Introduction
Politics has always been critical to American society and is integral to many social issues. One of them concerns voting rights, which have significantly changed over the history of the country. In America until 1877, many groups of people did not have the right to vote based on racial, gender, and capital prejudice. Throughout American history, more and more people were allowed to vote, which ultimately led to the modern political system. I have chosen this theme specifically because I believe that politics plays a highly significant role in American society, even if compared to other countries. Furthermore, the recent elections are discussed in all parts of the world; therefore, I want to learn further about the history of voting rights in the country. Ultimately, the current essay analyzes the topic of voting rights in American history to 1877.
Documents Overview
The four documents that transparently reflect the evolution of voting rights in America are the United States Bill of Rights, an Address to the People of Rhode Island, an Appeal to the People of Pennsylvania, and the Fifteenth Amendment. Since the Constitution’s implementation in 1789 until the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870, there has been a significant change in voting rights. The documents demonstrate how the restrictions on voting based on racial and capital differences were gradually dismissed during the period. Ultimately, the Fifteenth Amendment designated the positive direction concerning civil rights and shaped the election system.
Constitution and the Bill of Rights
The beginning of voting rights history starts with the implementation of the Constitution in 1789. Nevertheless, the Bill of Rights ratified in 1791 did not explicitly mention voting rights, which ultimately empowered the States to enforce their own regulations (Bill of Rights). As a result, most of the voting power belonged to white men who owned property and, thus, paid taxes while not allowing black people and women to have the same right. The Bill of Rights addressed a large variety of political, social, and cultural problems; nevertheless, voting rights were relatively overlooked.
Changes at the beginning of the 19th Century
Consequently, there have been some positive changes concerning voting rights at the beginning of the 19th century. However, the progress in some of the States, including Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, was hindered by political decisions. For instance, while white men without property received voting rights or suffrage, Rhode Island initially banned this change. The officials lifted the limitation after the possibility of armed resistance and conflict. In the document dated 1834, the people of Rhode Island appealed to the government’s social objectives and democracy, insisting on the implementation of suffrage (Address to the People of Rhode Island). In the document, they mention, “We have arrived at the conclusion that government was designed for the protection and perpetuation of rights” (Address to the People of Rhode Island). Therefore, the people of Rhode Island demanded a positive change toward democracy.
Consequently, the access to voting rights for poor white men stripped black men of voting power in Pennsylvania. As a consequence, black people in Philadelphia objected to this change and appealed to the justice of the political system. Therefore, the race became the distinguishing social factor for voting rights instead of capital. In the document dated 1838, Robert Purvis protested against this change and asked to grant voting rights to all proud people of Pennsylvania regardless of race and color (Appeal to the People of Pennsylvania). He emphasized the utmost importance of the right by saying, “To us our right under the Constitution has been more precious, and our deprivation of it will be the more grievous” (Appeal to the People of Pennsylvania). Ultimately, the document transparently shows the frustration of black people due to the fact that race has become a distinguishing factor for voting rights.
Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution
The situation concerning voting rights changed significantly in 1870 when Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution. The document ensured that all people could vote regardless of race and history of servitude (Fifteenth Amendment). It was a meaningful step toward the contemporary state of democracy. Therefore, even though there was still a gender ban in most states, the political system of election started taking a more democratic shape. Ultimately, the Fifteenth Amendment significantly affected voting rights and narrowed the gap between white men and people of color in terms of political power.
Conclusion
The current paper has examined the history of voting rights based on four notable historical documents. Ultimately, the themes of politics, election, and voting rights have been relevant throughout whole American history. Even though progress toward the contemporary system was hindered by many injustices, the documents show that the American people have always strived for freedom of choice and political power. I firmly believe that the contemporary system is only possible because of the multiple struggles that the American people have been through. The mentioned documents reflect these conflicts, and that is why they are significant to the study of American history to 1877.