...Voting. This is one of the great rights, that we as Americans have. We have the freedom to vote and the freedom to choose whether we want too or not. However, just because voting matters it does not mean that everyone does it. Studies show that barely 60% of voters participate in the elections that take place here. So why don’t voters vote? I mean we fought for the right to vote so why don’t we take that privilege? The question that face americans today is Should americans be required be to vote? I think Americans should be required to vote because Many nations have good voter turn out, we could have better informed voters and we could have higher voter turnout. The first reason i think americans should be required to vote is because many nations have good voter turnout. In Document A it shows that at least 40 countries have required voting. This is...
Words: 566 - Pages: 3
...“Voting rights matter. They are a major part of who we are as Americans.” - Marc Veasey. Voting dates back to almost 3 centuries ago, when most people couldn’t vote (“History of Voting Rights”). Voting plays a big part in the future of the nation, yet the country denies voting rights to a big group of citizens, all of which are felons who have completed their entire sentence. While some felons can’t be trusted, they should get the right to vote because voting is a responsibility, it is a key component to democracy, and felons are still U.S. citizens. One important reason why ex-felons should vote is because it is a responsibility and should be done by every American citizen. It can determine the outcome of the election, and the candidate...
Words: 509 - Pages: 3
...FA13 SOCI-101-1099 Prin. of Sociology -Online- Essay Why is United States Voter Turn-out so Low Question 4) What are some explanations for why voter turnout is so low in the U.S. compared to other wealthy, literate and democratic countries? INTRODUCTION Voter turnout is the rate by which people vote in elections. The simplest way to calculate a given election's turnout rate is to compare the actual number of voters with the voting-age population. “Voter turnout in the United States is among the worlds’ lowest.” (E.S. 371) The graph below taken from an article written for the Huffington Post in 2012, illustrates how poor United States voter turnout has been as compared to other industrialized nations. Our voter turnout is less than half of the turnout in Belgium and Australia for example and it is getting worse. "Starting in the early 60's, the proportion of the population that turns out to vote in the U.S. steadily decreased, to the point where only slightly more than half the electorate voted in presidential elections in the last three decades of the 20th century" (E.S. 370) [pic] Although there are several factors that contribute to low voter turnout in the United States, three factors appear to have the most direct influence. • Voter Registration and Voting Processes in the United States make it more difficult to vote as compared to other nations. • The Decline of Social Capital in the United States • The decline in the strength...
Words: 1087 - Pages: 5
...make US Security much stricter than it was before. ID’s are a big part in making sure that people are who they say they are. There have been people specifically teenager that use and make fake ID’s to buy beer, cigarettes, etc. Making fake ID’s is a risky business and could result in a prison sentence if caught. Many want to feel safe in the place they live at and if people are constantly faking their identities that will only lead to more problems. Every state should agree with voter ID laws, as they will only benefit us. Bigger states should also look into how effective...
Words: 952 - Pages: 4
...Era through the Great Depression there were many significant turning points within this period. The Women’s Suffrage Movement was one major historical turning point of the Progressive Era. Another turning point in this period was the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Although “women were basically the main players in the Progressive Era reforms, there right to vote were still denied” (Schultz, 2012). Many pushed for the franchise for all women and through their efforts in the Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution provided full women suffrage. There were two groups that pushed and furthered the cause of women’s suffrage. These two groups were formally called “The National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA), as well as The National Women’s Party (NWP)” (Schultz, 2012). The National American Women’s Suffrage Associations strategy was basically a way to push for suffrage at the state level, hoping that the federal government would pass the amendment. The National Women’s Party’s goal was of eliminating all discrimination against women. As stated by Brown, “In 1923 The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), was announced and launched what would be a life-long campaign to win full equality for women,” (2010). Even with the Progressive Era having a lot of issues and turning points throughout its time, the Great Depression had its ordeals as well. The Stock Market Crash was a big historical event that took place during this time. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 devastated...
Words: 1339 - Pages: 6
...Rights movement was a rough time that our African American citizens had to go through, it wasn’t our best moment in time. But with the power of people coming together and helping eachother our country was able to pass the Voting Rights Act, the act finally gave African Americans the freedom to vote. The Selma to Montgomery March and the March on Washington were two of the most significant and publicized events that provided the impetus for the passage of the Voting Rights Act. Selma was a highly segregated, but small, city in Alabama. Only about 300 of Selma's 1,500 African Americans were registered to vote; that’s only 3%. The SNCC tried to work with their local black leaders to register more blacks to vote. But the fact that Selma’s sheriff was a very racist white man wasn’t the most optimal (CRM 1). When activists arrived in Selma they instantly met resistance from Sheriff Clark, “He initially arrested sixty-seven black people attempting to register to vote...deputies arrested one hundred sixty-five protesters and then chased them out of town with electric cattle prods” (CRM 2). The big breaking point for civil rights activists in Selma was the fatal shot from police that killed young demonstrator Jimmy Lee Jackson (Englebert 103). All of these awful factors are why Selma got chosen to have the march. Even though it took several attempts to complete the Selma to Montgomery March, it was a substantial step towards getting the Voting Rights Act being passed. The first Selma to...
Words: 1222 - Pages: 5
...Historical Report on Race ETH 125 Historical Report on Race Throughout history, the African American community dealt with much discrimination. In 1619, Europeans shipped African Americans as slaves to Jamestown colony to harvest tobacco and that was the start of discrimination (Slavery in America, 2012. Sugar, rice and wheat are some of the crops that slaves tend to under the control of their slave owners. From dusk until dawn, enslaved African Americans worked to tend crops (Slavery in America, 2012). African Americans were enlisted and were forced to join the Army when Civil War came but refused to because of a law that was being upheld to keep them from enlisting. This was changed when President Lincoln submitted the Final Proclamation. There were still discrimination and segregation even though African Americans were already allowed to enlist in the army (The Civil War and Emancipation, 2012). There have been many concerns regarding African Americans participating in political causes throughout the years. There was an instance that a literacy test was done in the State of Mississippi to prevent Blacks from voting. The result was the state adopted a grandpa clause because the test caused whites from being able to vote as well. Before 1870, regardless of literacy or tax qualifications, everyone has the right to vote. The Black community was stopped to vote while whites were able to vote under grandpa clause. Several laws that supported slavery were made in the 1700s and...
Words: 695 - Pages: 3
...position of Black Americans improved in the years 1945-55 politically Evidence- Morgan vs Virginia case, the vote, President Truman, Explanation- Irene Morgan refused to give up her seat on an interstate bus and was fined $100 inevitably led to the Supreme Court prohibiting segregation on interstate transport with the help on NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall. The Morgan vs. Virginia case did not lead to a change in practice however. The situation with many rulings was still very much de jure and de facto. Black people were given the vote so they were able to vote in more sympathetic political figures. This meant that someone who sympathised black people would be able to do something about it rather than ignore the racial inequality. President Truman established a committee to investigate race relations and to safeguard the rights of minorities. The report of this committee was published in 1947 was called ‘To Secure These Rights’. It called for many drastic changes to be made to the law including changes to black voting rights, reduce lynching by introducing new legislation and to end segregated facilities such as schools and public toilets. Link- This shows that the position of Black Americans did improve in the years 1945-55 politically. Analysis- Despite black people being able to vote, most Southern blacks could not and the possession of the vote did not bring Nothern blacks great gains. Also, poll taxed was introduced to further put off black people voting, as it was very...
Words: 791 - Pages: 4
...Beatrice Walker HIS/301 Professor Lopez-Schermer June 10, 2013 Our four fathers as a way of check and balances created the Constitution. They believed that a strong federal government was needed for the country to survive. The constitution is the base for all laws in the United States. It’s the highest law in the United States. The constitution can be changed, when it’s changed it’s called and amendment. Among the amendments are the bill of rights and the reconstruction amendments. In this paper I will discuss how and why amendments become part of the constitution, what were some problems with the original document that motivated the adoption of the bill of rights, the effects of the bill of rights and the reconstruction amendments and their effects. How and why do amendments become part of the constitution? When the constitution was written, the Framers knew that the constitution would and could be amended. Article V of the constitution tells how an amendment can become a part of the constitution. It takes two steps to add an amendment to the constitution. The first step is the proposal. An amendment can be proposed by either two-thirds vote in congress, which includes both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The second step is ratification; the amendment has to be ratified by wither three-fourths of the state legislatures or by state conventions in three-fourths of the states. An amendment can only be ratified after two-thirds of the House and...
Words: 1409 - Pages: 6
...amendment to the Constitution granted African-American men the right to vote in 1870. (Marx, 2014) “By 1877 southern white Democrats had overthrown every new state government and established state constitutions that stripped black citizens of their political rights. To circumvent the 14th and 15th amendments, legislators created clever devices that would disenfranchise black citizens for the next 80 years.” (May, 2013) These devices included poll taxes, literacy tests and property requirements among others. They also had to contend with threats of loss of employment and violence. These conditions led to a dramatic decrease in black voters who were deemed eligible, let alone those who were able to actually exercise their right to vote....
Words: 2634 - Pages: 11
...In the systems of democracy, voting is a cherished and fundamental function. This governmental system scattered throughout history was given a new birth with the creation of the United States Constitution. This Constitution eventually gave everyone a voice in their government albeit it through a representative elector at the national level and continues to make strides today in the political landscape through its evolution as a document. However, our Constitution is far from complete. Discrepancies between contemporary times and those in which our founders live in are cause for the changes and redress of our Constitution as to better fit it to the standard of the times. One such dated concept is the electorate system of the electoral college. Though necessary at one point, our current time of information sharing has rendered it ineffective in its task and I would argue, best replaced through the administration of a test to the voters in order to ascertain their...
Words: 1790 - Pages: 8
...the amount of criminals entering and leaving prisons. The author begins with slavery and continues to explain the Jim Crow segregation, which both represent mass incarcerations. Mass incarceration prevents discrimination towards groups of people. For example, the author states, “After the death of slavery, the idea of race lives on.” (26) This specific example...
Words: 2005 - Pages: 9
...going to the same school together along with many other places in to United States. Districts were able to legally separate students by the color of there skin. According to the law as of now had being set into place, they said these schools had to be equal. However, back then majority of schools for the black race were looked at as “nothing” or have “lesser value” than schools with white students. In addition, what were some effects on people of color and factors that were lead to bring down segregation? Meanwhile as many historical events were passing by such as past Slavery and Wars ending. Many people question the fact of why African Americans freedom was not fully set free. The freedom was set from slavery but much more was only waiting for them. This being called segregation, from having to sit separate on the bus, drink from different water fountains that where not only labeled for “Blacks and Whites”. These things were so crucial for people of color to deal with. It was like they over came something big only to be thrown another big people against them only because of there skin tone. Setting forth more ideas of the segregation among blacks and whites it did not just begin with drinking at separate fountains and riding in the back of the bus, there was more, which was very hurtful for them to take in, this was blacks not being able to get a good education. Nothing was working they fought and argued for a decent education but no matter what they still had to attend...
Words: 693 - Pages: 3
...Reorganization Act of 1934, also known as the Wheeler Howard Act or the IRA, had a major impact on the everyday lives of Native American Tribes that were scattered across the United states. The Indian Reorganization Act provided the means and tools for tribes to form their own governments and constitutions. The IRA stopped the general allotment act that was put into effect by the Dawes of 1887. The Indian Reorganization Act granted the Secretary of Interior a tremendous amount of power over Native American affairs ranging from land, livestock, employment, government, etc. According to the reorganization plan, after a tribe or nation voted to accept the IRA, it would draw up a constitution and bylaws, submit it to a referendum, have the Secretary of the Interior certify the results, and then start operating as a corporate tribal council. Of the 181 tribes accepting the Indian Reorganization Act between 1934 and 1945, only ninety-six adopted a tribal constitution, and only seventy-three tribes ever received corporate business charters. Seventy-seven tribes with a population of 86,365 members rejected the Act outright. Several of these were large reservation groups, such as the Klamath Indians of Oregon and the Crows of Montana. An especially bitter blow to Collier was the rejection of the IRA by the Navajo Nation. With 98 percent of the eligible Navajo voting, the tribe rejected the Act by 419 votes. The Navajo had not forgiven the Collier administration for its drastic livestock reduction...
Words: 1456 - Pages: 6
...happens one day that they grow up and the ideas, once known as the wisdoms of mom and dad, are suddenly reshaped by the environment surrounding them. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along with other ministers and civil rights leaders founded the SCLC, whereas African American college students with the support of and a small donation from the SCLC founded the SNCC. Thus the idea that the SCLC the parent of the civil rights movement whilst the SNCC was looked at as the youth movement for the cause. For a time, the two organizations shared the same philosophies of especially with respect to the overall mission of both the SCLC and SNCC which was to redeem “the soul of America” through non-violence. Though sharing a common purpose, the two groups operated very differently which would perhaps play a role in the ideology which would later come from the SNCC. The SCLC operated as an umbrella organization of affiliates. Rather than seek individual members, it coordinated with the activities of local organizations like the Montgomery Improvement Association and the Nashville Christian Leadership Council. ‘‘The life-blood of SCLC movements,’’ as described in one of its pamphlets, ‘‘is in the masses of people who are involved—members of SCLC and its local affiliates and chapters’’ (This is SCLC, 1971). The success of the group’s actions was reliant on the black community wearing down the white community, especially its business, sector to the point where they pressured the white authorities...
Words: 2242 - Pages: 9
