Isabella Carter
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which came into effect on July 1, 1971, extended the right to vote to all Americans aged 18 and older. The amendment was passed by Congress on March 23, 1971, and ratified on July 1, 1971, with North Carolina becoming the 38th state to approve it and giving it the required three-quarters majority. The amendment changed a portion of the 14th Amendment, which had previously established protections for the right to vote for male citizens aged 21 and older.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of Amendment | 26th Amendment |
| Date Passed by Congress | March 1971 |
| Date Ratified | July 1, 1971 |
| Voting Age Before Amendment | 21 |
| Voting Age After Amendment | 18 |
| Voting Age Reduction Proposal | First proposed in the 1940s, with the first two states—Georgia and Kentucky—lowering the voting age to 18 |
| Voting Age Reduction Proposal Supporters | President Dwight D. Eisenhower, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Johnson, Senator Birch Bayh, and various public officials |
| Voting Age Reduction Proposal Opponents | Representative Emanuel Celler of New York |
| Arguments for Voting Age Reduction | "Old enough to fight, old enough to vote" |
| Arguments against Voting Age Reduction | Youth lacked "the good judgment" essential to good citizenship |
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What You'll Learn
The 26th Amendment
The drive to lower the voting age had been building for some time, with the first calls for change emerging in the 1940s. In 1942, during World War II, Congress lowered the minimum age for the military draft to 18, sparking a debate about voting rights for young people. This led to the slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote", which became a rallying cry for youth voting rights.
The issue gained momentum in the 1960s, with the Vietnam War bringing the question of voting rights for young Americans to the fore. Many young men were being conscripted to fight in a conflict that they had no political authority to vote on. This renewed debates over lowering the voting age, and in 1968, Senator Birch Bayh's subcommittee on constitutional amendments began hearings on extending voting rights to 18-year-olds. In 1969, Congress introduced 50 resolutions to lower the voting age, but none succeeded in becoming law.
In 1970, Congress passed an extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which included a provision lowering the voting age to 18 in federal and state elections. However, this was struck down by the Supreme Court in Oregon v. Mitchell, which ruled that Congress could only set the minimum voting age for federal elections. In response, Congress quickly proposed the 26th Amendment, which was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives in March 1971. The amendment was then sent to the states for ratification, and on July 1, 1971, it officially became law with the requisite approval of three-quarters of the states (38 states).
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Old enough to fight, old enough to vote
The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on July 1, 1971, extended the right to vote to all Americans aged 18 and older, lowering the federal voting age from 21. The text of the amendment reads:
> The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.
The drive to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 was driven by the military draft held during the Vietnam War. Young men aged 18 to 21 were conscripted into the U.S. Armed Forces, primarily the U.S. Army, to serve in or support military combat operations in Vietnam. This meant that these young men could be sent to fight and possibly die for their nation before they were allowed to vote. This discrepancy led to the emergence of a youth rights movement, with the slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote".
The movement to lower the voting age gained momentum when President Dwight D. Eisenhower used his 1954 State of the Union address to call upon Congress to propose a constitutional amendment allowing citizens to vote at the age of 18. Widespread public support for lowering the voting age followed in the 1960s, with the Vietnam War bringing renewed focus on the "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" slogan.
In 1970, Congress passed an extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act with a provision that lowered the voting age to 18 in federal and state elections. However, this provision was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in Oregon v. Mitchell, which ruled that Congress could only set the minimum voting age for federal elections, not state or local ones. This decision meant that states could maintain a voting age of 21 for state and local elections, but they would need to establish separate voter rolls for voters aged 18 to 21 to vote in federal elections.
In response to the Supreme Court decision, Congress quickly proposed the 26th Amendment, which was ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures within just two months. The amendment addressed one of the major domestic controversies of the Cold War era, answering the question of whether a citizen should be old enough to fight and vote.
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Youth voting rights movement
The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which came into effect on 1 July 1971, extended the right to vote to all Americans aged 18 and older, lowering the federal voting age from 21. The Amendment was ratified in response to a youth voting rights movement, powered by the activism of young people and their allies. The movement was driven by the military draft during the Vietnam War, which conscripted young men between the ages of 18 and 21 to serve in the armed forces. With the slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote", youth activists argued that if they were old enough to fight and die for their country, they should also have the right to vote and participate in the democratic process.
The drive to lower the voting age gained momentum in 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower called on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment allowing 18-year-olds to vote. In 1968, Senator Birch Bayh began hearings on extending voting rights to 18-year-olds, and in 1970, congressional allies included a provision for the 18-year-old vote in a bill extending the Voting Rights Act. However, the Supreme Court ruled in Oregon v. Mitchell that Congress could not unilaterally lower the voting age for state and local elections, leading to the need for a constitutional amendment.
The 26th Amendment passed with overwhelming support in both the Senate and the House, and was ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures within two months. Despite this victory, youth voting rights continue to face challenges. Some states have introduced restrictive laws and policies that make it harder for young people to vote, and there is a lack of systematic efforts to prepare and engage young voters. As a result, youth are often underrepresented in the democratic process, despite comprising a significant portion of the eligible voting population.
To address these issues, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Nikema Williams introduced the Youth Voting Rights Act (YVRA) in 2022 to enforce and expand upon the protections of the 26th Amendment. The YVRA aims to remove barriers to student voting, such as high rates of provisional ballot rejections, lack of accessible polling places, and restrictive residency and voter ID requirements. The bill has received endorsements from a wide range of democracy and youth organizations committed to upholding the voting rights of young people.
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The Vietnam War
In 1958, North Vietnam invaded Laos, establishing the Ho Chi Minh trail to supply the Viet Cong, a common front of dissidents in the south. By 1963, North Vietnam had covertly sent 40,000 soldiers of its People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), armed with Soviet and Chinese weapons, to fight in the insurgency in the south. US involvement in Vietnam escalated during this time, with President John F. Kennedy increasing military advisors in the region from 900 in 1960 to 16,000 in 1963. Kennedy's expansion was driven by Cold War-era fears of the "domino theory", which posited that if communism took hold in Vietnam, it would lead to the fall of democracies across Southeast Asia.
Following the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, the US Congress authorised President Lyndon B. Johnson to increase military presence without declaring war. Johnson launched a bombing campaign in the north and deployed combat troops, significantly increasing the number of US troops in Vietnam. By 1966, there were 184,000 US troops in Vietnam, and this number rose to 536,000 by 1969. The US military relied on air supremacy and overwhelming firepower to conduct search-and-destroy operations in rural areas.
In 1968, North Vietnam launched the Tet Offensive, which was a tactical defeat but convinced many Americans that the war could not be won. This marked a turning point in public support for the war, and President Nixon began withdrawing US troops. The 1970 Cambodian coup d'état led to a PAVN invasion and a US-ARVN counter-invasion, further escalating the conflict. By 1972, most US troops had withdrawn from Vietnam, and the rest left following the 1973 Paris Peace Accords. However, fighting continued until the 1975 spring offensive and the fall of Saigon to the PAVN, marking the war's end.
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Ratified by 38 states
The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on July 1, 1971, extended the right to vote to 18-year-olds. This amendment was ratified by 38 states, with North Carolina being the final state to approve it. The 26th Amendment lowered the federal voting age across the United States from 21 to 18.
The movement to lower the voting age gained momentum in 1954 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower called on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment allowing citizens to vote at 18. This call was supported by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. The Vietnam War also played a significant role in the push for lowering the voting age, as young men were being drafted to fight in a war they had no political authority to vote on. The slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote" became a rallying cry for a youth voting rights movement.
In 1970, Congress passed an extension of the 1965 Voting Rights Act with a provision that lowered the voting age to 18 in federal and state elections. However, this provision was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Oregon v. Mitchell, which ruled that Congress could only set the minimum voting age for federal elections and not state or local elections. As a result, it was left to each state to decide whether to lower the voting age for their elections.
To address this issue, Senator Birch Bayh's subcommittee on constitutional amendments began hearings on extending voting rights to 18-year-olds in 1968. The subcommittee and the House Judiciary Committee approved the proposed constitutional amendment in March 1971, and it was passed by both chambers of Congress with overwhelming support. The amendment was then sent to the states for ratification, and within just over two months, 38 states had ratified it, making it the fastest Constitutional amendment to be ratified in U.S. history.
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Frequently asked questions
The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution extended the right to vote to all Americans aged 18 and older.
The 26th Amendment was ratified on July 1, 1971.
The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, giving young people a voice in the political process and allowing them to participate in democracy. However, there were challenges in preparing young voters to effectively participate and unique obstacles that resulted in lower turnout among this demographic.
