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Essay / The Right to Vote as a Privilege in the United States
Everyone living in the United States has the right to vote, and when given the opportunity, they should take advantage of it. By voting, you participate in being an American citizen. If you have a strong opinion on a certain subject or person, it is important to make it known. During the presidential election, each president had strong opinions on several different issues. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay If you don't vote based on your beliefs, for example in the 2016 presidential election, then you might have a man like Donald J Trump in charge of the country who is ignorant and puts the United States at risk. hazard. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and this must be expressed correctly and freely at all times. For this reason, it is important to vote in an election because not only are you expressing your right to free speech, but your vote will count and can make a significant difference in an election. During the 1900s, not everyone had the right to vote, even if they were legalized citizens. Before the 15th Amendment, African American men were not considered equal to white men in how they were represented in government and their legal rights as a citizen of the United States. Not only were African Americans discriminated against, but so were women. The Nineteenth Amendment granted women over the age of 21 the right to vote in 1920. This amendment came after years of fierce struggle by women for women's right to vote. This is why African American men and women who did not have the privilege to vote like white men did, created ideal groups to protest the thief of their own government for this act of injustice . After the Civil War, many African Americans gained citizenship rights through a number of legislative achievements, including the 15th Amendment of 1870 which gave African Americans the right to vote and prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Even with these protections in place, many Southern states resisted racial equality and circumvented the law by administering literally impossible tests designed to prevent African Americans from registering to vote, thus preventing them from participating in the electoral process. But in March 1965, several human rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders gathered for a peaceful demonstration in support of African-American voting rights. Because of this and other forms of anti-government protest, African Americans have been killed and hanged by the KKK and hate groups. All of this was done simply to try to register to vote, leading the government to create even more tests like literacy tests and poll taxes. to prevent them from voting again. The literacy test that was given to every African American registered to vote involved interpreting part of the constitution, as well as providing written answers to a twenty-page test. Many of them knew they would not pass these tests, but they registered anyway, which shows their hard work and dedication to fighting for their rights as an American citizen. In Selma Bridge to Freedom, he showed the amount of violence used against African Americans who stood up for their rights peacefully. "I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a baton...I thought I hadseen death" (said John Lewis, the leader of SNCC.) It not only showed how disgusting African Americans were, but it also showed what real life was like for them. Even though they Discouraged by the police, government and society, they rallied and continued to fight. They organized the largest protest in American history led by MLK Jr, called the Selma to Montgomery Movement. Due to the bloody attack in Selma, Alabama and the march from Selma to Montgomery, President Lyndon Baines Johnson, five days after the incident, spoke before Congress and gave the idea of the law on the law. He gave a speech that can be considered one of the greatest speeches ever written. He quoted: “Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote Yet the harsh reality is that in many places. in this country, men and women are prevented from voting simply because they are black. » (The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Constitutional Rights Foundation) This play impacted all black men and women across the country. It showed a sympathy and compassion for them that they never felt from the president. He talked about what every other government leader was afraid to talk about, he talked about how the government finds many ways to keep African Americans from voting with testing and poll taxes. The Voting Rights Act signed by President Johnson on August 6, 1965 became the greatest achievement in history for the black community. The law banned literacy tests and poll taxes, which gave African Americans a fair chance to vote. To vote, it was enough to have American citizenship and to be registered on an electoral roll. No form of obstruction would be tolerable by the courts. Not only were African Americans not the ones without the right to vote, but women did not have this privilege either. Throughout human history, women have always been categorized as the weaker sex and their duty was to always take care of the household and their husband. For more than 72 years, women have fought for their right to vote. In 1848, the first women's convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. About 300 activist groups came together, the Iron Jawed Angels. Among these participants stand out Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, these two women signed the declaration of sentiments and resolutions, which was printed on the Declaration of Independence. This signature called for equal treatment of women and men before the law and the right to vote. Although this revolution had begun, not all women still had the privilege of voting, but this was only the beginning of something bigger. Disagreements over the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and the relationship between women's suffrage and the movement for racial equality divided the women's rights movement between two organizations: the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association. The two groups came together in 1890 to form the (National American Women's Suffrage Association). Susan B. Anthony, longtime leader of the suffrage movement, became the new leader of NAWSA. She began inviting wealthy members to the women's club movement, their time, money and experience helped build the suffrage movement. After the Senate rejected the proposed women's suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1887, Carrie Chapman Catt became president and shortly thereafter, Congress passed and ratified the 19th Amendment which granted women the right to vote. right to.