Voting History In The United States of America

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Throughout American history, many minority groups have encountered significant barriers to the right to vote. Traditionally, specific populations concerned with protecting their power over others have maintained tight control over this privilege. In doing so, violations of basic human rights have occurred; state and federal governments established voting restrictions based on race. Fortunately, several methods were taken for overcoming these limitations that resulted in the voting practices used today. These recent legislations that government enacted have been to benefit voters. This research paper will go in depth with the main restrictions, laid out by either the states or the government, placed on different races in America, look at the over-comings of these limitations, and get a small glance at how voting is today and the acts the government put in place to help voters have a more pleasant voting experience. There is no “right to vote” written in the U.S. Constitution, therefore each state has taken the task of deciding who gets to vote into its own hands (The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, 1). The states set their own standards and evolved separately unless federal laws were passed pertaining to every state. This independence ultimately led to segregation between who had the privilege to vote and who did not. Although there were many discriminating hardships placed on the different races in America, the government also recognized these unnecessary restrictions and made decisions to banish these limitations. There were many steps in the struggle of voting in America between the late 1700’s and early 2000’s, but this analysis focuses on the main restrictions and the over comings of these limitations to the Wh... ... middle of paper ... ...mit all have the right to vote today. The restrictions were overcome and the struggles to vote are now stifled. Works Cited Cobb-LaMarche (2004) History of Voting Rights in America. http://www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/history/. Oct 26, 2011 9:35 a.m. Historical Facts (2011) Important Dates in Voting History. http://www.usfca.edu/fac-staff/hancock/pol204/history.htm. Oct 26, 2011 9:56 a.m. Mintz, Steven The Gilder Lehrman Institution of American History (2004) Winning The Vote: A History of Voting Rights. http://www.gilderlehrman.org/historynow/09_2004/historian.php. Nov 1, 2011 10:15 a.m. Pearson Education (2011) U.S. Voting Rights. http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/voting.html. Nov 18, 2011 11:50 a.m. Dewey and Dewey Decimal Classification (2008) Research Guide for Students. http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.html#step4. Nov 18, 2011 12:01 p.m.

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