1. Our Enduring Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
Color Transparency: Number of Black Elected Officials in the South
Section Reading Support Transparency
Section Outline
I. Abolishing Slavery
II. African Americans and the Right to Vote
III. Women and the Right to Vote
IV. Youth and the Right to Vote
V. The Voice of the People
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2. Our Enduring Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
Main Idea
Key Terms
Citizenship and voting rights have undergone dramatic change in our country’s history. The amendment process enables our Constitution to adapt to a constantly changing society.
Suffrage
Poll tax
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3. Our Enduring Constitution: Section 1
Amendments 11-27
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4. Our Enduring Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
Abolishing Slavery
The Southern States
Feared collapse of their economy if slave labor was outlawed
Tensions
Missouri Compromise, 1820: Divided new lands into “Free” and “Slave” territories
Dred Scott Court Decision
The Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property and not citizens.
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5. Our Enduring Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
Abolishing Slavery (continued)
The Civil War
War fought between the Northern States (the Union) and the Southern States (the Confederate States of America)
The Southern States wanted to be a separate country with their own weak federal government.
600,000 lives were lost during this conflict.
The Thirteenth Amendment, 1865
Abolished slavery
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6. Our Enduring Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
African Americans and the Right to Vote
Go Online: Voting in the United States
The Fourteenth Amendment, 1868
Established that all persons born or naturalized in the United States qualified for citizenship
This included African Americans and former slaves.
No state may “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law” or “deny to any person…the equal protection of the laws.”
The Fifteenth Amendment, 1870
Guarantees suffrage or the right to vote for all [male] citizens
No state may deny the vote to any person on the basis of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
The Twenty-Fourth Amendment, 1964
Outlawed poll taxes or fees for voting
Some states used poll taxes to keep minorities from voting.
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7. Our Enduring Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
Women and the Right to Vote
Left Out
For the most part, women had been excluded from full citizenship and subsequent rights.
Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1848–1920
Seneca Falls convention: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal.”
The Nineteenth Amendment, 1920
Guaranteed suffrage for women
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8. Our Enduring Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
Youth and the Right to Vote
The Twenty-Sixth Amendment, 1971
Lowered the voting age to 18
The voting age had previously been 21.
However, thousands of citizens between the ages of had fought in foreign wars to preserve the American way of life, and it seemed unfair that they could not vote.
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9. Our Enduring Constitution
Section 1: Changing the Law of the Land
The Voice of the People
Amendments
The ‘Framers’ of our Constitution were wise to include in it a process for changing it, should the need arise.
However, a strong majority of representatives must agree on the proposed changes.
There have been a total of 27 Amendments to the Constitution.
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10. Our Enduring Constitution: Section 1
Color Transparency
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11. Our Enduring Constitution: Section 1
Color Transparency
1. Which state had the highest number of black elected officials in 1970? In 1999?
Alabama; Mississippi
2. Which state gained the largest number of black officials during the period shown?
Mississippi gained the largest number of black officials.
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12. Our Enduring Constitution: Section 1
Section Reading Support Transparency
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