Eleanor Finch
The United States Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 out of 41 delegates, and it came into effect on March 9, 1789. The Constitution was ratified by nine of the 13 existing states, with Delaware being the first state to do so on December 7, 1787. New Hampshire became the ninth and final state needed for ratification on June 21, 1788. Interestingly, the Constitution did not originally define who was eligible to vote, leaving this decision to the individual states. While some states restricted voting rights to white male adult property owners, others allowed men of any race to vote, provided they met property requirements. The Constitution also did not explicitly grant U.S. citizens the right to vote, and it was only through later amendments and legislation that voting rights were protected.
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What You'll Learn
- The original US Constitution did not explicitly state citizens' right to vote
- The US Constitution did not initially define voting eligibility, leaving it to the states
- Some states opposed the Constitution as it lacked protection for rights like freedom of speech
- The first five states to ratify the Constitution were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut
- The Massachusetts convention was divided, but Federalists carried the vote
The original US Constitution did not explicitly state citizens' right to vote
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 out of 41 delegates present. However, it was agreed that the document would not be binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 existing states. The first state to ratify the Constitution was Delaware on December 7, 1787, followed by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. On June 21, 1788, New Hampshire became the ninth and final state needed to ratify the Constitution.
After the abolition of slavery, there was a growing push to extend voting rights to all Americans, regardless of race. This led to the addition of several constitutional amendments that added protections for the right to vote. The 14th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, extends citizenship and guarantees that rights of citizenship, such as voting, cannot be restricted by the states. The 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, explicitly prohibits restricting the right to vote based on race or previous slave status. However, despite the significance of the 15th Amendment, the Supreme Court interpreted it narrowly, leading to the rise of discriminatory "Jim Crow" laws in the Southern states that undermined the voting rights of African Americans.
The expansion of voting rights continued with the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, and the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18 years old. The 24th Amendment also played a crucial role in expanding voting access by banning poll taxes, which had often prevented low-income citizens from voting. These amendments empowered Congress and the federal government to enforce these protections through legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
While the US Constitution may not have initially recognized the right to vote, subsequent amendments and legislation have strengthened and protected this fundamental aspect of American democracy.
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The US Constitution did not initially define voting eligibility, leaving it to the states
The US Constitution, which came into effect on March 9, 1789, did not initially define voting eligibility. The original text of the Constitution does not explicitly mention that US citizens have a right to vote. Instead, it was left to the states to determine who was qualified to vote in elections, leading to considerable variation across the nation. While the Constitution requires all states to have a representative form of government with elections and majority rule, this part of the Constitution is rarely invoked by Congress or the federal courts.
In the early history of the US, some states allowed only white male adult property owners to vote, while others did not specify race or protected the rights of men of any race to vote. Women were largely prohibited from voting, as were men without property. However, in New Jersey, women could vote until 1807, provided they met the property requirement, and in some local jurisdictions in other northern states, free Black men and women of both races could vote if they met the property or tax requirements. These property requirements were purposely set quite low in New Jersey. Wyoming granted women the right to vote in 1869, long before the rest of the nation.
During the Reconstruction period following the Civil War, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which declared that people could not be denied the right to vote because of their race. The amendment was ratified by the states in 1870. Despite this, many states, particularly in the South, continued to use various barriers, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, to restrict voting among African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, and other groups.
It wasn't until the 1960s that the struggle for equal voting rights intensified, with many southern states enforcing policies aimed at suppressing the vote among people of color, new citizens, and low-income populations. The landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a significant step towards curtailing voter suppression. Today, while almost all state constitutions contain an explicit right to vote, the variability in voting laws continues, with felons being able to vote in some states but not in others.
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Some states opposed the Constitution as it lacked protection for rights like freedom of speech
The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the source of all government powers and provides important limitations to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens. However, the original text of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights did not explicitly mention the right to vote.
The founders believed that freedoms and rights would require protection from an educated elite group of citizens, against an intolerant majority. They understood that protected rights and mass voting could be contradictory. As a result, they did not lay out an inherent right to vote, fearing that rule by the masses would mean the destruction of the rights the Constitution and Bill of Rights uphold. Instead, they prioritised other core rights, creating a tension that remains today.
The Fifteenth 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, colour, or previous condition of servitude". The Fourteenth Amendment extends citizenship to all natural-born or naturalized Americans, guaranteeing that rights of citizenship, like voting, cannot be restricted by the states.
Despite these amendments, the federal government and the Supreme Court have been criticised for their failure to protect voting rights. The federal government currently lacks the tools to protect voting rights and regulate elections, leaving it up to individual states to take action.
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The first five states to ratify the Constitution were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut
The US Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787, by 38 of the 41 delegates present. It was agreed that the document would not be binding until it was ratified by nine of the 13 existing states. The first five states to ratify the Constitution were:
- Delaware: December 7, 1787
- Pennsylvania: December 12, 1787
- New Jersey: December 18, 1787
- Georgia: January 2, 1788
- Connecticut: January 9, 1788
The first four states unanimously voted in favour of the Constitution. Pennsylvania's convention, however, saw a vote of 46-23. Some states opposed the Constitution because it did not provide protection for rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.
The Constitution was not ratified by all states until May 29, 1790, when Rhode Island finally approved the document. The first federal elections were held from December 15, 1788, to January 10, 1789, and the new government was set to begin on March 4, 1789. George Washington was elected as the first President, with John Adams as Vice President.
It is worth noting that the original US Constitution did not include an explicit right to vote for citizens. While almost all state constitutions do include this right, the US Constitution remains silent on this issue.
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The Massachusetts convention was divided, but Federalists carried the vote
The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1853 was the third such convention in the state's history, following the original constitutional convention in 1779–1780 and the second in 1820–1821. The 1853 convention was convened to consider changes to the existing Massachusetts Constitution, which had already been amended 13 times.
The convention was dominated by the Democratic-Free Soil coalition, which proposed an entirely new constitution and seven separate provisions that could be passed with or without the core constitution. The primary point of contention was the reallocation of political representation in the state. The coalition proposed maintaining the town representative system, while the Whigs proposed a proportional representation system that would be dominated by the cities.
The Whigs, led by Rufus Choate, argued for the principle of "one man, one vote," which would have concentrated power in their stronghold of Boston and eastern Massachusetts. They compared the existing system to England's "rotten borough" system, which had already been abandoned. However, the coalition counter-argued that the Whig proposal would "give the entire control of the State to the money power of Boston."
In the end, the convention passed a proposal that included the Massachusetts Compromise, which secured victory for the proponents of the Constitution. The final vote was 187-168, with roughly ten delegates changing their minds to support ratification. After the vote, eight delegates who had voted against the Constitution, including Samuel Nason and Benjamin Randall, promised to work with their constituents to support it.
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Frequently asked questions
By January 9, 1788, five states had approved the Constitution: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, and Connecticut. However, pivotal states such as Massachusetts, New York, and Virginia were uncertain. Eventually, Massachusetts ratified the Constitution, and New Hampshire became the ninth and final state needed to ratify the Constitution on June 21, 1788.
Some states voiced opposition to the Constitution on the grounds that it did not provide protection for rights such as freedom of speech, religion, and the press.
The original U.S. Constitution did not define who was eligible to vote, allowing each state to determine eligibility. Some states only allowed white male adult property owners to vote, while others did not specify race or protected the rights of men of any race to vote. Women were largely prohibited from voting, as were men without property.
Following the Reconstruction era and the civil rights movement, Jim Crow laws such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and religious tests were used to deny immigrants, non-white citizens, Native Americans, and other "undesirable" groups from voting. Amendments to the Constitution and new legislation extended the franchise to non-whites, those without property, women, and those 18–21 years old.
