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 1789Poor men who did not own landSlavesWomenNative AmericansPeople under 21 years old

The Poor

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

SlavesIn 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 AmendmentsThe 13th Amendment (1865) ended

slavery  The 14th Amendment (1868) allowed

everyone to be equally protected by the law 

The 15th 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 24th 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 (1815-1902) Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) Alice Paul (1885-1977)

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 19th 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 (1961-1975), 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 26th 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

ConclusionThe 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