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Declaration of Independence
This is when the first laws about voting were established. The laws that were established these laws made it so only white men who owned property could vote and they didnt have to be, but generally were of the protestant religion. http://www.kqed.org/assets/pdf/education/digitalmedia/us-voting-rights-timeline.pdf Pg.215 -
Period: to
US sufferage
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More White Guys
By the early 1800's 6 states had added laws so that it was all white men that could vote they didnt have to own property. Pg. 216 -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment changed the laws so that all people born in the united states are citezens, which included african americans. This amendment still didn't give them the right to vote but it granted them citizenship. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxiv -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment gave the right to vote to all men, regardless of race, color, or previous servitude. Some southern states passed laws to keep blacks from voting. Pg. 217 -
Poll Taxes
Poll taxes were added in some states after the 15th amendment to keep blacks from voting. Poll taxes didnt make it illegal for the to vote but they added a price to voting that generally most black men couldn't pay. Pg. 218 -
Literacy Tests
Literacy tests were another thing that was added because of the 15th amendment to keep blacks from voting. Literacy tests required you to be able to read and write in order to vote. Because most blacks couldnt attend school or had never been taught to read and write these tests kept them from voting. Pg.218 -
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act was tthe first attempt to make american indians citizens. It only did so if they gave up their allegiance to the tribe, which most of them did not agree to. Pg. 220 -
Grandfather Clause
The grandfather clause was also a way to prevent blacks from voting. This made it so that you could only vote if your grandfather could have voted.This ruled out most blacks because most of their grandfathers couldnt vote. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/241594/grandfather-clause -
No More Grandfather Clause
This is when the supreme court deemed garndfather clauses unconstitutional. Many states continued using poll taxes and literacy tests. Pg. 218 -
19th Amendment/ Womens right to vote
The 19th amendment gave all citizens 21 and over no matter what the right to vote, this included giving women the right to vote. http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/amendment_19/ -
Indian Citizenship Act
This act granted citizenship to all indians born in the territorial limits of the country. This gave them the right to vote. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-indian-citizenship-act -
24th Amendment
This amendment made it illegal to make you pay to vote so that the states could not make you pay poll taxes. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxiv -
26th Amendment
This amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 so that anybody that could be drafted could vote. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/amendmentxxvi Pg. 221