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Voters and Voting Rights

How have different groups won and protected the right to vote?

How has the right to vote been expanded and protected across U.S. history? The framers of the Constitution left details of voting to the states. In Article I Section 4, the Constitution says: “The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations . . ."

Unfortunately, leaving election control to individual states led to unfair voting practices. At first, white men with property were the only Americans routinely permitted to vote. By about 1860, most white men without property were enfranchised. But African Americans, women, Native Americans, and citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 had to fight for the right to vote in the United States.

This resource examines primary sources to explore how different groups have worked to secure and keep the right to vote, and addresses the question, “How have different groups won and protected the right to vote?”

Women's Suffrage What strategies did women use to win a constitutional right to vote? In July 1848, powerful calls for women’s suffrage were made from a convention in Seneca Falls, New York. This convention kicked off a sustained campaign, led by women, to secure voting rights. Over seventy years later, Congress and three-fourths of the state legislatures approved the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
African American Voting Rights How did African Americans reaffirm and protect their constitutional right to vote? The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution (1868) granted African Americans the rights of citizenship. However, this did not translate into the ability to vote. Black voters were systematically turned away from many state polling places. Even after Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, states still found ways to prevent black men…
Native American Voting Rights What challenges have Native Americans faced in exercising voting rights? Self-government in America was practiced by Native Americans long before the formation of the United States government. And yet, Native Americans faced centuries of struggle before acquiring full U.S. citizenship—for those who wanted it—and legal protection of their voting rights as citizens of both tribal nations and the United States.
Youth Vote What events spurred a movement to lower the voting age to eighteen? The 26th Amendment to the Constitution states, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.” Passed by Congress, ratified by state legislatures, and signed into…

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Presentation Presidential Elections and Voting in U.S. History