Voting Rights

Voting Rights  One of the first qualifications for voting in 1789 was to be a male and at least 21 years of age. Some states like Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Georgia, and Vermont relaxed property qualification to include all male taxpayers. In very few cases, women and free slaves were allowed to vote. In 1870, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment which guaranteed voting rights to the African-American males. The Constitution stated that “voting shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” but African-Americans still had to go through unfair procedures that whites did not. Often, African-Americans had to pay poll taxes in order to vote or in other cases, literacy tests. It was not until 1964, where the 24thAmendment was introduced, when the poll taxes were abolished. Literacy tests were suspended the following year by theVoting Rights Act of 1965. Women were not included in the constitution, which restricted most of their rights, including voting rights. They were finally granted the right to vote in 1920, by the 19th Amendment. Four years after ratifying the 19th Amendment, voting rights extended to the Native Americans. Voting age was lowered to eighteen after the 26th Amendment, which was ratified in 1971. During the Vietnam War in 1960, young men found issues with the voting age. These people found displeasure because men who were 18 years or older could be drafted but to vote, they had to be 21 years or older. Thus, Congress introduced the 26th Amendment. By Jesus G and Frank