Who Had A Say In The Constitution's Creation?

The right to vote in the United States has evolved significantly since the Constitution was ratified in 1787 and took effect in 1789. Initially, the Constitution did not establish specific voting rights or protections, leaving it to individual states to determine voter eligibility, which resulted in unfair voting practices. Over time, amendments to the Constitution and landmark legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, have expanded voting rights to include individuals regardless of race, sex, or age. The journey towards universal suffrage in the United States has been a long and ongoing process, with various groups fighting for their right to vote.

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Voting rights were left to the states

Voting rights have been a contentious issue in the United States since its founding, and the original Constitution left the specifics of voting eligibility to the individual states. This meant that the right to vote was restricted to white male landowners in many states, with some states also imposing religious tests to ensure only Christian men could vote. This excluded a significant portion of the population, including women, people of colour, and those without property.

The Constitution, which took effect in early 1789, did not include explicit protections for the right to vote. Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution states, "The times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations." This provision gave states considerable control over the electoral process, leading to unfair voting practices that disenfranchised many citizens.

Over time, there have been significant efforts to expand voting rights and make them more inclusive. During the early 19th century, some states began to relax property requirements for voting, and in 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified, guaranteeing that the right to vote could not be denied based on race. However, this did not fully grant voting rights to all racial minorities, as Native Americans were not recognised as full citizens until the Snyder Act of 1924.

Women's suffrage was another significant issue, and it wasn't until 1920, after decades of activism, that the 19th Amendment was ratified, guaranteeing women's right to vote. Poll taxes, which were used to suppress the votes of people of colour and low-income individuals, were banned in federal elections by the 24th Amendment in 1964 and in state and local elections by a Supreme Court ruling in 1966. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a significant piece of legislation that aimed to address discriminatory voting practices, but it has faced challenges and amendments over the years.

The evolution of voting rights in the United States has been a gradual process, with various constitutional amendments and legal battles working to expand and protect the right to vote for all citizens, regardless of race, gender, or age. The struggle for equal voting rights continues, with ongoing efforts to address discriminatory laws and policies at the state and local levels.

Only white male landowners could vote

When the US Constitution was written and ratified in 1787, voting rights were determined by individual states. This meant that voting rights varied across the country, but in most states, only white male landowners could vote.

The Constitution, which became the official framework of the US government in 1788, did not include any specific voting rights. Instead, it left the power to regulate voting laws to the states. As a result, most states restricted voting rights to white male landowners. This excluded not only women and people of colour but also lower-class white men who did not own property. Some states also utilised religious tests to ensure that only Christian men could vote.

Gradually, state legislatures began to expand voting rights to non-landowning white males. By 1856, all white men could vote, and by 1860, most non-landowning white men had been enfranchised. However, it was not until 1870, with the ratification of the 15th Amendment, that the right to vote was significantly expanded. This amendment ensured that the right to vote could not be denied based on race, but it did not extend voting rights to women.

It was not until 1920, with the ratification of the 19th Amendment, that women gained the right to vote. The right to vote was further expanded in 1964 with the 24th Amendment, which prohibited the use of poll taxes in federal elections, and in 1971 with the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18.

While the US Constitution initially left voting rights to the states, the expansion of these rights over time has been a key aspect of American democracy.

The 15th Amendment gave all men the vote

The US Constitution was written in 1787, in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. The delegates at the Constitutional Convention were all men, and they determined that each state would decide the eligibility of its citizens to vote. At the time, the most common eligibility requirement was that voters had to be white males who owned property above a certain value.

The 15th Amendment to the US Constitution, passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, and ratified on February 3, 1870, gave Black men the right to vote. 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.

The 15th Amendment was the last of the Reconstruction Amendments, which were passed after the Civil War to expand the civil rights of the newly-freed African American population. While the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, and the 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship to African Americans, the 15th Amendment granted them the right to vote.

However, despite the 15th Amendment, African Americans in the Southern states continued to face discriminatory practices and laws that prevented them from exercising their right to vote. These included poll taxes, literary tests, grandfather clauses, and intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan. It was not until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that these barriers were fully eliminated, and federal supervision of voter registration was authorized to ensure that African Americans could fully participate in American public and civic life.

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The 19th Amendment gave women the vote

The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1920, granted women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a long and arduous struggle that began in the mid-19th century. Women's suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practised civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change to the Constitution.

The campaign for women's suffrage was not without its challenges. Supporters of the movement faced fierce resistance, including heckling, jail time, and physical abuse. Despite this, they persevered, and by 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment.

The 19th Amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1878 but was rejected in 1887. It wasn't until 1919 that the amendment finally passed in Congress, thanks to the efforts of activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The amendment prohibited the U.S. and its states from denying the right to vote based on sex, ensuring that women's voting rights were legally protected.

However, it is important to note that the 19th Amendment did not guarantee the right to vote for all women. While it protected women from discrimination on paper, in practice, it only gave white women the right to vote. Black women, Native American women, Asian American women, and women from other racial and ethnic minority groups continued to face discrimination and were denied their right to vote until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The 19th Amendment was a significant step forward in the fight for women's rights and represented a victory for those who had worked tirelessly to achieve it. However, the struggle for full enfranchisement continued for decades, as activists worked to ensure that women of all races and ethnicities could exercise their right to vote.

The 26th Amendment gave 18-year-olds the vote

The 26th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified on July 1, 1971, lowered the voting age from 21 to 18 years old. The Amendment states:

> 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 drive to lower the voting age began in the 1940s, with Congressional proposals being endorsed by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1942, during World War II, Congress lowered the minimum age for the military draft to 18, sparking a decades-long debate about the voting age. This led to the slogan "old enough to fight, old enough to vote", which became a rallying cry for a youth voting rights movement.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower called on Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age to 18. In the 1960s, opposition to the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement renewed debates about lowering the voting age, as young men were being drafted to fight in a war they had no political authority to vote on. In 1968, Senator Birch Bayh's subcommittee on constitutional amendments began hearings on extending voting rights to 18-year-olds.

In March 1971, both chambers of Congress passed the proposed amendment, and it was ratified on July 1, 1971. Despite the 26th Amendment, youth voter turnout remains 20 to 30 points below older voters in presidential elections, and even lower in midterms, state, and local elections. This is partly due to restrictive policies that specifically target young voters. However, in recent years, youth voter turnout has increased, with young people turning out to vote at record rates in the 2018 midterms and 2020 elections.

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