The Road to Universal Suffrage Oregon Student Mock Election Produced by the League of Women Voters ® of Oregon Education Fund

A Representative Democracy?  The basic principle of a representative democracy is “one person, one vote”  The U.S. Constitution began operating in 1789, but not every adult was represented

Those excluded in 1789  Poor men who did not own land  Slaves  Women  Native Americans  People under 21 years old

The Poor  Poor white men aged 21 or older gained the right to vote in 1830s

Slaves In the early 1860s, the Civil War between the North and the South was fought over the issue of slavery. After the Union forces from the North won, new amendments (additions) were added to the Constitution making all former slaves citizens, and allowing them to vote.

Civil War Amendments  The 13 th Amendment (1865) ended slavery  The 14 th Amendment (1868) allowed everyone to be equally protected by the law  The 15 th Amendment (1870) prevented states from treating voters differently because of race

Ways African-Americans Were Prevented or Discouraged from Voting  Literacy tests required African-Americans to pass difficult tests to vote  The "Grandfather Clause" allowed people to vote if their grandfathers did, but most African Americans’ grandfathers were slaves, so couldn’t vote

 Poll taxes made people pay money to vote  The 24 th Amendment (1964) stopped states from making people pay to vote in national elections

 The Ku Klux Klan scared many African Americans, which made them not want to vote for fear of losing their lives

The Civil Rights Movement & Voting Rights Act of 1965  In March 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a march in Alabama so that people around the country would pay attention to voting rights issues  President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the Voting Rights Act to Congress and it passed

Women  1848 Seneca Falls Convention in New York, women began demanding the right to vote. Some of the main leaders were:  Elizabeth Cady Stanton ( )  Susan B. Anthony ( )  Alice Paul ( )

Support from Other Nations  Women achieved the right to vote in New Zealand (1893) and Australia (1902)

 In Oregon, women gained the right to vote in 1912  In 1920, women across the United States finally got the right to vote with passage of the 19 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Native Americans  Before President Coolidge signed a bill in 1924 giving citizenship to Native Americans, they could not vote  However, in New Mexico and Arizona they were still told they could not vote because they did not pay property taxes  In 1947 a group successfully challenged this law and said because Native Americans paid other forms of taxes, they should be able to vote

People Under the Age of 21  During the Vietnam War ( ), men as young as 18 were drafted to fight the war  Many of those who had to fight did not have any voice in government because they were under age 21  In 1971 the 26 th Amendment granted 18-year-old citizens the right to vote

Gaining the Right to Vote  1789 Only white men, over age 21, who were property owners could vote  1830s Non-land owners are allowed to vote  1865 Former slaves could vote, but most were discriminated against and did not vote  1920 Women received the right to vote  1924 Native Americans could vote  1965 Voting Rights Act protected African Americans at the polls, allowing them to vote  1971 All citizens 18 and older could vote

Conclusion  The United States has gone through a difficult history in giving each person the right to vote  Yet, now with fair laws and people’s support, all citizens over the age of 18 are allowed to vote  We now more truly can say we are a representative democracy