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Beginning of Voting
Voting rights was an extremely huge part of the political agenda all throughout the history of our country. When our great country began we needed a fearless leader to be in charge. The way that the first president was elected was through a public election, the only catch was that the only people that were able to vote were land owning white males. This issue continued for a long time until eventually voting rights were granted to many others in the American population. -
Beginning of women's suffrage movement
The Seneca Falls convention took place in 1848. Here, both women and men signed The Declaration of Sentiments and resolution. Through this, the signers wanted a nation where men and women were equal along with equal voting rights for women. This event supports the people that want the current voting age to be lowered. This is because the people at the convention were pushing to broaden voting rights to more citizens. -
The Fifteenth Amendment
The fifteenth amendment to the United States constitution was important and a huge step in the right direction toward broadening voting right. Thanks to this amendment, people (specifically men) could not be denied the right to vote in public elections due to their race or the color of their skin. This can be seen in support of the movement to lower the voting age since the amendment gave a larger portion of the country the right to vote. -
Poll Taxes Introduced
Many people were unhappy with the ratification of the 15th amendment. This enacted many southern and western states to implement a poll tax. In the long run, this tax was meant to suppress the voting rights of African Americans. This meant that much of the American population was unrepresented in the elections. Poll taxes definitely support the groups that were against expanding voting rights to truly represent the American people. -
Grandfather Clauses Were Implemented
Even though African Americans could now vote according to the constitution, many southern states implemented grandfather clauses which continued to deprive them of their right to vote. The clause was that anyone who could vote before 1867 was able to continue voting, however, if you weren't able to then you would have to take a literacy test, pay poll taxes, or own property; many African Americans didn't meet any of this criteria. This supports the side that are against broadening voter types. -
The Nineteenth Amendment
The nineteenth amendment guaranteed the right to vote to citizens without discrimination based on their gender. This was a huge victory for women all around the country since they had been fighting and protesting their way to this right for many decades. This amendment was in support of the people that wanted to expand voting rights because it was a step in the right direction to broadening the types of people that were now able to vote. -
The Twenty Fourth Amendment
The twenty fourth amendment abolished the polls tax that many people still had to pay in order to vote. Citizens would be charged anywhere from one dollar to a couple dollars, the problem was that many people were not able to afford this. This is turn allowed the wealthy people to take power and vote who they want by misrepresenting the poor. This amendment was in support of the people that wanted to broaden voting rights since it allowed a significantly larger amount of people to vote. -
The Twenty Sixth Amendment
The twenty sixth amendment was a huge step for people who supported lowering the voting age. The amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 in all public elections. People reasoning was that if 18 year old soldiers were fighting overseas, they should have the right to vote. There was backlash from some states at first since they believed that it was wrong to set a national voting age. However, the amendment went on to support people who are looking to further lower voting age. -
Prediction
Our country is not moving much in the direction of 16 year olds being able to vote, however, it is taking small steps. Currently in two cities in the state of Maryland, 16 year olds are able to vote in local elections. This is a far ways from allowing them to vote in all elections, but it is definitely a step. I predict that the nation as a whole will not lower the voting age again, this is due to there being no substantial argument on the grounds of lowering again after 26th amendment. -
Analysis
The part of the issue that has changed the most through out most of history was the amount of times that the voting rights were increased to allow more of the general population to have a say in who is elected. This is due in part by America as a whole becoming more open-minded to different types of people. The 26th amendment can be seen as the closest thing to a compromise on this issue since 16 may seem too low to some while 21 may seem too high, 18 has to be just right. -
APA Citations Part 1
The Founders and the Vote. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/elections/founders-and-the-vote.html History.com Editors. (2017, November 10). Seneca Falls Convention. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/seneca-falls-convention The 15th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xv -
APA Citations Part 3
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2019, August 14). Poll tax. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/poll-tax -
APA Citations Part 2
19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=63 The 24th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/amendment/amendment-xxiv Smentkowski, B. P. (2020, February 10). Twenty-sixth Amendment. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Twenty-sixth-Amendment
