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Before the 15th Amendment
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1868 and it granted African Americans citizenship. Their citizenship allowed them access to voting, but states found more ways to prevent African Americans from voting. To combat the unfairness the 15th Amendment was passed and this prohibited states from denying voting rights based on race or previous servitude.
Library of Congress -
Alice Paul
Alice Paul was a suffragist who fought for the ratification of 19th Amendment. Paul organized parades and pickets to advocate for women's suffrage. The first protest she organized was in front of the White House and specifically targeted President Wilson in efforts to gain his support for the 19th Amendment. National Women's History Museum -
Guinn v. U.S.
Guinn v. U.S. was a case brought to the Supreme Court regarding the Grandfather Clause and literacy testing, both of which discriminated against African Americans. Because of the discrimination, the Supreme Court decided that the Grandfather Clause and literacy test were unconstitutional. Oklahoma Historical Society -
The Passage of the 19th Amendment
For a while, many women had been fighting for women's suffrage and trying to gain women the right to vote. During the First World War, suffragists started targeting the president at the time, Woodrow Wilson, in efforts to gain his support for women's right to vote. Eventually Wilson changed his view and supported the ratification of the 19th amendment allowing women the right to vote. National Archives -
Ratification of 24th Amendment
Poll tax had originally been instituted by states if they chose to do so. The poll tax made it so that many African Americans who were not able to afford the poll tax were unable to vote, so the 24th Amendment was passed, further prohibiting discrimination from voting based on race, previous servitude, or wealth. Zinn Education Project -
Freedom Summer
The Freedom Summer or Mississippi Summer Project was a movement aimed to increase the number of African American voters for the 1964 election. Many volunteers for this movement were faced with violence from members of the KKK and law enforcement. This movement raised awareness to voter discrimination and encouraged the Voting Rights Act. -
Reynolds v. Sims
M.O. Sims and other voters from Jefferson Alabama believed that the portioning of district to number of representatives was unfair because their district had 41 times the number of eligible voters as another district in the county. The court ruled that the state representation should be proportional to the population. Oyez -
Cause for Voting Rights Act
After the 15th Amendment was passed, many states still got away with discriminating against African Americans regarding voting rights. Because the Amendment was not thoroughly enforced, the Voting Rights Act was passed and this made the 15th Amendment a reality. National Archives -
Reasoning for the 26th Amendment
Originally the voting age in the U.S. was 21, but when President Roosevelt lowered the military draft age from 21 to 18 many were upset. The belief that if a young man is old enough to fight he should also be old enough to vote. As the 1972 election arose, Congress passed the 26th Amendment, allowing men 18 years and older the right to vote. -
Motor Voter Law
The Motor Voter Law depicts the places that are required to accept voter registrations. Recently there have been lawsuits against certain states for failing to follow the Motor Voter Law. Democracy Docket