The American Voting Franchise
History Homework 1 – The Constitution
October 18th 2006
Christopher Rath
Democracy is defined as a form of government in which the power lies with the people of the country. In the United States, the people vote for the officials who represent them in the various political institutions. In Debbie Minchin’s lecture she explained how the right to vote was initially restricted to a privileged few, namely males aged over twenty-one years. As the country advanced this fundamental right was extended to the whole population. Women, freed slaves and 18 years olds were among those given the right to choose who should represent them in government. Having been told this I was surprised to read about voting anomalies that existed throughout America’s history.
Individual states granted voting rights to specific minority groups, for example, New Jersey allowing women to vote between 1776 and 1807. This shows that the power does lie with the people but only if the geography works in their favour. This leads me to question the validity of the belief that the U.S. has been continually extending the franchise to ensure all citizens have the right to vote. Granting voting rights and subsequently taking that right away in individual states demonstrates a lack of coherency in the political system. Thankfully the ratification of constitutional amendments has meant this particular injustice has been removed to help make America a truer democracy.
However, as the New York Times article suggests, this practice of disenfranchisement may be happening again in polling stations around the country. The House of Representatives has passed a bill that requires citizen’s to be in possession of government-issued identification if they wish to vote. As a result there will be a reduced number of people able to exercise their democratic right to elect a representative. Given that these representatives are the very same ones who have stopped them from voting in the first place, do they really want to elect a government that do not supply a basic right, like the right to vote?
October 18th 2006
Christopher Rath
Democracy is defined as a form of government in which the power lies with the people of the country. In the United States, the people vote for the officials who represent them in the various political institutions. In Debbie Minchin’s lecture she explained how the right to vote was initially restricted to a privileged few, namely males aged over twenty-one years. As the country advanced this fundamental right was extended to the whole population. Women, freed slaves and 18 years olds were among those given the right to choose who should represent them in government. Having been told this I was surprised to read about voting anomalies that existed throughout America’s history.
Individual states granted voting rights to specific minority groups, for example, New Jersey allowing women to vote between 1776 and 1807. This shows that the power does lie with the people but only if the geography works in their favour. This leads me to question the validity of the belief that the U.S. has been continually extending the franchise to ensure all citizens have the right to vote. Granting voting rights and subsequently taking that right away in individual states demonstrates a lack of coherency in the political system. Thankfully the ratification of constitutional amendments has meant this particular injustice has been removed to help make America a truer democracy.
However, as the New York Times article suggests, this practice of disenfranchisement may be happening again in polling stations around the country. The House of Representatives has passed a bill that requires citizen’s to be in possession of government-issued identification if they wish to vote. As a result there will be a reduced number of people able to exercise their democratic right to elect a representative. Given that these representatives are the very same ones who have stopped them from voting in the first place, do they really want to elect a government that do not supply a basic right, like the right to vote?
posted by Christopher Rath at 3:55 PM
1 Comments:
oh. my. god. this is far too intelligent for me - chris are you sure thats you!?
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