The U.S. Constitution did not establish a right to vote for any Americans, instead Article I Section 4 states that “the times, places and manner of holding elections… shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature.”

This section states that each state has the authority to determine the “times, places, and manner” of elections. This gives states freedom to conduct elections however they place—excluding whoever seems fit to state legislatures. However, Congress has the ability to intervene in these elections if need be.

Later, during the period from 1800 to 1838, most states continued to reduce or eliminate property requirements and expanded the number of officials selected by voters. A majority of adult men in northern states such as New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania had the majority of men voting.

These five states proved to be most progressive, allowing women and blacks to vote after passing a small property requirement. Still, states moved towards disenfranchisement as they enabled property requirements. Many whites felt that black voters would negatively impact elections as racist attitudes increased during the abolitionist movement.

Limits imposed on women in terms of suffrage came in place because governments wanted to control dynamics and political power—women assisted the abolitionist movement and were filled with Enlightenment ideas that would later prove to throw off the existing power dynamic: rich, educated, and property owning men in charge.

Women began to advocate through public speaking and conventions. The 1848 Seneca Falls Convention in NY, led to the creation of the Declaration of Sentiments—a feminist spin-off of the Declaration of Independence used to argue that women deserved the same constitutional rights as men.

Famous advocates such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott spoke at the convention and wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. In addition to the many grievances addressed, it stated that “mankind has not ever permitted her to exercise her inalienable right to elective franchise. He has compelled her to submit to laws, in the formation of which she had no voice.” It was confusing how men had access to natural rights in the Constitution, while women did not.

Though black men could vote, they still had lingering restrictions and obstacles.

Massachusetts allowed black men to vote if they met certain property requirements. Their state constitution, established in 1780, never explicitly excluded black voters; however, they had a property requirement for both white and black men at the time that excluded a majority of black voters.

New York had a complicated voting system. In 1821, the NY state constitution allowed black men to vote, but only if they met property requirements: owned atleast $250 of property (roughly $9K today). This property requirement disenfranchised many black men.

Rhode Island had a unique situation; in 1842, the state constitution granted limited voting rights to black men who met property qualifications. RI required black men to pass the property qualifications only to receive less voting rights than a white male that passed.

Vermont’s constitution, established in 1777, never explicitly said anything against black voters. However, it did include property requirements for both races—this disenfranchised many black men.

Finally, New Hampshire had a property and tax paying requirement to vote. This affected black voters by disenfranchising those who didn’t meet requirements.

Conclusion: Even the most progressive states limited voting rights for black men (and the lower class) through property requirements.

Such confederate states (11 total) included Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Requirements for readmission included: drafting new constitutions to guarantee blacks voting rights, ratification of the 14th and 15th amendments to ensure the protection of civil rights and suffrage for blacks, & state elections allowing black men to vote needed to take place to integrate blacks into the political process.

14th Amendment: Granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the US, including former slaves, and provided for equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment: Prohibited the federal and state governments from denying a citizen voting rights based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Concept: States had to ratify amendments to affirm their commitment to granting these rights.

Following Georgia’s lead, other southern states adopted disenfranchisement laws after the Reconstruction Era. The new era of Jim Crow laws started with the Compromise of 1877. This compromise ended Reconstruction, withdrawing federal troops from the South allowing southern states to freely implement laws against blacks. This shifted power dynamics in the South, leading to the domination of the Democratic Party in such states and the establishment of segregated society.

Conclusion:

Reconstruction successfully granted blacks civil rights such as the right to vote in all the states in the Union. However, when the government pulled supervision over the South, they turned back to their old ways: segregation and disenfranchisement. While blacks in Republican northern states enjoyed freedom and equality, blacks in the Democratic south had their rights taken away quickly under Jim Crow laws.

Although the 14th Amendment addressed voting discrimination, it never touched upon discrimination based on gender. Virginia Minor, a suffragist, argued that the state of Missouri had infringed on her privileges as a citizen, as defined by the 14th Amendment, when she was denied the right to vote. In the Supreme Court case Minor v. Happersett (1872), she was unanimously denied. Instead, they declared that state laws enfranchising only male voters did not violate citizenship rights of women.

Later, from 1914-1918, women played a significant role in WWI: selling war bonds, working in factories, and managing households alone. This proved to the U.S. that women were more than capable of voting due to their political engagement and capability to do similar jobs as men.

19th Amendment:

On August 18, 1920, a supermajority of the states ratified the 19th Amendment and made it an official part of the U.S. Constitution. It prevented voter discrimination based on sex and gave millions of women access to the ballot.

Though it was first introduced in 1878 and faced significant opposition, Congress officially passed it on June 4, 1919, and ratified it on August 18, 1920, after securing the approval of 36 states.

Similar to African Americans, many Native Americans were not considered U.S. citizens and were denied voting rights. Even after the ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868 that granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” many states still restricted Native Americans from voting.

Snyder Act:

Inspired by the loyal service of American Indians during WWI, the Snyder Act granted citizenship to all indigenous people in the United States. Although the act provided citizenship, many states found loopholes to continue disenfranchisement through legal barriers: literacy tests, grandfather clause, etc.

Remaining Obstacles:

Many natives still couldn’t vote in many states. For example, the attorney general of Colorado in 1936 declared that American Indians could not vote because they were not citizens of the state. These restrictions would continue until 1962.

This amendment specifically focuses on poll taxes, economic and racial discrimination in federal elections.

On March 7, 1965, one of the most infamous demonstrations for voting rights occurred. In an effort to register African American voters in the South, demonstrators planned to march from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. This resulted in the death of nearly 600 marchers as they were met with deadly violence from both local authorities and white vigilantes. This horrific event was televised as “Bloody Sunday.” This led people across the nation to call for change. On March 15, President Lyndon Johnson gave a forceful speech before Congress and the nation, urging the passage of a voting rights law.

The violent reaction to a peaceful march showed the south’s true colors and immediately proved which side was in the right/wrong.

The Act:

Congress introduced the Voting Rights Act after Selma to prohibit racial discrimination at the polls. Both chambers of Congress passed the act and President LBJ signed it on August 6, 1965.

Over the next few decades, Congress would expanded and contract the act to further its strength in protected voting rights for all races of U.S. citizens. However, some of these protections would be overturned by the Supreme Court in the Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court Case in 2013: Shelby County of Alabama successfully challenged the formula that state voting laws needed to be approved (preclearance) by the federal government, this allowed states to change their voting laws without federal approval.