Seeking Suffrage

Stages of Suffrage- Stage 1 In the 1880’s religious qualifications were eliminated and states began to eliminate property ownership and tax payments. White males could vote in every state by the 1850’s

Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865. AMENDMENT (13) Passed by Congress January 31, 1865. Ratified December 6, 1865. Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13th amendment. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Slaves were considered property and were not considered American citizens. This meant they were restricted from voting. Once the thirteenth amendment was passed, they were still not permitted to vote – just because slavery was illegal, it did not make them citizens..

It also distinguished the voting age as 21 limited to male citizens. AMENDMENT (14) Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868. Note: Article I, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 2 of the 14th amendment. Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment repealed the 3/5 clause of the Constitution which only counted 3/5 of each slave towards the population of each state. This means that slaves were now freed based on the Thirteenth Amendment and made full citizens under the Fourteenth Amendment. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State… …the right to vote in any election male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States This granted full citizenship to all freed slaves (previously slaves had only been counted as 3/5 of a person towards the total population in the state). Although it did not allow them to vote (this would be granted 5 years later in Amendment XV), it was a step towards gaining voting rights. It also distinguished the voting age as 21 limited to male citizens.

Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870. Stage 2-AMENDMENT (15) Passed by Congress February 26, 1869. Ratified February 3, 1870. 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 Fifteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution banned the restriction of voting based on race or previous servitude. Only applied to men.

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920. AMENDMENT (19) Stage 3 Passed by Congress June 4, 1919. Ratified August 18, 1920. 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 sex. The Nineteenth Amendment of the U. S. Constitution banned the restriction of voting based on sex/gender.

Timeline of Women’s suffrage 1893 New Zealand 1954 Colombia 1902 Australia1 1957 Malaysia, Zimbabwe 1906 Finland 1962 Algeria 1913 Norway 1963 Iran, Morocco 1915 Denmark 1964 Libya 1917 Canada2 1967 Ecuador 1918 Austria, Germany, Poland, Russia 1971 Switzerland 1919 Netherlands 1972 Bangladesh 1920 United States 1974 Jordan 1921 Sweden 1976 Portugal 1928 Britain, Ireland 1989 Namibia 1931 Spain 1990 Western Samoa 1944 France 1993 Kazakhstan, Moldova 1945 Italy 1994 South Africa 1947 Argentina, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan 2005 Kuwait 1949 China 2006 United Arab Emirates 1950 India 2011 Saudi Arabia3 1. Australian women, with the exception of aboriginal women, won the vote in 1902. Aborigines, male and female, did not have the right to vote until 1962. 2. Canadian women, with the exception of Canadian Indian women, won the vote in 1917. Canadian Indians, male and female, did not win the vote until 1960. Source: The New York Times, May 22, 2005. Women in Saudi Arabia will not be eligible to vote until 2015. Read more: Timeline of Women’s Suffrage Granted, by Country — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0931343.html#ixzz26UIMc4df

Bad Romance: ‘Til We Have Suffrage

Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 Prior to this Act, Native Americans had been denied the right to vote due to the fact that they were not counted as citizens because they were citizens of their tribe and did not pay taxes to the United States government. It was required Native Americans to give up their tribal citizenship in order to become full citizens of the United States. The Indian Citizenship Act declared all non-citizen Native Americans born within the United States citizenship, thus granting them the right to vote. http://www.aclu.org/timelines/timeline-voting-rights-act This slide is included as a side note. American Indians were denied the right to vote due to the fact that they were not considered American citizens unless they gave up their tribal citizenship.

Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964. AMENDMENT XXIV (24) Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964. The right of citizens of the United States to vote…shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay poll tax or other tax. Some states instituted taxes, or fees, that had to be paid in order to vote, knowing that many poor people would be unable to afford the fee. This practice was stopped by the 24th Amendment

Stage 4 Civil Rights Act of 1964 & Voting Rights Act 1965 The Civil Rights act of 1964 forbids the use of literacy requirements to register to vote. Focused on securing voting rights for African Americans but many other groups of minorities benefited from the Voting Rights Act Voting Rights Act expires 2031

Passed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971. AMENDMENT XXVI (26) Passed by Congress March 23, 1971. Ratified July 1, 1971. Note: Amendment 14, section 2, of the Constitution was modified by section 1 of the 26th amendment. 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. After the Vietnam conflict in the 1960’s, many felt that if you are old enough to be drafted (18+) to fight in the U.S. military, you should be able to vote.

Who traditionally is allowed to vote by the states ? 18+ 3 Qualifications American citizens 18 years of age Resident of state Note: The exception to all of these factors is prisoners and those recently released from prison. This will be addressed in later slides.

Restrictions placed on States The Constitution bans the restriction of voting based on certain factors. Cannot restrict voting based on race Cannot restrict voting based on gender Cannot require Literacy tests and poll taxes that were implemented in many states. Discriminatory practices. (1850’s-1880’s) Took until the 1970’s and 1980’s to eliminate literacy tests and poll taxes throughout the country. http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/voting.html

What if these amendments had never been added to the Constitution? Who would be unable to vote? African Americans Female citizens Native Americans Citizens who are poor Citizens who are uneducated Citizens under the age of 18

What do you think? Who should not be allowed to vote? This means some of you! Those under the age of 18 Non-citizens residing in the United States Undocumented Residents Prisoners This could include those in the United states who are studying abroad or working in the United States on a visa Vermont and Maine allow felons to vote while incarcerated. http://felonvoting.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=286#florida This includes in some states those who are incarcerated and recently released from prison. This refers to those who live in the United States undocumented

What do you think? As a group Provide arguments for and against allowing legal permanent non-citizens to vote. Be sure to explain your position very clearly! Are there any qualifications for each group to meet before allowing them to vote.

Who would you target? If you could propose a constitutional amendment to ban discrimination of certain groups, who would you target? If you could propose an amendment to the Constitution to not allow certain groups to vote, what would you propose?

Compulsory Voting Should we require citizens to vote? With such a low percentage of persons in the United States who actually vote, what would happen if we amended the Constitution to require everyone to vote? Some countries have such a requirement. What are the pros and cons of such a policy?

Put it on the line! In your group, create a timeline of voting rights. Include: The year The Amendment Number A summary of the Amendment The group impacted* An illustration of the Amendment *For some of the Amendments, this may not apply. Ex: Amendments 13 + 14

Seeking Suffrage Timeline AMENDMENT XIII (13) Ratified December 6, 1865. Abolished slavery AMENDMENT XV (15) Ratified February 3, 1870. Banned the restriction of voting based on race. AMENDMENT XIV (14) Ratified July 9, 1868. Established that all former slaves were considered full citizens; repealed the 3/5 compromise. Also set the voting age at 21+.

Seeking Suffrage Timeline AMENDMENT XIX (19) Ratified August 18, 1920. Banned the restriction of voting on the basis of gender. AMENDMENT XXVI (26) Ratified July 1, 1971. Voting age lowered to 18. Could also add the 23rd amendment which addressed the District of Columbia and electors. AMENDMENT XXIV (24) Ratified January 23, 1964. Poll taxes were banned. Citizens would no longer have to pay to vote. 18+

How can citizens participate in politics? Voting Volunteering for a campaign Joining an interest group Lobbying the government Writing to government officials Running for office