McLEAN COUNTY HISTORY & GENEALOGY NEWS
By Euleen Rickard
Commercials on radio and television and signs dotting the landscape of our state tell us the time has come to elect public officials. The races are on and many fine men and women are dedicating their time and talent to serve.
In reading the history of voting in the United States we find that at the Continental Congress meeting in 1774, the Framers of the Constitution could not agree on who should be given the right to vote so the Constitution left each state government the right to decide. This caused many battles for rights at the state level.
From 1776 to 1779 white men had the right to vote and take part in government but in some states they had to own property. Only six states did not have property requirements and gave the right to all white males over twenty-one years. In some states the right to vote required that a person belong to a particular religious group.
By 1821 some of the states abolished the property requirements and gave the right to vote to all white males, rich or poor. In the 1840s most states dropped the property requirement and the restrictions on voting by Catholics and non-Christians were eliminated.
In 1848 the First Women’s Suffrage Convention was held and the statement “It is the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves the sacred right to the elective franchise” was heard for the first time.
The struggle for the right for women to vote continued with Susan B. Anthony the strongest advocate for the cause. In 1872 she voted (illegally) in the presidential election and was fined $100 but refused to pay. Later in a speech she gave the following explanation: “Friends and fellow citizens, I stand before you tonight under indictment for the alleged crime of having voted at the last presidential election, without having a lawful right to vote. It shall be my work this evening to prove to you that in thus voting, I not only committed no crime, but, instead, simply exercised my citizen’s rights, guaranteed to me and all United States citizens by the National Constitution, beyond the power of any state to deny.” She quoted the preamble of the Constitution and using “We the people of the United States” declared that women were people, citizens the same as the white males, who should not be denied their right to vote.
The right of women to vote did not come until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. The amendment states “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.”
In 1924 citizenship was granted to Indians born in the United States and they were given the right to vote. The 15th amendment gave voting rights to the black population but blacks in many southern states were denied the privilege of voting as they did not have money for poll taxes or did not read or write. Today all poll taxes have been abolished and all citizens over the age of eighteen have the right to vote.
Regretfully, many citizens have to be prodded into going to the polls to vote and the numbers voting has declined since the early 1990s. Public cynicism about government and politics has grown. The many ways of voting, paper ballots, mechanical lever machine, punch cards, touch and direct recording electronics and the failure of many of these methods in recent elections has struck a “sour note” among many citizens. It has been written that “Americans should vote for our own interests, for the interest of all citizens and for our responsibilities to the rest of the world.” In voting we honor those who fought to give us that privilege. It is our guarantee of freedom.
The museum is collecting political memorabilia. If you have old buttons, signs, ribbons, programs and newspaper articles of campaigns that you would give to the museum please contact Helen Anderson or Mildred Iglehart.