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The Fight for Equal Voting Rights
(Middle/High School)

After the American Civil War ended in 1865, the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed. It said states could not stop someone from voting because of a person's race or color. But states could make laws saying that all people had to pay a poll tax (pay money to vote) or pass a literacy (reading and writing) test before they could vote. Many states in the South passed such laws.

Because most African Americans in the South did not have much education or money, these laws kept many of them from voting. The laws also kept many poor white people from voting. They could not elect representatives to work for their needs.

Another problem was that many African Americans had never registered to vote. In the United States, people must register with the government (show identification and fill out forms) before they can vote. Every time people move to a new address, they must register again.

In the 1960s young people went to the South to register African-Americans to vote. Many Southern whites were angry and afraid because larger numbers of blacks were beginning to vote. Some whites became violent and people were killed. At the same time, people who worked and marched for equal rights demanded an end to literacy and poll tax laws.

In 1964, the Twenty-fourth Amendment was passed. The Amendment made it illegal for states to demand that people pay a poll tax.

In 1965, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act. This law made literacy tests for voters illegal in every state. Later, Congress added another part to this law: in areas where many voters speak another language, election information must be bilingual. The Voting Rights Act has made it possible for many more people to use their right to vote.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

How did a literacy test keep people from voting?
Do people have to pay poll taxes today? Why or why not?
What are two ways that the Voting Rights Act helps more people to vote?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Why would some people want to keep poor black and white people from voting?
Why do you think there was violence when young people went to the South to help black people register to vote?
Some people think that only educated people should have the right to vote. Others say that all people should have the right to vote. Can you give reasons for and against both positions?

HOW LONG DID WOMEN WAIT?

Women are born to be wives and mothers. They should stay in the home. Women are not as intelligent as men. Women are emotional; they think like children. Men are rational. The man is the head of the home. He should make the political decisions…

These are things people said to women who wanted the right to vote. For years, women were told to take care of their homes and children and let their husbands vote for them. In 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment gave the vote to African-American men, but not to women!

For many years, women wrote articles, gave talks, marched, and organized to get equal rights. One of the most important rights for them is the right to vote. The right to vote is sometimes called suffrage. Elizabeth Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were early leaders in the long struggle for women's suffrage.

In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was finally passed by Congress and approved by the states. The amendment said, "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied …on account of sex." After 130 years of struggle, women in the United States finally had the right to vote for their elected representatives.

WHAT ABOUT YOUNG PEOPLE?

In the United States the age for voting was always 21. But 18-year-olds had to fight in U.S. wars. People began to think about this after World War II. Young Americans had to fight, but they could not vote for the government that made decisions about war and peace. Was this fair?

During the 1960s, 18-year-olds were sent to war again in Vietnam. Many citizens and legislators agreed that people who were old enough to fight should be able to vote. In 1971, the Twenty-sixth Amendment was passed. This amendment changed the voting age for men and women to 18 for all national elections.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW?

Why did people think women should not vote?
Look at the Nineteenth and the Twenty-sixth Amendments. What was the same about them? What was different?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

What do you think about the reasons why people didn't want women to vote?
Do you know some rights that women have now that they didn't have 100 years ago?
Some people say that the right to vote is a key to other rights. What do you think they mean? Do you agree?
Since l8-year-olds received the right to vote in 1971, fewer and fewer of them have been voting. Why do you think more 18-year-olds don't vote?

SUMMARY OF VOTING RIGHTS

1796	Only white men who owned property could vote in the United States.
1870	The 15th Amendment gave the vote to African-American men
1920	The 19th Amendment gave the vote to women.
1964	The 24th Amendment made it illegal for states to demand people pay a poll tax.
1965	Congress passed the Voting Rights Act making literacy tests illegal in every state and later added that election materials must be bilingual where many voters speak another language.
1971	The 26th Amendment lowered the minimum voting age from 21 to 18.

FOR DISCUSSION

Some people say that the right to vote is a key to other rights. What do you think they mean? Do you agree?
Ask two U.S. citizens if they voted in the last election and why. Share this information with other students.
Brainstorm ways to encourage more informed voting. Send us your ideas. We will post them on our web site.

Adapted from: It's Yours: The Bill of Rights, Copyright © 1993, Constitutional Rights Foundation Chicago. Lesson may be reproduced for classroom use.

Last updated: January 2, 2002

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