The Importance of Voting

- Congress passed a 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction there of, are citizens of the United States and of the states in which they reside," thus repudiating the Dred Scott ruling which had denied slaves their right of citizenship. The 15th amendment provided that, “The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be be denied or abridged by the United States or any states on the account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.”

One of the changes made to the Constitution was that slaves, women, and more citizens have the right of suffrage. In document #2, it states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged...on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude...on account of sex.” It also states, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged.” Both of these were added to the Constitution because although throughout history, citizens were angry that some of them didn’t have the right to vote. After the 13th amendment, blacks viewed themselves as citizens and they expected to have the right of suffrage. Women didn’t view themselves below men in the social class so they fought for the right to vote by protesting and creating female activist groups. To be able to fix this problem, the Constitution was

The 15th Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring 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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century.

“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. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” (“19th Amendment”). The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote. Prior to this amendment, women had no say.

91. 26th: The provision to the 26th Amendment gave the right to vote to citizens over 18 years of age. March 1971

The Fifteenth Amendment, The Right to Vote Not Denied by Race, is a very significant amendment added to our Constitution to encourage equality in our democracy. Voting in America is a big deal because we the people get to elect representatives who represent us on Capitol Hill and in our state’s legislatures. These people determine big issues in our country, and attempt to find a solution. However, not everyone was allowed the right to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment was passed in Congress on February 26, 1869.

The Constitution States, “The rights of all 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”(United States Constitution). The 19th amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920 after many years of women protesting and demanding equality from the government . From the views of many people who believe that the American Revolution was radical all men were treated equally. Conversely, this aspect was taken very literally in the that women were excluded from voting and making

Before the Civil War, there were no federal laws to protect voting rights. Only white males had the right to vote. In 1870, the 15th Amendment was established which stated “Specifically that the right to vote shall not be denied or abridged on the basis of race, or previous condition of servitude” (Introduction to Federal Voting Rights Laws). This amendment gives all Americans the right to be a voice of change for the people by electing officials who will make a difference in their communities. Unfortunately, one mistake can cause you to lose this right forever. As stated by Eric H. Holder, JD, US Attorney General, in his Feb. 11, 2014, speech;

Voting is a right that is given to all citizens by the 15th Amendment of the Constitution. Although the 15th amendment was ratified in 1870. It was not until The Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed that African Americans got to exercise their right to vote under the 15th amendment at the state and local level; which overcame the legal barriers that existed at those levels that was in place to prevent African Americans from voting.

The 15th amendment was passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870. This amendment gave African American men the right to vote. Although they were granted this right, many people were unhappy with this, so the Poll tax was created, requiring citizens to pay a fee to register to vote. These fees kept many poor African Americans from voting. The 19th amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920. This amendment gave women the right to vote. Both amendments granted women and African American men rights that they never once had previously had. The ability to vote and participate in country decision making was a huge step forward for both groups of people regarding their equality. Women also began to fight for other things. For example, Margaret Sanger was an American birth control activist, and wanted to give women the right to take birth control if they chose to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Both woman and African Americans would continue fighting for their rights during other eras, such as the Roaring

The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920 by the United States Constitution that allowed women the right to vote. On November 2, 1920 more than 8 million women across the United States voted in elections for the first time. It took

The 19th Amendment is about women's rights. Women gained the right to vote when this amendment was ratified. This amendment was passed to show that women were slowly gaining the same rights as men.

Voting Right Acts of 1965 invoked the Fifteen Amendment and the outcome prohibited any discrimination pertain to voting rights. The Nineteen Amendments that open doors to all citizens such as; adult males “age”, race, gender, color, women, ethnicity. Within these laws, the American citizens can utilize their right to the voting system.

In the United States, everything seems to be done better than anywhere else in the world. The USA has great sports and music, many different cultures, a high literacy rate. These are among the things that make America the greatest country in the world. However, Election Day and voter turnout isn’t very respectable. In fact, the USA came in at 138 out of 172 countries that hold public elections, per the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Many people in the US that don’t vote provide a majority of reasons for not voting, such as: too busy, not interested, or illness/injury, according to statisticbrain.com.

Rewind to the late 1870’s. Our country was young, and the people of our nation were looking to put only the best in office. As part of this search, they believed only the best should be allowed to vote to put those in office. So despite the passing of the Fifteenth Amendment, which guarantees the right to vote regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude, many people living in the country were still denied the right to vote. Of course, the motivation behind the passing of this amendment came in conjunction with the abolition of slavery. It was meant to another major step towards equality across the board (which is ironic because it still excludes women from behind able to cast their vote). Beyond this, the amendment still didn’t protect many of the minorities that it was aimed at. The government still actively imposed anti-segregation laws, so people of color really weren’t seen as citizens yet. Southern states went the extra mile and used literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation, threats, and violence to prevent black men from voting. Interestingly