Malcolm Rivera
The original U.S. Constitution did not explicitly protect the right to vote, leaving the issue to the states. Since then, several constitutional amendments have been passed to protect and expand voting rights. The 15th Amendment, passed in 1870, granted African-American men the right to vote, while the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, extended the right to vote to women. The 24th Amendment, passed in 1964, eliminated poll taxes, which had been used to disenfranchise African Americans. The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 for all elections. These amendments have had a significant impact on voting rights in the United States, expanding suffrage to previously excluded groups.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| 15th Amendment | Gave African American men the right to vote in 1870 |
| Interpreted relatively narrowly by the Supreme Court throughout the late 19th and mid-20th centuries | |
| 19th Amendment | Gave American women the right to vote in 1920 |
| 24th Amendment | Eliminated poll taxes in 1964 |
| 26th Amendment | Lowered the voting age for all elections to 18 in 1971 |
| 14th Amendment | Identified all legitimate voters as "male" in 1868 |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | Prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group |
| Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984 | Required polling places to be accessible to people with disabilities |
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What You'll Learn
- The 15th Amendment: granting African American men the right to vote
- The 19th Amendment: granting women the right to vote
- The 24th Amendment: eliminating poll taxes
- The 26th Amendment: lowering the voting age to 18
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965: prohibiting voter discrimination based on race, colour, or language
The 15th Amendment: granting African American men the right to vote
The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870, granted African American men the right to vote. This was the last of the Reconstruction Amendments following the Civil War. The official text of 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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Prior to the 15th Amendment, the most common measurement for voter eligibility required voters to be white males who owned property above a certain value. While some states and cities allowed free African Americans and women to vote, they were few and scattered across the Northern states. The 15th Amendment aimed to address this by granting all male citizens the right to vote, regardless of their ethnicity or prior slave status.
Despite the significance of the 15th Amendment, many African American men were still unable to exercise their right to vote due to discriminatory practices and laws in Southern states. Literacy tests, "grandfather clauses" that excluded those whose ancestors had not voted, and poll taxes were used as barriers to prevent African Americans from voting. The rise of the Ku Klux Klan further intimidated and terrorized dissenters. By the 20th century, the majority of African Americans in the South had little to no electoral power.
In response to ongoing discriminatory voting practices, President Lyndon B. Johnson urged Congress in 1965 to pass the Voting Rights Act, which abolished remaining deterrents to exercising the right to vote and authorized federal supervision of voter registration. This act, along with subsequent extensions and amendments, helped to enforce the protections guaranteed by the 15th Amendment and ensured that African Americans could fully participate in American public and civic life.
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The 19th Amendment: granting women the right to vote
Constitutional amendments have a significant impact on voting rights, as they can extend or restrict the franchise based on various factors such as race, sex, and citizenship status. One notable example of a constitutional amendment that expanded voting rights is the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on August 18, 1920, was a landmark moment in the history of women's suffrage. The amendment reads: "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." This amendment codified women's suffrage nationwide, ensuring that American women were legally guaranteed the right to vote.
The road to achieving the 19th Amendment was long and challenging. Beginning in the mid-19th century, generations of activists lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many considered a radical change to the Constitution. The amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878 but faced fierce resistance and took decades to gain enough support. During this period, some states granted women full or partial voting rights, but it was not until 1920 that the amendment was officially certified, changing the face of the American electorate forever.
However, it is important to note that despite the 19th Amendment's guarantee, discriminatory state voting laws and policies remained in place, particularly affecting women of colour, including Black, Native American, Asian American, and Latina women. It was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that the promise of the 19th Amendment became a reality for most women of colour, as this legislation banned racial discrimination in voting and opened the door for equal access to the democratic process.
The 19th Amendment was a significant step forward in recognising the voting rights of women in the United States. However, the ongoing struggle for equal voting rights continued for women of colour, highlighting the need for additional legislation and protections to ensure full and fair participation in the democratic process.
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The 24th Amendment: eliminating poll taxes
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in 1964, was a significant step towards ensuring voting rights for all citizens. This amendment explicitly prohibited both Congress and the states from requiring the payment of a poll tax or any other tax as a prerequisite for voting in federal elections.
The history of the 24th Amendment is closely tied to the struggle for racial equality in the United States, particularly regarding the voting rights of African Americans. Before the amendment, several Southern states had adopted poll taxes as a voting requirement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The intention was to disenfranchise African Americans and poor whites, making it more difficult for them to participate in the democratic process. This was a response to the gains made by African Americans in the post-Civil War era, including the passage of the 15th Amendment, which granted African American men the right to vote.
Poll taxes were a form of taxation with a long history, dating back centuries. In Colonial America, the right to vote was initially restricted to those who owned property. Over time, this transitioned to the use of poll taxes, which were imposed on all voters but disproportionately impacted African Americans and poor whites. Despite the 15th Amendment's protections, Southern states reinstated poll taxes and literacy tests to suppress the Black vote, and these measures were effective in undermining the electoral power of African Americans.
The 24th Amendment was proposed by Congress in 1962, during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, and ratified by the states in 1964. It was a direct response to the widespread use of poll taxes and other discriminatory voting practices. The amendment ensured that the right to vote could not be denied or abridged based on an individual's economic status or ability to pay a tax. By eliminating poll taxes, the amendment removed economic barriers to voting and affirmed the principle that voting rights should be accessible to all eligible citizens, regardless of their financial situation.
The ratification of the 24th Amendment represented a significant shift in the landscape of voting rights in America. It demonstrated a commitment to addressing the longstanding disenfranchisement of racial minorities and ensuring their equal participation in the political process. The amendment also highlighted the role of the federal government in protecting voting rights and challenging discriminatory state laws. In the years following its ratification, legal challenges and civil rights activism further built upon the foundation laid by the 24th Amendment, leading to expanded voting rights and greater electoral accessibility for all Americans.
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The 26th Amendment: lowering the voting age to 18
The 26th Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the voting age for all Americans from 21 to 18 years. The official text of the Amendment is as follows:
> "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
The roots of this Amendment can be traced back to World War II, when citizens as young as 18 were allowed to fight for the country. The slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" encapsulated the sentiment that those old enough to serve in the military should also be able to vote. The movement to lower the voting age gained momentum when President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed his support in his 1954 State of the Union address. He urged Congress to propose a constitutional amendment allowing citizens to vote at the age of 18.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, public opposition to the Vietnam War further fuelled debates about lowering the voting age. Many young Americans were being conscripted to fight in a conflict they had no political authority to vote on. This period also saw an increase in the number of young people graduating from high school, going to college, and engaging in political and social activism, leading to a growing national awareness of the process of crafting laws and constitutional amendments.
In 1970, President Richard Nixon added a provision to lower the voting age in the extensions of the Voting Rights Act. This was challenged in the Supreme Court case of Oregon v. Mitchell, where it was determined that Congress had the authority to lower the voting age for federal elections but not for state elections. A proposed amendment to lower the voting age for all levels of government was then passed by both chambers of Congress in March 1971. The amendment was ratified on July 1, 1971, nearly 30 years after Senator Randolph first proposed lowering the voting age.
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The Voting Rights Act of 1965: prohibiting voter discrimination based on race, colour, or language
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark federal statute in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, during the height of the civil rights movement. The Act sought to enforce the voting rights protected by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the US Constitution and aimed to secure the right to vote for racial minorities, particularly in the South.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a direct response to the widespread voter discrimination faced by African Americans in Southern states after the Civil War. This discrimination took many forms, including literacy tests, poll taxes, and other bureaucratic restrictions designed to deny African Americans their right to vote. Those who tried to register or vote also risked harassment, intimidation, economic reprisals, and physical violence. In the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, the Supreme Court interpreted the Fifteenth Amendment narrowly, which contributed to the rise of ""Jim Crow" laws in the South that further undermined the voting rights of African Americans.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 had an immediate impact, with a quarter of a million new Black voters registered by the end of 1965, one-third of whom were registered by federal examiners. By the end of 1966, only four out of 13 Southern states had fewer than 50% of African Americans registered to vote. The Act was later readopted and strengthened in 1970, 1975, and 1982, and Congress amended it five times to expand its protections.
One of the key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the requirement for certain jurisdictions to provide election materials in languages other than English. This provision ensured that citizens who were not proficient in English could actively participate in the electoral process. Additionally, Section 5 of the Act required covered jurisdictions to obtain "preclearance" from the District Court for the District of Columbia or the US Attorney General for any new voting practices and procedures. This section was designed to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment's prohibition of denying or abridging the right to vote based on race or colour.
Despite the significant progress made by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, there have been ongoing efforts to weaken or circumvent it. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down the coverage formula used in Section 5 as unconstitutional, rendering it unenforceable. More recently, in 2021, the Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee Supreme Court ruling substantially weakened the interpretation of Section 2 of the Act. Nevertheless, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 remains a crucial piece of legislation in protecting the voting rights of racial minorities in the United States.
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Frequently asked questions
The 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, grants the right to vote for all male citizens regardless of their ethnicity or prior slave status. The official text is written as such: "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 race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, gave American women the right to vote. The official text is written as such: "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."
The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age for all elections to 18. The official text is written as such: "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age."
