the person would have to include personal information about themselves. Comparing the application to modern applications shows the intentions of the officials and how “important” the questions were.

“The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting.” In the 1880’s poll taxes and literacy requirements that afterward advocated African Americans to vote. Meanwhile Klan violence frightens from police and employers, blacks were still “protesting”about voting rights. As a result, there were over two dozen blacks serving in state congress across some

Before the “Age of Jackson”, voting was only permitted to white property owning males and taxpayers; however, during the 1820-1830’s, most states extended the voting requirements to now include factory workers, artisans, laborers, and non-landowners or major taxpayers. The arguments used to recruit voters to help expand suffrage to the “common man”, or to recruit voters to help maintain the same voting system, during the “Age of Jackson” are debated throughout documents one through six and provide viable evidence to support each side.

The 1965 Voting Rights Acts were adopted because of the flaws found in the 15th amendment that interfered with the basic right to vote for many minorities. The ability to vote is one of the most powerful tools that the American people have to make a change within America. The power to vote is important because you can decide your own government and by choosing your own government you are voicing your ideas on how you want the country to be operated. The amendment that gives US citizens the ability to vote is the 14th amendment which defines what it means to be a citizen. Whereas, the 15th amendment was put in place to stop the discrimination of voting based on your color, race, or previous conditions of servitude.

Following the Civil War and freeing of slaves all over America a new question arose: Should black people be able to vote? Further, were they even citizens in the fullest sense? Now freed from slavery, black Americans found themselves in a political limbo where they were no longer property but not fully citizens. In an effort to extend protection from discrimination at the poll booth, an amendment to the Constitution was passed declaring it unlawful to deny voting on account of race. This amendment, however, was met with unprecedented resistance. Suppression of the black vote was just one step in preventing black Americans from being treated as citizens.

In colonial times the democracy had a lot of things that were still a work in progress. Many features of the democracy were not very democratic. One feature that was a work in progress was citizen participation. In Document 2, Voting Qualifications, it shows what race the colonists had to be and how much land they had to own just so they were able to vote. In New Hampshire only a Christian white man who owned land that was valued at 50 pounds could vote. Many of the thirteen states had regulations like

The right to vote is indispensable to any democracy because it is the means by which citizens can collectively decide issues. Nowhere in the Constitution of 1791 does it explicitly guarantee the right to ballot box for women and minority groups, thus, excluding the majority from participating in the political process. Indeed, only 6% of the American population voted in President Washington’s re-election in 1792 (Lepore 2). Article I, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution defers voting eligibility to state legislatures (The Heritage Foundation 3), implicitly condoning the disfranchisement of women, minorities, and destitute whites. Although one can argue the Constitution of 1791 merely reflected the white supremacist, patriarchal society of its time, the reality remains that the significant groups were excluded from participating in the political process.

The aftereffects of the American Revolution were different for various groups of people depending one who they were. Slaves were hugely impacted by the war since it brought about the end of slavery for those in the north (Schultz, 2013). Cornwall promised to free his own slaves after the war and many others ran away from their owners so that they could live free. Virginia and Maryland were two states that created laws that allowed the owners to free their slaves without being pressured to do so; around 1880 the number of free African Americans was one out of ten. This change in views on slavery also made some legal changes when it came to slavery as well and slaves in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Five other states allowed African Americans

Public debates, state militias, and committees gathered to discuss putting an end to property qualifications to be eligible to vote (108). In the 1770’s, it was essential to own land in order to have the right to vote. This goes against the original beliefs of the New World. People who started life under the King’s rule traveled to America to be free and with that, they wanted the right to vote for their “ruler”. The author of this essay notes,

This undeniable reality of the racial constraints on the concept of equality naturally leads us to question whether the Revolution Era had a “truly revolutionary” effect on anyone except for the white man. When discussing the concept of equality in part with the Revolutionary Era, we should start with identifying the various demographics that were meant to be affected by this concept. Africans are arguably the most affected demographic by the revolutionary era. The most significant changes of where they sit on the societal totem pole happen in the northern colonies, as America a Narrative History states, after achieving independence all the states except Georgia stopped the trafficking of slaves; only for South Carolina to re-open their slave trade in 1803. However, we should also

During the Revolutionary era, slavery had a stronghold in the U.S. Despite this, the Revolution had influenced many to define what they thought freedom was. Slavery existed in every colony and some people claimed that the enslavement of blacks allowed for whites to live better lives. Slaves argued that they were just as human as their masters, and fought during the Revolution in order to be free from servitude. Their fighting appeared to have changed some of the existing attitudes towards slavery. Some states allowed any black that participated in the Revolution to be set free, and some plantation owners released their

We have come a long way from a time when only white, affluent, property owning males could vote. In terms of ‘voting rights’ it was a gradual expansion of the vote, which slowly began to expand to all whites, individuals once labeled slaves or ‘aliens’, African Americans, military personal and women. To vote in the United States, no longer do you need to pass a literacy test, but you must be a U.S citizen and at least 18 years old on Election Day. In addition, some states also require various periods of residency before voting is permitted. Furthermore some states restrict felons or those mentally incompetent to vote. In Massachusetts, for the first time, there was Early Voting. During this period, October 24th to November 4th, registered voters were allowed to cast their ballots. During this period of Early voting, I along with a group of classmates had the engaging opportunity to be an exit pollster. We decided to canvas much of the Boston area, with hopes of a ranging demographic. This hands-on experience, working with a team in carrying out the exit poll, allowed for a greater insight to the dynamics of election administration, a deeper understanding on the rights of voters and voter turn out, technique for attaining a random sample, the role of the interviewer and importance of survey design.

Although the states had begun their journey towards a democracy with voting, elected officials, and campaigning, the implementation varied from state to state in regard to how these laws were discriminatory towards minorities and women.   Unfortunately, there is still a prevalence of sexism and racism in the contemporary society resembling the scars of our leaders’ failures in creating our democracy. The history of the United States can be simplified to the fight for suffrage and the expansion of it to everyone, as long as they were white and male. Voting practices suggest American politics were becoming more democratic as there was an increase in access and participation that created a better, but not perfect, representation of more people and ideas throughout the states.

The decision made by the Supreme Court was unjust. On the contrary to the Court’s decision, the Voting Rights Act is still extremely important and is needed even wider today, the 21st century, to realize the promises of equality in the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The Act played a very important role in increasing black voter rates and against voting dilutions during its service. As discrimination is still a common ideology today and still has impact on legislation, without

The Voting Rights Act 42 U.S.C. §§ 1973 et seq., decision is important regarding the laws governing voting rights and their relationship to minority voters. Its implication and effects however does not end within the legal realms and dimensions but continues through to society, culture, and human rights. The Voting Rights Act initially established in 1965 under Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration protected “racial minorities” from biased voting practices. It was a huge stride in the civil rights movement and a victory over harmful, archaic, and biased voting practices and traditions.