Suffrage Amendments

Unit Overview

In this unit, students will identify and describe the amendments that provided an extension of suffrage to groups that were disenfranchised. (CS#10)

Section A: Content Statement 10

Constitutional amendments have provided for civil rights, such as suffrage for disenfranchised groups.

Content Elaboration

Some amendments prohibited the denial of voting rights based on the following:

• race, color, or previous condition of servitude;

• age (18-20-year olds); and

• gender.

Poll taxes also limited voting rights for poor people, although they were initially designed to keep African Americans from voting.

Let’s Practice: Content Statement 10

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Section B: Suffrage Amendments

CC Video

The Suffrage Amendments expanded our democracy by allowing more citizens, especially minority groups, to vote and to enjoy the guarantee of equal rights. The United States Constitution created a democratic republic where voters elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf. The original Constitution failed to guarantee the protection of voting rights. For the first 75 years, voting generally was restricted to landowning white adult males. African Americans, Women, Hispanics, Asians, Young People, and Poorer Citizens could not vote the first 75 years of the Constitution. Constitutional amendments gave us an expanded democracy to extend voting rights to these disfranchised groups.

· Before 1870, not all African American men could vote. The 15^th Amendment granted suffrage to African American men.

· Before 1920, not all women could vote. The 19^th Amendment guaranteed suffrage to women.

· Before 1961, not all people in Washington D.C. could vote for the President. The 23^rd Amendment guaranteed suffrage and gave the District of Columbia three electoral votes.

· Before 1964, not all people could afford to vote. The 24^th Amendment made it illegal to charge for suffrage.

· Before 1971, not all young people could vote. The 26^th Amendment lowered the national voting age from 21 to 18.

Let’s Practice: Constitutional or Unconstitutional

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Section C: Amendments 15, 19, 23, 24 and 26

A recurring theme in amending the Constitution of the United States has been the extension of voting rights to more citizens. Over time, the fundamental democratic practice of voting has been made possible for different groups of people.

· Amendment 15 prohibits the denial of suffrage to people because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

· Amendment 19 prohibits the denial of suffrage on account of sex.

· Amendment 23 guarantees citizens of Washington D.C. to vote in Presidential elections.

· Amendment 24 prohibits the use of poll taxes in federal elections. Poll taxes disenfranchised the poor and were also used as Jim Crow legislation to deny the right to vote to African Americans.

· Finally, as a result of many young men being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, but not being able to vote, Amendment 26 extends the right to vote to citizens who are 18 years of age or older.

Below is a chart on the historical roots of the Suffrage Amendments.

Amendment	Rights	Historic Roots
15^th Right to Vote	· Insures black males the right to vote	Despite this amendment, poll taxes and literacy tests would attempt to deny black males voting rights in the southern states for nearly 100 years.
19^th Women’s Suffrage	· Women are granted the right to vote	Women such as Susan B. Anthony (for whom the amendment was named) fought for a voting right amendment for over 40+ years.
23^rd Voting in Washington, D.C.	· Grants Washington D.C. 3 electors to the electoral college	Residents of the capitol did not have any political voice in the federal government. This amendment grants them the minimum number of electors. To today Washington D.C. has no Senators or Reps. to the House.
24^th Abolition of Poll Taxes	· Poll taxes and literacy tests are illegal in federal elections	Many Southern states had used poll taxes and literacy tests to limit black voting after the Civil War. Literacy tests were already illegal by the 1960s, but an amendment was required to outlaw the poll tax.
26^th Voting Age	· The age of eligibility for voting is lowered to 18	In the wake of protests over the Vietnam war, fundamental hypocrisy in the American voting system became apparent. Eighteen-year-olds could be drafted and forced to fight in the war, but could not cast a vote for the politicians who were determining their fate.

Let’s Practice: Can I Vote?