The 1776 Declaration of Independence was signed to end “taxation without representation.” In reality, suffrage (the right to vote) in America would remain highly limited until the late 20th century. After the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation let suffrage rules be decided by the states. Even the 1789 Constitution failed to create national voting rights. As a result, voting was typically limited to white, male taxpayers- the people who ran those states. This would slowly begin to change.
The 15th Amendment(1870) was the first step in changing national suffrage; it legally allowed males of every race and social status to vote. But even after the 15th, voting in the South (and even in some Northern states) was largely limited. High poll taxes and difficult literacy tests, which white voters could skip, continued to prevent non-white voting. These devious methods would remain in place till the mid-1965.
Women had tried to secure their suffrage with the 15th, but they were not included in the amendment. They were only allowed to vote 50 years later, following the passing of the19th Amendment . Four years later, suffrage was finally extended to all American citizens (including Native American citizens, who had previously been prevented from citizenship). In addition, the ratification of the 24th amendment (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965) abolished poll-taxes and literacy tests, respectively.
The national voting age at that time was twenty-one (a few states had lowered it to eighteen). But during the Vietnam War, men were drafted from eighteen years and older were drafted. Many saw their inability to vote about the war they were going to fight in an unfair irony. So, because of the 26th Amendment (1971), all citizens eighteen years or older can vote today.
-Gayan
12 comments:
Good job Gayan, on emphasizing the big changes that voting has changed over the centuries. Also good job on showing how voting rights were based on gender and/or race. A picture would have compleated the the post.
Overall, lots of information and numbers/dates (amendments) in a short amount of writing, which is good. It could have been polished just a little bit more, because some of the sentences are grammatically awkward. They just feel squished or too dense.
I also agree with the first comment that a picture would have helped, maybe of voting lines, or literacy tests, or something like that.
You did a great job with specifics Gayan. you did a nice job on being particularly specific on race, age, and gender. Some of the sentences are a little short or run on. Great job though!
Great job on the summary, clear and specific. I like how you added notes for more side-topic details.
(I edited the post)
The organization was quite good, it made things very clear. You caught a lot of the specifics on voting rights (and their abridgment).
I thought your posting was great. The information was presented well and the paragraphs flowed beautifully. I learned a lot about voting rights from reading this. I really liked how you made the points understandable to everyone.
i liked that you gave a lot of information and many specific dates and people. it flowed well and was very well put together. Good job with the summary
This comment was very informational with good specifics about the suffrage movement which changed daily life for many people. Without all those amendments life today would be very different. Perhaps next time you can include a picture or two.
Your posting has a lot of details about voting rights and it was really good to explain the topic. However, I think it is kind of awkward in the introduction of the paragraph and it would be better if you change that part.
Very thorough and detailed. Especially liked the use of "devious." However, I did notice a few grammatical errors in this sentence: "But during the Vietnam War, men were drafted from eighteen years and older were drafted." It could be rephrased as "men eighteen years and older were drafted." Besides that, well done.
Nice job on specifics and thoroughness. It shocks me that it took so many years after the 15th amendment was passed for women to finally get the right to vote. Nice picture as well. Perhaps you could rephrase "But during the Vietnam War, men were drafted from eighteen years and older were drafted."
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