Voting Rights

In 1788 only certain citizens had the right to vote in America. The constitution did not grant suffrage to most African Americans or women at this time. In the year 1789, to vote you had to be a white male at least twenty one years old. This excluded such a large percentage of people, that over time suffrage was granted to other groups. Soon, by the 1870’s African Americans were given the right to vote through the fifteenth amendment. This amendment stated that you could not deny someone the right to vote because of race, color, or having been a slave. Even though they could no longer deny giving African Americans the right to vote, they did make it more difficult. Many couldn’t vote because of the poll tax, which also discouraged poor white people from voting as well. They were also given a literacy test, which was suspended along with the poll tax in 1965.
In 1920 the nineteenth amendment was ratified and women were given the right to vote. Not long after, this right was given to Native Americans along with Citizenship. Much later, in 1971, voting rights were permitted to all citizens eighteen years or older. The twenty sixth amendment allowing this had been ratified, after many people questioned sending 18 year old men to fight in wars but not allowing them to vote. In conclusion, though it took quite a long time, now all citizens 18 or older in American have the right to vote in elections.