The Right To Vote

Who can Vote in the Upcoming Election?

You must be a citizen of the United States.
You must be 18 years old or older.
You must register to vote ahead of time.
You cannot be a convicted felon. This means that you cannot have been found guilty of a crime that is a felony.
You cannot be severly mentally disturbed.

Who could Vote in 1780?

In most states, only white men over 21 who owned property could vote.

Over time, many ammendments were made to the Constitution, changing the laws concerning who could vote. In 1868, the 14th Amendment said that any eligible man over 21 could vote, even if they did not own property. In 1870, the 15th Amendment said that men could not be denied the right to vote based apon their race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The 26th Amendment was ratified in 1971. It lowered the voting age to 18.

A group who struggled for 72 years to get the right to vote were women. Womwn have only had the right to vote since 1920, when the 19th Amendment was ratified. The movement to get the right to vote for women was called "Women's Suffrage". The word "suffrage" does not come from "suffer", but from the Latin "suffragium" meaning "vote". Women took full advantage of the First Amendment to the Constitution, written by men, to convince the men in power to give women the right to vote. Let's explore how women fought for the right to vote:

First, just what is the
First Amendment to the Constitution?

(Ratification of the first ten amendments was completed on December 15, 1791)

Article 1

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

CREATED/PUBLISHED
1917 Feb.

SUMMARY
Women suffragists picketing in front of the White house.

Visit some web sites that describe women's suffrage,
Historical Gazette: Women Vote! 1920-1995

The American Experience's "One Woman, One Vote"

Women's Suffrage History Resources

Learning Page of the Library of Congress: Feature Presentation on Women Pioneers in American Memory-Suffrage

or consult an encyclopedia. Then using the following outline, find two or three instances over the 72 years of the "suffrage" movement where the following rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution were used effectively.

Using the First Amendment to the Constitution to Win the Right to Vote

I. Freedom of Speech

A.
B.
C.

II. Freedom of the Press

A.
B.
C.

III. Right of the People to Peaceably Assemble

A.
B.
C.

IV. Right to Petition the Government for a redress of Grievances

A.
B.
C.

For the Teacher: Possible Responses. Require students to give specific examples and site their sources.