Isabella Carter
The original US Constitution did not define who was eligible to vote, leaving states to determine voter qualifications. This resulted in a varied landscape, with most states restricting voting rights to white male property owners, while others, like New Jersey, allowed free Black men and women of all races to vote, provided they met property or tax requirements. Over time, the federal role in elections increased through constitutional amendments, gradually extending voting rights to non-whites, those without property, women, and those aged 18–21.
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What You'll Learn
Voting rights for white men without property
The original US Constitution did not define who was eligible to vote, leaving it to the states to determine voter qualifications. As a result, there was considerable variation in voting rights across the nation. While most states restricted voting rights to white male adult property owners, some states did not specify race or protected the rights of men of any race to vote.
By the 1820s, some states, like New York, had started to relax property qualifications for white men, expanding the franchise for them. In 1856, white men were allowed to vote in all states regardless of property ownership, although requirements for paying tax remained in five states. In the early 19th century, state legislatures began to limit the property requirement for voting. By about 1860, most white men without property were enfranchised.
However, it is important to note that even as voting rights were expanded for white men without property, other groups, such as African Americans, women, Native Americans, and citizens between the ages of 18 and 21, continued to face barriers to voting and had to fight for their right to vote. The push for voting rights by these groups led to a series of constitutional amendments that extended voting rights to all citizens regardless of race, gender, or age.
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Voting rights for Black men
The original US Constitution did not explicitly define voting rights for citizens, leaving it to states to determine who was qualified to vote in elections. This led to unfair voting practices, with states generally restricting voting rights to white males who owned property.
While the 14th Amendment to the Constitution (1868) granted African Americans citizenship, this did not translate to the right to vote. The 15th Amendment (1870) extended voting rights to men of all races, but this was not enough to secure voting rights for Black men. State constitutions, laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, the "grandfather clause", and intimidation were used to deny African Americans the right to vote.
In the 20th century, Black people continued to face barriers to voting, particularly in Southern states. Literacy tests, poll taxes, and English-language requirements were used to suppress the Black vote. Activists organized protest marches, such as the 1965 march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, to spotlight the issue of Black voting rights.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, was a crucial step in securing voting rights for Black Americans. The Act banned racial discrimination in voting and required jurisdictions with a history of voter suppression to obtain approval for changes to voting practices. The 24th Amendment (1964) also helped address injustices by prohibiting poll taxes in federal elections.
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Voting rights for women
The original US Constitution did not explicitly mention the right of citizens to vote in elections. Instead, it stated that anyone eligible to vote for the largest house of a state's legislature could also vote for members of the House of Representatives from that state. This left the states with the power to decide who was qualified to vote, and in the early years of the nation, this led to inconsistencies. While most states restricted voting to property-owning or tax-paying white men, some states, like New Jersey, allowed free Black men and women of both races to vote if they met property or tax requirements.
Women's suffrage was a long and arduous campaign that lasted for more than a century. In the mid-19th century, women's rights organizations became more active, and in 1848, the Seneca Falls convention adopted the Declaration of Sentiments, which included a resolution urging women to secure the vote. Activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton called for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some states and territories, particularly in the West, began to grant women the right to vote. By 1914, women in eight states had won the right to vote, and by 1916, almost all major suffrage organizations supported a constitutional amendment. The entry of the US into World War I in 1917 gave new urgency to the fight for women's suffrage, as women joined the workforce and took on visible roles in support of the war effort.
The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, finally granted women the right to vote nationwide. The amendment states, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." However, it is important to note that the amendment did not fully enfranchise African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, and Native American women, and the struggle for equal voting rights for all women continued well into the 20th century.
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Voting rights for Native Americans
The original US Constitution did not explicitly mention the right to vote, instead leaving it to individual states to determine who was qualified to vote in elections. This led to only white men with property being permitted to vote.
Native Americans have faced many challenges and obstacles in exercising their right to vote. Self-government in America was practised by Native Americans long before the formation of the US government. However, it took centuries for them to acquire full US citizenship. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924, also called the Snyder Act, granted Native Americans US citizenship, but it did not automatically enforce their right to vote. Many states continued to disenfranchise Native Americans, using reasons such as residing on reservations, tribal enrolment, taxation, and incompetency to deny them the right to vote.
It wasn't until 1948 that the Arizona Supreme Court recognised the legal right of Native Americans to vote. In 1957, Utah became the last state to remove its laws denying Native Americans the right to vote. However, even after securing the right to vote, Native Americans continued to face voter suppression and discriminatory practices, such as literacy tests and address requirements. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally provided a framework to enforce voters' rights and address Native voting rights at the federal level.
Despite these advancements, Native Americans still face barriers to fully exercising their franchise. In 2013, the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder weakened the effectiveness of the Voting Rights Act, leading to the enactment of new restrictive voting policies in several states. Native American voters living on rural reservations often rely on ballot collection services due to limited access to polling places, but even these services have been targeted by restrictive laws. Additionally, Native Americans in states with significant Native populations, such as Alaska, South Dakota, Montana, Arizona, and New Mexico, have encountered voting rights abuses.
To address these ongoing issues, organisations like the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) have been working to ensure equal and fair access to voting for Native citizens.
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Voting rights for citizens aged 18-21
The original US Constitution did not explicitly mention citizens' right to vote in elections. Instead, it stated that anyone eligible to vote for the largest house of a state legislature could also vote for members of the House of Representatives from that state. This left states with the power to decide who was qualified to vote, leading to variations across the nation. While most states restricted voting to property-owning or tax-paying white men, some states, like New Jersey, allowed free Black men and women of all races to vote, provided they met property or tax requirements.
Over time, there was a growing push to extend voting rights to more Americans, and a series of constitutional amendments were made to protect the right to vote. The 14th Amendment, passed in 1868, granted citizenship to all natural-born or naturalized Americans, regardless of race, and guaranteed that states could not restrict the rights of citizenship, such as voting. However, this did not immediately translate into voting rights for African Americans, as many states continued to find ways to prevent them from voting.
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, explicitly prohibited restricting the right to vote based on race. Despite this, many states, particularly in the South, continued to use various barriers, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, to deliberately reduce voting access for African Americans.
The struggle for equal voting rights continued into the 20th century, with women only able to vote in a handful of states. After decades of activism, the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, granting women the right to vote nationwide.
It is important to note that the voting age was 21 for the longest time in the US. The 26th Amendment, ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 for all Americans. This change was influenced by the increasing opposition to the Vietnam War in the 1960s and early 1970s, as well as the fact that citizens as young as 18 were being drafted into the military. The slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" captured the sentiment of the time.
In summary, while the original US Constitution did not directly address property requirements for voting, subsequent amendments and social movements expanded voting rights to include citizens regardless of race, gender, or age between 18 and 21.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the US Constitution did not require property to vote. Instead, it left it to individual states to determine who was qualified to vote in elections.
In the early history of the US, the most common voting requirements were that voters had to be white males who owned property of a certain dollar value.
By 1856, white men were allowed to vote in all states regardless of property ownership. However, it's important to note that requirements for paying taxes remained in some states, and the fight for voting rights for other marginalized groups continued for many decades.
