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The number of eligible voters has now been increased to about 71%.

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Many changes were made to the voting system to increase the inclusivity of the voting process.

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In order to vote in the US, you must be at least 18, a US citizen, a resident of a state, and you must not be a felon. However, voting eligibility was not always so simple. When George Washington was elected, only six percent of the US population was allowed to vote. Voting was a right reserved for wealthy, white men who were land owners. As populations of farmers began to grow in America, leaders such as Andrew Jackson promoted to get rid of the property requirement for voting. After the Civil War, black men were also given the right to vote. Nonetheless, intimidation continued to keep black men from voting. Next, the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote as well. Then in 1965, the Voting Rights Act was created. This was a significant piece of voting rights history. Finally, restrictions that had prevented the oppressed from voting would be diminished, and voting rights would be protected. One last change to the voting requirements was the age restriction. After it was debated that it wasn’t fair to send men to war that couldn’t vote, the voting age was changed from 21 to 18. The progress of inclusive voting helps the American System live up to its professed ideals of freedom and democracy. By providing an opportunity to vote to more people, the growing inclusivity of the voting system reflects the very definition of democracy, where the ultimate power is vested in the nation’s people.

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Public schools were widely established in the late 1800s in an effort to meet the goals of America’s democratic society. They were designed to prepare students to be responsible citizens that were able to not only be self-sufficient, but also able to come together in unity with their fellow Americans. Preparation for the working world is an important part of the public education system, however, learning how to function in a democracy requires more than just that. It requires students to understand critical inquiry, collective decision making, civic participation, and most importantly, a commitment to the common good. Although the public education system lacks in its ability to give equal and fair learning conditions to all students of the nation, it ultimately lives up to the ideals of the American System due to the students, teachers, and community members who continue to push towards a better and more just education system everyday.

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“Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safe guard of democracy, therefore, is education.” -Franklin D. Roosevelt

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Does the American System live up to its professed ideals?

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Does the American System live up to its professed ideals?

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Although the American System is no where near perfect, and there is significant room for improvement, the system lives up to its professed ideals on the basis of inclusive voting that allows the participation of the people in the government and the availability of public education for the masses.