The Pros And Cons Of Voting Amendments

While the 15th amendment and the 19th amendment both contribute to the importance of voting, they each took awhile to achieve a spot in the Constitution. Before the establishment of the fifteenth amendment, race and color affected mens voting rights. Slavery was officially abolished in the 1860’s; however, African Americans

This amendment was originally written because poll taxes were being charged and many African American people could not pay this fine. Creating poll taxes was a way for governments to discriminate against a group of people. If they didn’t want certain people to vote all they had to do was figure out what they can’t pay or give, and then force people to give that item so they won’t be able to vote. Then, on January 23, 1964, the 24th amendment was signed and released. The final vote on whether the 24th amendment should be released or not was 295 to 86.

A. 14th Amendment 1868 1.) The 14th Amendments guarantees all American citizens that are male and over the age of 21 have the right to vote regardless of race. This extended the right to vote to the Blacks and Chinese, and even brought up the question whether Native Americans should be allowed to vote. Even though these rights were a huge stepping stone for equality, they did not reach out to all Americans, Women did not get the right to vote until the 19th Amendment.

Women have always wanted equal rights and fought to gain equality. On August 1920 the 19th amendment was ratified into the Constitution. The 19th amendment stated that no one will be denied the right to vote based on your sex. This changed everything for the women in the US. Women everywhere started to work more and started to rely less on men.

President Andrew Jackson wanted all white men to have the right to vote. Back then only the wealthy men could vote, this discluding poor white farmers and lower class politicians, led to “ Universal White Male Suffrage” since most black men were still secluded. The oppression of non privileged white people during the 1800s was short yet the fight for black people to have proper equality is still going. In 1856 the right for all white men to vote was established, and in 1876 the 15th Amendment was passed stating “right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or

Over the course of many years, many groups of people have had to fight to win the freedom of voting. Starting with the 14th Amendment ratified on July 9th, 1868, gave citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States' which included former slaves, this Amendment was a step towards giving the "free slaves" more freedoms. On February 3rd, 1870, the 15th Amendment is ratified into the Constitution, this Amendment gave African-American men the right to vote. After fighting for many years for citizenship, finally winning and then being given the right to vote was a major win in the African-American society. Almost 50 years later on June 9th, 1919 Women won the right to vote.

Poll Taxes claimed to target the lower class who were unable to afford the taxes. The taxes that established between 1889 and 1910 had a strong effect on African-Americans and poor whites. This was a way for the government to cut out any black connection to power or political movement and enabled poor civilians to have a say in this movement or any chance to fight for their rights. Before the 24th amendment how

After the fifteenth Amendment was passed, a number of states adopted grandfather clause which allowed only adult males to vote whose grandfather is eligible to vote. African American women also struggled from exercising the franchise to voting. Because of poll tax, less wealthy citizens were discouraged from registering.

The 15th Amendment (Amendment XV), which gave African-American men the right to vote, was inserted into the U.S. Constitution on March 30, 1870. Passed by Congress the year before, the amendment says, “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.” Although the amendment was passed in the late 1870s, many racist practices were used to oppose African-Americans from voting, especially in the Southern States like Georgia and Alabama. After many years of racism, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 aimed to overthrow legal barricades at the state and local levels that deny African-Americans their right to vote. In the

Post Civil War, African Americans started to gain rights to gain rights, and soon gain rights equal to whites. While there were some people/things standing in their way (KKK, Black Codes), in the end they got what they needed; Equality. Many acts and laws were passed to aid the new rights now held by African Americans, as well as the numerous people willing to help. New Amendments were added to give African Americans rights after the war, all giving them some equal rights to whites. The first of the three added was the Thirteenth Amendment, it gave African Americans freedom from slave owners, and stated that no one could be kept as a slave in the U.S..

The women of this movement were fighting for something they believed they deserve. Because of the Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution, women were able to express their own opinions. The women’s rights movement led to many different events, impacted other countries, and created a new amendment. The feminist efforts in the mid 1800s were successful enough to allow women to take on occupations and educations they weren’t able to obtain

Even though the government adopted the Voting Rights Act in 1965, African Americans’ suffrages were still restricted because of southern states’ obstructions. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was important for blacks to participate in political elections, but before this act was passed, there were several events led to its proposal. The government gave African Americans’ the right to vote by passing the 15th Amendment, but in the Southern States, blacks’ suffrages were limited by grandfather clauses, “poll taxes, literacy tests, and other bureaucratic restrictions” (ourdocuments.gov). As times went on, most African Americans couldn’t register their votes.

Finally in 1920, the nineteenth amendment was presented and allowed the women in the United States the right to vote (Kirk, G. & Okazawa-Rey, M. (2013). When thinking about how the women felt about not be able to speak up with voting situations is horrible. We are truly blessed that there were women who spoke their mind and changed the women’s lives for the

Americans ask, “Why do we vote?” It’s really a silly question isn’t it? This is a serious issue, many people believe that their vote doesn’t count and will not affect the presidential election. These people then complain about the way things are. “Your vote is your voice.”

These were not the only amendments though. All together, there is six amendments, the fifteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, twenty- third, twenty- fourth and twenty-sixth. The fifteenth amendment was passed in 1870 and stated that citizens cannot be denied the right to vote because of race, color , or previous condition of servitude. The seventeenth amendment was passed in 1913 and allowed for the direct election of senators by the voters instead of their election by state