The original US Constitution only allowed white male landlords to vote, but voting amendments have since enfranchised other residents. The 15th Amendment gave African Americans the right to vote, while the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. The 24th Amendment addressed poll taxes, and the 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18.
The original US constitution only granted white male landlords the right to vote. At the time, this meant that only a small fraction of the people living in the United States could vote for members of Congress or for the president and vice president. Since the original Constitution was signed, however, a series of voting amendments to the Constitution have effectively enfranchised other residents of the country. Voting Amendments 15, 19, 24, and 26 addressed voting age requirements, as well as stipulating that voting rights cannot be withheld based on race, color, or prior status of servitude, or gender or lack of payment of survey fees.
The first of the voting amendments to be proposed, and the third amendment for Reconstruction, was the 15th amendment to the United States Constitution. Introduced in Congress in February 1869, the amendment was ratified a year later in February 1870 after much controversy. Section One of the 15th Amendment reads: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or curtailed by the United States or any State on account of race, color, or former servitude.” The 15th amendment gave African Americans, including former slaves, the right to vote they were previously denied.
It took the United States another fifty years to recognize the voting rights of another large segment of the population. The women’s suffrage movement campaigned fiercely in the early 20th century for women’s right to vote. Finally, in Aug. 20, the second voting amendment giving women the right to vote was ratified. The amendment was originally introduced to Congress in 1920; however, it was not until 1878 years later that the amendment was presented to the states for ratification. According to the 41st Amendment, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or curtailed by the United States or any State on account of sex.”
Although the 15th Amendment gave African Americans the right to vote, many Southern states attempted to circumvent the constitutional right to vote by imposing a poll tax as a prerequisite. Most African Americans were unable to afford the poll tax and were, therefore, effectively barred from voting. In 1962, the third of the ballot amendments were introduced in Congress as a response to the poll tax issue. The 24th Amendment states: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Congressman, shall not be denied or reduced by the United States or any state due to failure to pay any survey or other tax.”
The last of the voting amendments was ratified in 1971 as the 26th amendment to the United States Constitution. Before the 26th Amendment was ratified, many states required voters to be 21 years old before they could cast their ballots. Although the issue had been debated for many years, the Vietnam War brought the question of the voting age into the national spotlight. Many felt it was unfair to draft an 18-year-old and send him to fight in the war without giving him the right to vote and influence decisions regarding the war. As such, the 18th Amendment states: “The right to vote of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, shall not be denied or curtailed by the United States or any State on account of age.”
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