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Passage of 1776 North Carolina Constitution
The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 was created after the Declaration of Independence was created, and was made so that North Carolina could join the United States. The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 only allowed people that were free, and the age of 21 or older, it also had a few other requirements like they had to own at least 50 acres of land, or paid public taxes. In North Carolina this meant that only white men could vote, and most were rich, educated, or both. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention is a convention that was created to discuss how the right to vote should be given to women. During this meeting some of the women and men that were at the convention signed the Declaration of Sentiments, which stated that women should be given the right to vote. Women at the time were not given the right to vote no matter what their race or color was, and were trying to fight for their right to vote, also allowing for them to be represented. -
Passage of the 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was a amendment that stated that no voter may be discriminated by their race, color, or previous servitude. This amendment was made to allow African Americans who were enslaved at one point to vote. The 15th Amendment was made after the Civil War, which was the war that banned people from owning slaves and made sure that no one was being enslaved. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws were laws that were created after the end of the reconstruction period, created to limit African Americans from voting. Laws included poll taxes which were payments made to be able to vote, literacy tests were tests that were made to test people's english, and the grandfather clauses stated that if your grandfather was allowed to vote so are you. This limited African Americans as most were poor, did not receive an education, and their grandfathers were slaves that could not vote -
Passage of the 17th Amendment
The 17th Amendment was the amendment that changed they way that the United States Senators were elected. Before the amendment was passed the legislature elected the senators to office, but this amendment made it so that the people were the ones that elected them. This was made after many people accused the process of electing senators to be corrupt and not made to represent the people. -
Passage of the 19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment was the amendment that no voter may be discriminated based on their sex. This amendment was made to make sure that women were able to vote, after the Women Rights Movement that was going one. Before the amendment was passed there were already some states that allowed women to vote, but this amendment made it official. This was great achievement for women, but only one women who signed the Declaration of Sentiments was able to vote in the elections. -
Indian Citizenship Act
The Indian Citizenship Act made is that the Native American were able to considered citizen of the United States. This act allowed the Native American to finally be able to vote in elections, but even afterward some Native Americans were not allowed to vote in elections. So it would not be until later that all Native American would be allowed to vote, even thought the Native American were here long before us. -
Passage of the 23rd Amendment
The 23rd Amendment was the amendment that allowed those who lived in Washington D.C. to be able to vote. Before the Amendment those in the District of Columbia were not part of one specific state, so this did not allow them to vote. After this amendment the people in Washington D.C. were able to vote for a representative. -
Passage of the 24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was the amendment that got rid of the poll tax at elections. This tax was made to limit African Americans from voting in elections when they were given the right to, as many African Americans came from enslaved people, so they were poor and could not pay the poll tax. This amendment allowed more African American to be able to be able to vote without having the need for money, and stopping some of the discrimination towards them in the polls. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is act that ended all of the Jim Crow Laws, like the grandfather clause and the literacy tests. This act got rid of the laws that were based during Jim Crow that limited the amount of African Americans that were able to vote. This was after the Civil Rights movement, where African Americans were asking to not being discriminated based on their race or color. This allowed African Americans to be able to vote without being discriminated against. -
Passage of the 26th Amendment
The 26th Amendment was the amendment that lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. This was made after the slogan "Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote" became popular, as soldiers who were younger than 21 were mad that they were not allowed to vote. So after someone turns 18 they are able to take part in their elections, which allows them to be represented in the government.
