Seeking Suffrage Stages of Suffrage Stage 1 In

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

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 Note: A portion of Article IV, section 2, of the Constitution was superseded by the 13 th amendment.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 thirteenth amendment was passed, they were still not permitted to vote – just because slavery was illegal, it did not make them 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 14 th 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 Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment repealed the 3/5 clause of the Constitution which only counted 3/5 of each slave towards the population of each state. Representatives shall be apportioned among This means that slaves were now freed the several States according to their respective based on the Thirteenth Amendment and numbers, counting the whole made full citizens under the Fourteenthnumber of Amendment. persons in each State… It also distinguished …the right to vote in any election male the voting age as 21 limited to male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one citizens. years of age, and citizens of the United States

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 The Fifteenth Amendment of the U. S. Constitution previous condition of servitude-banned the restriction of voting based on race or previous servitude. Only applied to men.

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 1902 Australia 1 1906 Finland 1913 Norway 1915 Denmark 1917 Canada 2 1918 Austria, Germany, Poland, Russia 1919 Netherlands 1920 United States 1921 Sweden 1928 Britain, Ireland 1931 Spain 1944 France 1945 Italy 1947 Argentina, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan 1949 China 1950 India 1954 Colombia 1957 Malaysia, Zimbabwe 1962 Algeria 1963 Iran, Morocco 1964 Libya 1967 Ecuador 1971 Switzerland 1972 Bangladesh 1974 Jordan 1976 Portugal 1989 Namibia 1990 Western Samoa 1993 Kazakhstan, Moldova 1994 South Africa 2005 Kuwait 2006 United Arab Emirates 2011 Saudi Arabia 3

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 noncitizen Native Americans born within the United States citizenship, thus granting them the right to vote.

AMENDMENT XXIV (24) Passed by Congress August 27, 1962. Ratified January 23, 1964. The right of citizens of the United States nottaxes, be denied Someto vote…shall states instituted or or abridged or any fees, that by hadthe to United be paid. States in State of failurethat to pay poll tax orderbytoreason vote, knowing or other tax. be many poor people would unable to afford the fee. This practice was stopped by the 24 th 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 expires 2031

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 26 th 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 ? 3 Qualifications American citizens 18 years of age Resident of state 18+

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.

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? Those under the age of 18 Non-citizens residing in the United States Undocumented Residents Prisoners This includes in some states those who are incarcerated and recently released from prison. This means some of you! This could include those in the United states who are studying abroad or working in the United States on a visa 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

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. 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