Omar Bennett
The original U.S. Constitution, enacted in the late 18th century, did not define who could vote in elections, leaving this responsibility to the states. The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, identified voters as male, marking gender as the most important factor of voting rights during Reconstruction. The 15th Amendment (1870) expanded voting rights to men of all races, though this was interpreted narrowly and many African Americans were still unable to exercise their right to vote. The 19th Amendment (1920) prohibited the denial of voting rights based on sex, and the 24th Amendment (1964) removed barriers to voting by prohibiting poll taxes. The 26th Amendment (1971) lowered the voting age to 18. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 enforced these amendments by prohibiting voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| 15th Amendment | Passed in 1870, it gave African American men the right to vote. |
| 19th Amendment | Ratified in 1920, it gave women the right to vote. |
| 24th Amendment | Ratified in 1964, it eliminated poll taxes. |
| 26th Amendment | Passed in 1971, it lowered the voting age to 18. |
| Voting Rights Act of 1965 | Prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or membership in a language minority group. |
| Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 | Authorized federal funding of elections and created the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). |
| Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) | Passed in 1986, it improved access to voting for military voters and overseas voters. |
| Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment (MOVE) Act of 2009 | Improved access to voting for military voters and overseas voters. |
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What You'll Learn
- The 15th Amendment (1870) gave African American men the right to vote
- The 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote
- The 24th Amendment (1964) removed poll taxes
- The 26th Amendment (1971) lowered the voting age to 18
- The Voting Rights Act (1965) prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or language
The 15th Amendment (1870) gave African American men the right to vote
The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, was a landmark moment in the expansion of voting rights in America. This amendment explicitly stated that the right to vote could not be denied or abridged based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". In doing so, it effectively granted African American men the right to vote, marking a significant step forward in racial equality and civil rights.
Prior to the Fifteenth Amendment, voting rights in the United States were largely determined by individual states, and eligibility was often restricted to white male property owners. The original Constitution, enacted in the late 18th century, did not specifically protect the right to vote, and people of colour, as well as women, were excluded from the franchise.
The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, passed after the Civil War, laid the groundwork for expanding civil rights to the newly freed African American population. The Fourteenth Amendment, in particular, identified all legitimate voters as "male", marking the first time gender-specific language was added to the Constitution. This set the stage for the Fifteenth Amendment, which completed the trio of post-Civil War amendments by addressing voting rights directly.
Despite the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, many African Americans still faced significant obstacles to exercising their right to vote. Some states employed discriminatory practices and laws, such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and the intimidation tactics of groups like the Ku Klux Klan, to suppress the African American vote. It wasn't until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that these discriminatory practices were explicitly prohibited, and federal enforcement mechanisms were put in place to protect the voting rights of racial minorities.
The Fifteenth Amendment was a pivotal moment in the struggle for racial equality in the United States, but it also revealed the complexities and challenges of ensuring equal voting rights for all citizens. It took nearly a century of continued activism, legal battles, and further legislative action to begin to address these obstacles and make the promise of the Fifteenth Amendment a reality for African American voters.
The Right to Vote: Women's Suffrage Amendment
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The 19th Amendment (1920) gave women the right to vote
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on August 18, 1920, granted American women the right to vote. The amendment, which was first introduced in Congress in 1878, states that "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 marked the culmination of a long and arduous campaign by women's suffrage supporters, spanning across several generations. The movement involved various tactics such as lecturing, writing, marching, lobbying, and even civil disobedience. While the 19th Amendment was a significant milestone, it did not ensure universal suffrage for all women.
Prior to the 19th Amendment, voting rights in the U.S. were determined by individual states, and eligibility was often restricted to white male property owners. Certain states and cities allowed free African Americans and women to vote, but these were exceptions. The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, granted African American men the right to vote, but many were still unable to exercise this right due to discriminatory practices and laws. Similarly, the 19th Amendment primarily benefited white women, as women from racial and ethnic minority groups continued to face discrimination and voter suppression.
The campaign for women's suffrage in the U.S. faced fierce resistance, with supporters experiencing heckling, imprisonment, and even physical abuse. Strategies varied, with some pursuing state-by-state suffrage acts and others challenging male-only voting laws in court. The amendment's passage required the approval of at least 36 states, and Tennessee became the crucial 36th state to ratify it on August 18, 1920. This changed the American electorate forever, but the struggle for full enfranchisement continued for minority women.
While the 19th Amendment was a crucial step towards gender equality in voting rights, it did not immediately guarantee the right to vote for all women in the U.S. The systemic racism prevalent in the South and other regions prevented women of color from fully exercising their voting rights. It would take several more decades and additional legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, to protect the voting rights of minority women and address racial discrimination in voting.
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The 24th Amendment (1964) removed poll taxes
The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 23, 1964, abolished the use of poll taxes as a voting requirement. Poll taxes were a form of taxation used to restrict voting rights, particularly for African Americans and poor whites in the South. The amendment ensured that citizens' right to vote in federal elections could not be denied or abridged due to their inability to pay any poll tax or other tax. This amendment was a significant step towards addressing racial discrimination in voting and a victory for civil rights.
The history of poll taxes in the United States is deeply rooted in racial discrimination. For decades, Southern states, particularly those with a history of Confederate affiliation, adopted poll taxes as a means to disenfranchise African Americans and prevent them from exercising their constitutional right to vote. This discriminatory practice was also used in conjunction with other barriers, such as literacy tests and the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, to further suppress the electoral power of racial minorities.
The 24th Amendment was proposed by Congress on August 27, 1962, and faced opposition from some Southern states. Despite this, the ratification process was relatively quick, taking just over a year. By January 1964, state legislatures across the country had rapidly ratified the amendment, with the exception of a few Southern states that retained their poll taxes even after the amendment's passage.
The amendment specifically targeted the use of poll taxes in federal elections, but it set a precedent for further litigation and interpretation by the Supreme Court. In 1966, the Supreme Court ruled in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections that poll taxes for any level of elections were unconstitutional, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The abolition of poll taxes as a voting requirement was a significant milestone in expanding voting rights and removing barriers that had disproportionately affected racial minorities and the poor. It represented a triumph of liberty and a verification of people's rights, as President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed. However, the fight for voting rights continued, with new restrictive laws and ongoing efforts to protect voters against discrimination.
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The 26th Amendment (1971) lowered the voting age to 18
The 26th Amendment, ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 for all Americans in federal elections. The Amendment states:
> 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 road to the 26th Amendment began decades earlier during World War II. In 1942, Congress lowered the minimum age for the draft to 18, creating a discrepancy where young men were expected to fight for their country but were denied the right to vote. This sparked a youth voting rights movement with the slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote". The movement gained momentum in the 1960s as public sentiment turned against the Vietnam War. Protests and lobbying efforts, led by activists from organisations like the National Education Association, the AFL-CIO, and the NAACP, played a crucial role in advocating for the voting age to be lowered.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower expressed his support for lowering the voting age during his State of the Union address, urging Congress to propose a constitutional amendment. In 1965, Congress voted to add an amendment to the Voting Rights Act, lowering the voting age to 18 in federal, state, and local elections. However, this was challenged in the Supreme Court case Oregon v. Mitchell, which ruled that Congress could only set the minimum voting age for federal elections.
To address this, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution was proposed, and on March 10, 1971, the Senate voted unanimously in favour, followed by an overwhelming majority in the House on March 23. The amendment was swiftly ratified by the requisite three-quarters of state legislatures (38 states) and officially went into effect on July 1, 1971, when President Richard Nixon signed it into law.
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The Voting Rights Act (1965) prohibited voter discrimination based on race, colour, or language
The Voting Rights Act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on August 6, 1965, was a significant piece of legislation aimed at prohibiting voter discrimination based on race, colour, or language minority status. This act was a direct response to the discriminatory voting practices that had been adopted in many southern states following the Civil War, including literacy tests and other barriers designed to disenfranchise African Americans.
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 specifically addressed voter discrimination based on race, colour, or language minority status. It prohibited any jurisdiction from implementing voting qualifications, prerequisites, standards, practices, or procedures that resulted in the denial or abridgement of the right to vote on these bases. This section provided two key protections: firstly, it prohibited intentional discrimination based on race or colour in voting, and secondly, it prohibited election practices that resulted in the denial or abridgement of the right to vote due to race or colour.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 also included other provisions to address discriminatory voting practices. Section 5, for example, required jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination to obtain "preclearance" from the federal government before implementing any new voting practices or procedures. This section aimed to prevent changes intended to discriminate against protected minorities, even if they did not increase existing discrimination. Additionally, Section 6 allowed for the appointment of "federal examiners" to oversee voter registration functions in jurisdictions with a significant number of complaints regarding racial or language minority voting discrimination.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark piece of legislation that sought to protect the voting rights of racial and language minorities by prohibiting discriminatory practices and ensuring equal access to the ballot box. However, despite the Act's provisions, voting discrimination has persisted, and subsequent amendments have been necessary to strengthen and enforce these protections.
Amendments to the Constitution: A Historical Overview
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Frequently asked questions
The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibits the restriction of voting rights based on race, colour, or previous condition of servitude.
The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, prohibits the restriction of voting rights based on sex.
The 26th Amendment, ratified in 1971, lowered the voting age to 18 for all elections.
The 24th Amendment, ratified in 1964, eliminated poll taxes, which had been used to restrict the voting rights of poorer people.
