Voting Rights Timeline

By Meep9373
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    Voting Rights Timeline AP Gov

  • Rise of Democratic Politics

    Time Period: 1820's-1840's, After Era of Good Feelings
    Suffrage Expansion: Gave the right to vote to non-property owning white men.
    Voting Rights Protection: The abolishment of the qualification of holding property allowed virtually all white men to vote by 1940 once the qualifications for paying taxes or having served a militia were also removed.

  • 15th Amendment

    Time Period: Reconstruction era.
    Suffrage Expansion: African American men were granted the right to vote.
    Voting Rights Protection: Protects voting rights based on race, color, or having previously been in servitude.

  • 19th Amendment

    Time Period: Early 20th century, after suffrage movement gained momentum.
    Suffrage Expansion: Women were granted the right to vote.
    Voting Rights Protection: Prohibited the denial of voting rights based on sex.

  • Indian Citizenship Act

    Time Period: 1920s, during a period of increased awareness of civil rights.
    Suffrage Expansion: Native Americans were granted citizenship rights, including the right to vote.
    Voting Rights Protection: Granted Native Americans citizenship and thus access to voting rights, though barriers remained in many states.

  • McCarran-Walter Act

    Time Period: Early Cold War era.
    Suffrage Expansion: This legislation didn't directly expand suffrage but rather reformed immigration laws, removing the blanket exclusion for Asians but also setting quotas on who could enter.
    Voting Rights Protection: Doesn't address voting rights but now only a specific number of people from each country or race could enter.

  • 23rd Amendment

    Time Period: Early 1960s, during the Civil Rights Movement.
    Suffrage Expansion: Residents of Washington, D.C. were granted the right to vote in presidential elections.
    Voting Rights Protection: Gave citizens in the District of Columbia the right to vote in the presidential election.

  • 24th Amendment

    Time Period: Mid-1960s, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement.
    Suffrage Expansion: All citizens were granted the right to vote in federal elections without facing poll taxes.
    Voting Rights Protection: Prohibited the use of poll taxes in federal elections, thereby removing a significant barrier to voting for many African Americans and poor whites.

  • Voting Rights Act

    Time Period: During the Civil Rights Movement.
    Suffrage Expansion: African Americans, particularly in the South, gained access to voting rights as barriers such as literacy tests and poll taxes were removed.
    Voting Rights Protection: The VRA outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans, such as literacy tests and poll taxes, and established federal oversight of elections in areas with a history of voter discrimination.

  • 26th Amendment

    Time Period: Early 1970s, during the Vietnam War era.
    Suffrage Expansion: The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, granting younger Americans the right to vote.
    Voting Rights Protection: Ensured that the right to vote could not be denied on account of age once a person reached 18 years old which was important because people were being drafted at 18 without a way to vote against involvement in such wars.

  • VRA Reauthorization of 1975

    Time Period: Mid-1970s, following the initial enactment of the VRA.
    Suffrage Expansion: This reauthorization reinforced the Voting Rights Act of 1965, ensuring continued federal oversight of elections in areas with a history of voter discrimination.
    Voting Rights Protection: By reauthorizing and strengthening the VRA, this legislation continued to protect the voting rights of minorities, particularly African Americans, by preventing discriminatory voting practices.

  • Voting Accessibility for Elderly and Handicapped Act

    Time Period: 1980s, during a period of increased awareness of disability rights.
    Suffrage Expansion: This legislation aimed to ensure that elderly and handicapped individuals have accessible polling places and assistance in voting.
    Voting Rights Protection: Required that polling places be accessible to elderly and handicapped individuals, including accessible voting machines and assistance if needed, thereby protecting their voting rights.