More than 2 million people in the United States voted in the 2008 election. Too many of those people take voting for granted; only a few understand the struggle for the right to vote.
The fight for voting rights began way back in 1776 when the American Colonists declared their independence from Great Britain. At this time state constitutions establishing voting rights for certain citizens were being drafted. The Articles of Confederation were not much more inclusive than the previous rights. The constitution that we still use in our government today, drafted in 1788, would need to be amended overtime until it extended rights to all citizens. By 1789 male taxpayers who owned property were the only ones allowed to vote.
The fifteenth Amendment gave African American males the right to vote, but the majority could not because of voting taxes and literacy tests. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment put an end to voting taxes in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act abolished the taxes in 1965. The Nineteenth Amendment granted women, whose votes were not taken into account, voting rights in 1920. Native Americans gained citizenship and the right to vote in 1924. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment in 1971 signifies the most recent amendment to voting rights; it allows citizens who are 18 years or older the right to vote.
It is safe to say that our constitution has come a long way in terms of acceptance and in areas to which suffrage has been extended.
-Andrew, Melissa
The fight for voting rights began way back in 1776 when the American Colonists declared their independence from Great Britain. At this time state constitutions establishing voting rights for certain citizens were being drafted. The Articles of Confederation were not much more inclusive than the previous rights. The constitution that we still use in our government today, drafted in 1788, would need to be amended overtime until it extended rights to all citizens. By 1789 male taxpayers who owned property were the only ones allowed to vote.
The fifteenth Amendment gave African American males the right to vote, but the majority could not because of voting taxes and literacy tests. The Twenty-Fourth Amendment put an end to voting taxes in 1964 and the Voting Rights Act abolished the taxes in 1965. The Nineteenth Amendment granted women, whose votes were not taken into account, voting rights in 1920. Native Americans gained citizenship and the right to vote in 1924. The Twenty-Sixth Amendment in 1971 signifies the most recent amendment to voting rights; it allows citizens who are 18 years or older the right to vote.
It is safe to say that our constitution has come a long way in terms of acceptance and in areas to which suffrage has been extended.
-Andrew, Melissa
This was a very informative entry, seeing as how there's a lot you can say about voting rights. I like how you two kept it short and brief, while covering all the important details. I always knew that voting rights were very restricted back then, but I didn't know exactly how much. The idea of how people take voting for granted works really well with your comparison of voting rights in the past.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marlin!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very well-put-together blog. The picture, while catching the eyes of the casual blog-skimmer, didn't take away any interest from the actual information at all. The only thing I would change about this blog is sentence in the opening paragraph, "Too many of those people take voting for granted; only a few understand the struggle for the right to vote." This is an assumption, and should be avoided.
ReplyDeleteI agree about how many take voting for granted. I like how well the timeline came together and how the dates made sense in portraying how hard it was to obtain equal voting rights for everyone. However, now that everyone over 18 can vote, most just go allow with how other people are picking their candidates. It basically demolished the importance of voting.
ReplyDeleteGood job, guys! The summary was very informative but short enough that i actually remember what you wrote about. Also, it really applies to contemporary society, which is what i think you were trying to get across. The only thing I would change are the colloquialisms like "way back," since it's a history blog. As for people taking voting rights for granted, I think that whenever something is readily available people will let that object, intangible or not, just sit. If it's out of their reach, they'll try to get it, and then they'll just forget it.
ReplyDelete