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Ratification of 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was ratified by the states on Feburary 3, 1870, in order to grant suffrage to African American men. The 15th Amendment was not always followed in Southern states due to the passage of the "grandfather clauses," which prevented African Americans from voting because their ancestors had not been allowed to vote in 1860. Additionaly, literacy tests were put in place to continually prevent African Americans from voting. National Archives -
Guinn v. US Court Case
The Guinn v. U.S. court case was decided on June 21, 1915. It decided that the Grandfather Clause in Oklahoma's state constitution of 1910 was unconstitutional, and that no state could deny a person their right to vote by imposing literacy tests. It did not belittle the power of suffrage given to the states to decide, but it did declare that the literacy test restriction against African American suffrage went against the Constitution. Justia U.S. Supreme Court -
Ratification of the 19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18th, 1920, and legally granted women suffrage in federal elections. Women suffragists used a variety of methods to advocate for the 19th Amendment, including protests, hunger strikes, and silent vigils. In spite of their hard work, the 19th Amendment took years to ratify from when it was first propsoed in 1878 to when it became an official amendment in 1920. National Archives -
Passage of the McCarran-Walter Act
The McCarran Walter Act was passed on June 27, 1952. Its purpose was to give Asian Americans the right to become naturalized citizens. As a result of their naturalized citizenships, Asian Americans were also indirectly given the right to vote in the American system of government. League of Women Voters -
Ratification of 24th Amendment
The 24th Amendment was ratified on the 23rd of January in 1964, and was intended to abolish poll taxes and any other taxes that restricted U.S. citizens from voting. The 24th Amendment was mainly to help African Americans and poor Whites in the South vote since they were previously unable to pay the poll tax. Missippi was the only Southern state to deny the 24th Amendment right, but some states still imposed poll taxes. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum -
The Beginning of the Freedom Summer Project
Freedom Summer, which began on June 15, 1964, was an initiative to help increase the number of registered Black voters, specifically in Missippi. Although the project was a non-violent attempt to get more African Americans to vote, the staff and volunteers were threatened with violence. While the violence scared some, it did not stop 17,000 Black Missippi citizens from trying to register, though only 1,200 among them were successfully registered. History.com -
Passage of Voting Rights Act of 1965
On August 5, 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It aimed to secure African American suffrage, which had previously been granted to African Americans by the ratification of the 15th Amendment. The Act also forbade states from denying any citizen the right to vote on the basis of color or race and eliminated all state restrictions on African American suffrage. National Archives -
Ratification of 26th Amendment
The 26th Amendment, which was ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the voting age from the pervious limit of 21 years old to 18 years old. The main catalyst for this change was the Vietnam War, in which many 18 year old men were being drafted into without having any say in their government. The 24th Amendment changed that by giving 18 year olds the right to vote so that they could have a say in U.S. involevement in the war. Ronald Regean Presidential Library & Museum -
The Passage of the Motor Voter Law
The Motor Voter Law was put in place in the law on May 20, 1993. Its purpose was to ensure that every American had the opputunity to vote in federal elections. It also gave the Federal Election Commission the responsibility of helping states send mailed voting registration forms to make the opportunity to vote more accessible for all Americans. The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice -
The Passage of the Help America Vote Act
The Help America Vote Act was passed on October 8, 2002 to help voting challenges that were uncovered as a result of the 2000 federal election. The Act funds states to help refine and update the voting system, establish a new federal agency as a clearinghouse for information collected from the election administration, and set up minimum standard for places where voting administrations were valuable for elections. Civil Rights Division of U.S. Department of Justice