Imagine Today with Yesterdays Rules...
Do YOU know what that would mean for YOU?
Are you ready to vote in the upcoming USA presidential election? Today we have a voice...but what if your voice was suddenly NOT HEARD? If yesterdays rules suddenly applied to today? I wonder what would the poles be like in November 2016?
What if: in 2016
- only Men could vote?
- women had no voice at one time in a man's world...
- 1920--Women get to vote!
- only property owners could vote? (1776-white male Protestants over 21 yrs)
- do you rent a house?
- do you rent an apartment?
- is your name on a deed to land anywhere?
- 1856-North Carolina finally is the last state to remove the property requirement from the voting laws.
- State Gets to decide if YOU get to vote or not... (No federal voting standards in 1787)
- if the age limit was 21? (was changed in 1971)
- the age factor has changed over the years for several things... drinking, property ownership, legal rights, etc.
- Are you considered a US Citizen? Can you become one? (1790--Naturalization Law was passed which stated that only "free white" immigrants can become naturalized citizens.)
- Does Citizenship give you the right to vote? Not Necessarily. 1848
- if you were not a citizen because of your skin color?
- Native American--Your right to vote does NOT exist
- 1890--you had to apply for citizenship
- 1919--military service meant citizenship for native americans
- 1924--citizenship granted but not voting rights.
- 1965--Grass Roots movement
- Of African-American Heritage-Your right to vote does NOT exist
- 1868--slaves were granted citizenship. voters are still male. voting allowances are still up to the states).
- Of Asian descent---NOPE-you're out too.
- in 1882, chinesse ancestry kept you from the ability to become a naturalized citizen
- 1952 ALL asian ancestry are granted the right to citizenship
- Not a White Male?--sorry--no voice for you.
- Filipino must serve 3 years in Navy for citizenship grants
- Colonies INCLUDING Washington, D.C. (which is Distric of Columbia) get to vote according to the 23rd amendment--1961
- Have a felony on your record?
- 2001, your rights were debated. TODAY--4 million us citizens cannot vote due to a past felony. Laws on this topic vary from state to state and have been apparently influenced largely due to the North-South conflicts.... (yes! this still matters today and still shapes our world.)
Think about it. Today we take a lot of things for granted. When George Washington was elected president, only 6% of the population got a vote! What would today's percentage be if the rules were the same? Would YOU be affected? Voting is one of the things we ALL take for granted today. Yet voting has never been easier. There are absentee ballots for those over seas, for those who cannot get off work to make it to the polls, for those who are home-bound...and anyone who takes the time to register, is a U.S. citizen over the age of 18 has a voice. Our Voices are more in number than ever!! If someone were to take them away NOW, it would become so much more important and valuable than just a slogan "Vote!"....Did you know (do you remember from American History) that although the 15th Amendment was passed in 1870 which denied the government discriminatory capabilities against voters, the government also enacted measures such as voting taxes and literacy tests to restrict Voters?? The Grass Roots movement took place in 1965. ...51 years ago.... Not so far away that we should dismiss things so readily....
See Timeline for actual Voting Rights HERE!
What are your thoughts?
Could You vote today if things were set back to the 1800's or prior to 1965 even?
Would it matter to you?? It should.
~M.
