26th Amendment

World War II

Sep 1, 1939

The 26th amendment became an argument during World War II because they were running low on men to fight in the war. they then lowered the drafting age to 18 which then started the argument of "old enough to fight, old enough to vote"

beginning of the 26th amendment

1942

In the middle of World War II, Congress lowered the minimum age of being drafted into the U.S. Military to the age of 18. This started a long debate of being drafted to war while being denied the right to vote. This is when the slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" was born.

Jim Crow laws

1943

in 1943, Georgia became the first state to lower their voting age to 18 in both state and local elections. the state also implemented Jim Crow Laws so only youth whites could insert their vote to the election.

Vietnam War

Jul 28, 1965

Johnson ordered the number of ground forces to increase to 125,000 and and doubled the number of men drafted into the military from 17,000 a month to 35,000 a month. as more men were drafted, Barry McGuire released a single called "eve of destruction" that highlighted a key point of anger. "the eastern world it is explodin, violence flarin, bullets loadin, you're old enough to kill but not for votin"

Richard Nixon

1969

Richard Nixon was the president at the time of the ratification of the 26th amendment. he was the 37th U.S. President at the time. he was born on January 9, 1913 and passed April 22, 1994 at 81 years old. He passed from a stroke. he was in office from 1969 until his resignation in 1974.

Oregons opinion

Oct 20, 1970

Oregon did not like the idea of lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. they stated that it was unconstitutional. congress did in fact agree with Oregon not to lower the voting age but they got outvoted.

record time of 26th amendment

1971

The 26th amendment was ratified in July of 1971. it took a total of four months for this amendment to be ratified which marks the fastest amendment o be added to the constitution. This amendment became a big argument during World War II and the Vietnam war because the age for drafting into the military got lowered from 21 to 18, so they started the argument of why am I old enough to fight for my country but not vote for who runs it?

The senate voted

Mar 10, 1971

The day the Senate voted to propose an amendment that would change the voting age from 21 to 18. The 26th amendment would guarantee that the voting age would be changed from 21 to 18. The 26th amendment was a big deal for the military men that were drafted because they were now able to vote for the country they were serving under.

26th Amendment passed

Jul 1, 1971

The 26th amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. There was a long debate about the voting age that began during World War II. Congress passed the request after the argument intensified during the Vietnam war. Then the states ratified it, and president Nixon singed it into law the following July.

Ratification of the 26th Amendment

Jul 5, 1971

Ratification of this amendment was completed in four months which is the fastest amendment ratified in ratification history. On July 5th, 1971, there was a ceremony in the Whitehouse where Nixon stood in front of a 500 member choral group and signed the certified amendment. After the amendment was signed into law, Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Texas, sued the Federal Government.