1. Chapter Four A Tradition of Democracy Rights and Responsibilities
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Guaranteeing Other Rights

3. More Additions to the Constitution
Since the passage of the Bill of Rights in 1791, 17 other amendments have been added to the U.S. Constitution
New amendments were passed as new circumstances and changing beliefs in the country required changes in the government
Today the Constitution has 27 amendments
Some of these amendments expanded the rights of U.S. citizens

4. Rights of U.S. Citizens
Civil Rights = the rights guaranteed to all U.S. citizens.
The U.S. Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights, is the foundation for civil rights in America.
Before the Civil War, protection of civil rights was left to the individual states.

5. Civil War Amendments 13th Amendment – 1865 14th Amendment – 1868
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments were added after the
war to protect the rights of newly freed African Americans.
13th Amendment – 1865
outlawed slavery in the United States and in all lands governed by the U.S.
forced labor can only be used as a punishment for crime
finished job of the Emancipation Proclamation
had only ended slavery in the Confederate states during the Civil War
14th Amendment – 1868
grants full citizenship to African Americans
intended mainly to protect the rights of African Americans
contains rights that are important for all Americans
protects citizens against unfair actions by state governments
like the 5th Amendment that forbids unfair federal actions
no state can take away a citizen's "life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law"
no state can deny citizens equal protection of the law

6. Extending Voting Rights
Suffrage = The right to vote.
six amendments deal with voting rights
15th, 17th, 19th, 23rd, 24th, 26th
original Constitution made no mention of voting rights
before Civil War the states decided who could vote
white men
over the age of 21
own a certain amount of property (gradually eliminated)
have certain religious beliefs (removed after the American Revolution)
From 1800s to 1971, several amendments to the Constitution extended suffrage (voting rights) to more U.S. citizens

7. Fifteenth Amendment
African American men were guaranteed the right to vote
no person can be denied the right to vote because of race or color
late 1800s and early 1900s many states, particularly in the South, passed laws that kept African Americans from voting
literacy tests, poll taxes
in the 1960s Congress passed civil rights laws that finally established equal voting rights for African Americans
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965

8. Seventeenth Amendment - 1913
direct election of U.S. senators to Congress
a state's eligible voters now elect the state's U.S. senators
according to the Constitution, U.S. senators were originally chosen by members of the state legislatures who had been elected by state voters (indirect election)

9. Nineteenth Amendment - 1920
women gained the right to vote
voting cannot be denied because of sex
women's suffrage movement
long struggle for the right to vote for women
women should not be treated as second-class citizens
suffragists/suffragettes - fought for women's right to vote Susan B. Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt,
Lucretia Mott, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Wyoming became first U.S. state to give women the right to vote 1890 9

11. Twenty-Third Amendment - 1961
gave citizens living in the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) the right to vote for president and vice president
created 3 electoral votes for D.C. so that it could participate in the Electoral College system along with the fifty states
according to the Constitution, the Electoral College is responsible for electing the president and vice president
before this amendment, residents of the District of Columbia had not been able vote in national elections since the late 1700s 11

12. Voting is a free freedom!
Twenty-Fourth Amendment
outlaws the use of a poll tax as a qualification for voting in national elections
Supreme Court ruled that poll taxes are also unlawful in state elections
Poll Tax = A special tax that
had to be paid in order to vote.
Some of the American colonies had imposed poll taxes.
Beginning in the late 1800s some states required all people to pay a special tax before they could vote.
These poll taxes were eliminated after the American Revolution only to be reintroduced during the period following the Civil War.
Many Americans believed this tax was intended to discourage African Americans from voting.
Voting is a free freedom! 12

13. Twenty-Sixth Amendment - 1971
lowered the voting age in national, state, and local elections to 18
previously, most states had set the age at 21 for the first vote
Supporters of the amendment pointed out that 18-year-olds were already considered responsible enough to be drafted to fight for their country – Vietnam War
old enough to defend democracy is old enough to participate in democratic elections 18 13

14. VOTING RIGHTS FOR AMERICANS
AMENDMENT
YEAR RATIFIED
GROUP BENEFITTED
15TH
1870
Black Men
17TH
1913
All Voters
19TH
1920
Women
23RD
1961
D.C. Residents
24TH
1966
26TH
1971
year-olds