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1776 North Carolina Constitution
Voters of each county elected a senator and two members of the House of Commons regardless of area or population.
This allowed for everyone to vote more. If district did not matter, then that means anyone who's a landowner could vote. This opens the door to mostly anybody who'd want to vote who was eligible back then. In this constitution, landowners had most of the say within the government. They were seen as powerful and capable. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was first women’s rights convention in the United States. It was led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton set up her document, The Declaration of Sentiments. The document stood for women’s equality and suffrage. This convention is sometimes referred to as the birthplace of feminism. This convention paved the way for women to vote in the U.S. -
The 15th Amendment
The 15th amendment was made to grant liberties to freed slaves. This amendment states that all races were allowed to vote.
This is important because it allowed African Americans the same rights as whites. Being granted the right to vote means having an opportunity to let your voice be heard. In turn, you get more opinions within your population. Furthermore, voting is a right, not a privilege so giving African Americans the right to vote is important. -
The 17th Amendment
In this amendment they are stating that the people have Direct Election of U.S. Senators. Due to disagreements caused by legislatures of each state electing their U.S. senators, they figured the people should choose.
This allows the people to have more say within the government. Allowing citizens to choose their senator gives them more power. By voting for the Senator, people will hopefully choose a candidate they deem worthy and not just a friend. This expands democracy by giving us a voice. -
The 19th Amendment
In 1848, women began protesting for the right to vote. The 19th amendment was passed which states that women were allowed to vote and that gender didn't matter.
Now, women can voice their opinion. This amendment expanded the amount of opinions and ideals that were able to be heard. Although they are a minority, women still hold valuable opinions and should have the right to voice them. This advancement meant that women were able to expand their rights and have their voices heard. -
The Indian Citizenship Act
Before the Indian Citizenship Act,citizenship was limited to Native Americans of 1/2 or less Indian blood.This act gives citizenship to all Native Americans born within the borders.
Giving the Indians the right to citizenship really expanded the democracy. It allowed for them to be considered equals. However, although they were citizens they still weren't allowed to vote in the early 20th century. It's strange that they were considered citizens and still couldn't vote. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws were made to prevent black people from having a say in nearly anything. These laws made segregation way more prominent in the south. Poll taxes discouraged blacks from voting because they couldn’t afford to pay it. Literacy tests were hard tests that blacks had to pass to see if the were “eligible” enough to vote. Finally, the grandfather clause states that if your grandfather was a slave, then you could not vote. This tactic was used because most blacks had slave grandfathers. -
The 23rd Amendment
The 23rd Amendment gives residents of DC the right to vote for representatives in the Electoral College. It was formed in order to allow the District of Columbia feel like a state.
This amendment gives voting expansion to the District of Columbia. Because they were not considered a state,Congress felt as though they should feel like their a state. Allowing them to vote was expanding their democracy. Although these residents don’t live in a a state, they still deserve to vote. -
The 24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was formed because disgruntled citizens took the state of Virginia to court and present their case, which led to this amendment. In this amendment poll taxes were outlawed.
These taxes discouraged people from wanting to vote. If you could not afford to pay the poll tax, you probably wouldn't vote. These taxes did not allow the publics voice to be heard. Without them, the people could freely state their political opinions without having to pay a tax -
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act focused on overcoming the state governments that tried to prevent African Americans from voting. Although laws were put in place that prevented race from playing a part in voting, the south still didn't abide by it. A lot of injustices occurred with blacks and voting. They were given literacy tests and all other sorts of things. Blacks were still being held back so President Johnson took matters into his hands. By signing this document, he allowed blacks to vote easier. -
The 26th Amendment
The 26th amendment was made because people were upset that men could be drafted for war, but were not old enough to vote. This amendment states that if you are 18 and older, you are eligible to vote.This is important because it expands the age to vote to a broader age range. In turn, young voters will come and decide their future. Because the future is so heavily impacted on the choices of the younger generation, it only makes sense that they would be allowed to vote. This gives a sense of duty.
