Voting Rights in America: Primary Documents in Context
byBridgett A. King, PhD, is assistant professor of political science at Auburn University and a contributor to the Election Center Certified Elections/Registration Administrator (CERA) program.
20191231
ABC-CLIO
Pages | 368 |
Topics | Allegations of Voter Suppression in the Modern Era;Black Voting in the Post-Civil War South;False Claims of Voter Fraud in the Modern Era;Gerrymandering and Other Controversial Election Laws and Practices;Proposed Voting Reforms;Reduction of the Voting Age to 18 |
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eBook
9781440871559
MLA
Bridgett A. King. Voting Rights in America: Primary Documents in Context. ABC-CLIO, 2019. ABC-CLIO, publisher.abc-clio.com/9781440871559.
Chicago Manual of Style
Bridgett A. King. Voting Rights in America: Primary Documents in Context. ABC-CLIO, 2019. http://publisher.abc-clio.com/9781440871559
APA
Bridgett A. King. (2019). Voting Rights in America: Primary Documents in Context. Retrieved from http://publisher.abc-clio.com/9781440871559
- Description
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Through primary sources, this volume examines the history, evolution, and major contemporary controversies associated with voting rights in the United States, devoting particular attention to demographic groups including women, young people, people of color, and poor people.
Voting is often described as the central pillar of American democracy. Yet at various points in the history of the United States, the franchise was kept away from people without landholdings, women, black people, and young members of the armed forces who were nonetheless deemed old enough to risk their lives in the defense of their nation. Even today, many observers contend that the right to vote is being eroded by a pernicious combination of political and social factors.
This work uses primary sources, in concert with broad, context-setting historical overviews and an illuminating introduction to each document, to examine the full scope and importance of the struggle for voting rights in America. Coverage ranges from major historical landmarks such as women's suffrage, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the heavily contested Bush–Gore presidential election of 2000 to documents that examine current controversies about alleged voter suppression, claims of voter fraud, Russian interference in American elections, and the impact of Supreme Court decisions past and present on the constitutional right to vote.
- Includes essential and illuminating primary sources on the past, present, and future of voting in America
- Reflects the perspectives of activists, journalists, and ordinary Americans as well as presidents, senators, and Supreme Court justices
- Provides context for understanding the impact of each featured document in informative headnotes
- Offers authoritative overviews of historical eras in which major changes to voting took place
- Table of Contents
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Table of Contents
Voting Rights in America: Primary Documents in Context
Author(s): Bridgett A. KingContributors: King, Bridgett;Abstract:Through primary sources, this volume examines the history, evolution, and major contemporary controversies associated with voting rights in the United States, devoting particular attention to demographic groups including women, young people, people of color, and poor people.
Voting is often described as the central pillar of American democracy. Yet at various points in the history of the United States, the franchise was kept away from people without landholdings, women, black people, and young members of the armed forces who were nonetheless deemed old enough to risk their lives in the defense of their nation. Even today, many observers contend that the right to vote is being eroded by a pernicious combination of political and social factors.
This work uses primary sources, in concert with broad, context-setting historical overviews and an illuminating introduction to each document, to examine the full scope and importance of the struggle for voting rights in America. Coverage ranges from major historical landmarks such as women's suffrage, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the heavily contested Bush–Gore presidential election of 2000 to documents that examine current controversies about alleged voter suppression, claims of voter fraud, Russian interference in American elections, and the impact of Supreme Court decisions past and present on the constitutional right to vote.
- Includes essential and illuminating primary sources on the past, present, and future of voting in America
- Reflects the perspectives of activists, journalists, and ordinary Americans as well as presidents, senators, and Supreme Court justices
- Provides context for understanding the impact of each featured document in informative headnotes
- Offers authoritative overviews of historical eras in which major changes to voting took place
Editor(s): King, Bridgett;SortTitle: voting rights in america: primary documents in contextAuthor Info:Bridgett A. KingeditorBridgett A. King, PhD, is assistant professor of political science at Auburn University and a contributor to the Election Center Certified Elections/Registration Administrator (CERA) program.
eISBN-13: 9781440871559Cover Image URL: ~~FreeAttachments/9781440871559.jpgPrint ISBN-13: 9781440871542Imprint: ABC-CLIOPages: 368Publication Date: 20191231- Cover Cover11
- Title Page iii4
- Copyright iv5
- Contents v6
- Introduction xi12
- Chapter 1: on the Outside of the Voting Booth Looking in: early America to 1850 120
- Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, 1639 625
- Pennsylvania Passes Legislation to “Regulate the Elections,” 1700 726
- The People the Best Governors,1776 827
- The Northwest Ordinance,1787 1029
- Federal Naturalization Laws, 1790 and 1795 1332
- A “Lady” Asserts That American Principles of Freedom“Embrace Only Half Mankind,” 1800 1635
- Maryland Passes an Act Allowing Jews to Hold Public Office, 1826 1837
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton Calls for Women’s Suffrage at Seneca Falls, 1848 1938
- California Eliminates Property and Wealth Requirements to Vote, 1849 2342
- Chapter 2: Demanding, Getting, and Losing the Vote: 1850–1925 2544
- Ernestine Rose Demands Universal Suffrage, 1851 3049
- Frederick Douglass Tells America “What the Black Man Wants,” 1865 3554
- Congress Passes the Enforcement Acts to Protect African American Voting Rights, 1870, 1871 4059
- Announcement of the Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment Guaranteeing Black Men the Right to Vote, 1870 4362
- Susan B. Anthony’s Stump Speech on Suffrage, 1873 4564
- The Supreme Court Hands Suffragists a Defeat in Minor v. Happersett, 1874 5170
- President Ulysses S. Grant Denounces Attacks on Black Voters and Republican Officeholders in Reconstruction-Era Louisiana, 1875 5574
- Supreme Court Cripples Black Voting Rights in U.S. v. Cruikshank, 1876 6180
- The “Mississippi Plan,” 1890 6584
- Lucy Stone Addresses Congressional Committee on Women’s Suffrage, 1892 6786
- Black Suffragist Frances E. W. Harper Discusses “Woman’s Political Future,” 1893 7291
- Supreme Court Upholds Jim Crow Literacy Tests in Williams v. Mississippi, 1898 7594
- A Pennsylvania Congressman Defends the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, 1904 7796
- Jane Addams Asserts That Women Armed with the “Franchise” Will Redress Social Ills, 1912 82101
- Seventeenth Amendment Provides for “Direct Elections” of U.S. Senators, 1913 87106
- Black Writers and Activists Unite to Call for Women’s Suffrage, 1915 88107
- Carrie Chapman Catt Tells Congress That Women’s Suffrage Is“Inevitable,” 1917 90109
- Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin Urges Colleagues to Pass a Suffrage Amendment, 1918 96115
- Nineteenth Amendment Granting Women the Vote, 1919 100119
- Crystal Eastman Discusses the Work Ahead after the Passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, 1920 101120
- Congresses Passes the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 104123
- Chapter 3: Civil Rights and the Fight Forthe Franchise: 1925–1970 107126
- Supreme Court Strikes Down All-White Primaries in Texas, 1932 113132
- Thurgood Marshall Exults over Voter Registration Trends in the South, 1946 117136
- Presidential Commission on Civil Rights Condemns Persistent“Negro Disenfranchisement” in the American South, 1947 118137
- President Truman Urges the Passage of Absentee Voting Reforms for Military Personnel, 1952 122141
- The Civil Rights Act of 1957 125144
- The Supreme Court Upholds Literacy Tests in Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections, 1959 129148
- Congress Gives Washington, DC, Residents a Voice in Presidential Elections, 1961 133152
- Waves of Violence against African American Voter Registration Efforts in One Mississippi Town, 1963 134153
- Fannie Lou Hamer Remembers the “Freedom Summer” Fight for Voting Rights, 1964 136155
- A Baptist Minister’s Call for “Lawful” Civil Rights Activism, 1964 138157
- The Twenty-Fourth Amendment Strikes Down Poll Taxes, 1964 143162
- Warren Court Establishes “One Person, One Vote” as a Constitutional Standard, 1964 144163
- Congress Passes the Voting Rights Act, 1965 146165
- President Johnson’s “American Promise” Speech, 1965 153172
- President Johnson Calls for Lowering Voting Age to Eighteen, 1968 161180
- Top Civil Rights Official Condemns a Nixon Administration Scheme to Roll Back Voting Rights, 1969 164183
- President Nixon Signs the Voting Rights Act Amendments, 1970 167186
- Chapter 4: A Period of (Relative) Stability and Incremental expansion of Voting Rights: 1970–2000 171190
- The Twenty-Sixth Amendment Lowers the Voting Age to Eighteen, 1971 176195
- Shirley Chisholm’s Presidential Announcement Speech, 1972 176195
- President Carter Calls for Same-Day Voter Registration and Other Election Reforms, 1977 179198
- President Carter Describes Voting as the Key to Building a Better America, 1979 183202
- A Senator Urges the Passage of the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, 1983 188207
- Protecting the Voting Rights of Homeless Americans, 1985 190209
- Supreme Court Sends Mixed Signals about Gerrymandering in Davis v. Bandemer, 1986 195214
- Voting Becomes Easier for Overseas Military and Civilians, 1986 200219
- President Clinton Signs the National Voter Registration Act, 1993 207226
- Oregon Voters Approve Nation’s First Federal Vote-by-Mail Voting System, 1998 209228
- Chapter 5: Partisanship Clouds Battles Over Voting Rights and Election Integrity: 2000–2016 217236
- Commission Calls for Voting Reforms in the Wake of Disputed Bush-Gore Election, 2001 223 223242
- A Democratic Congressman Charges Florida with Voter Suppression, 2001 232251
- Attorney General John Ashcroft Announces New Justice Department Focus on Voter Fraud, 2002 234253
- President Bush Signs the Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 238257
- The Brennan Center for Justice Debunks Claims of Widespread“Voter Fraud,” 2007 240259
- U.S. Supreme Court Puts Stamp of Approval on Voter Photo ID Laws, 2008 243262
- A Voting Rights Expert Condemns Restrictive Voting Measures, 2012 248267
- Supreme Court Decision in Shelby v. Holder Strikes Down Key Sections of the Voting Rights Act, 2013 256275
- Attorney General Holder Urges Re-Enfranchisement for Former Prisoners, 2014 263282
- A Democratic Senator Calls for Strengthening the Voting Rights Act in Response to Shelby County v. Holder, 2014 268287
- President Obama Accuses GOP of Restricting Ballot Access for Partisan Gain, 2014 272291
- President Obama Urges Americans to Defend Voting Rights for All, 2015 276295
- Oregon Burnishes Reputation as Electoral System Innovator with Motor Voter Law, 2015 277296
- Study Reveals Closures of Polling Places on “Massive Scale” in the Wake of Shelby Decision, 2016 278297
- Chapter 6: Open Partisan Warfare Over Voting Rights: 2016 to Present 285304
- President Trump and Vice President Pence Tout Election Integrity Commission, 2017 291310
- A Legal Battle over the Voting Rights of American Citizens in U.S.Territories, 2017–2018 294313
- Civil Rights Legend John Lewis Decries Voter Suppression in America, 2018 297316
- Federal Judge Strikes Down New Hampshire’s “Signature-Mismatch” Voting Law, 2018 298317
- President Trump’s National Security Team Warns of “Pervasive”Russian Election Meddling, 2018 300319
- House Speaker Pelosi Urges the Passage of Sweeping Expansion of Voting Rights, 2019 307326
- Senate Majority Leader McConnell Uses North Carolina Election Fraud to Attack Democrats, 2019 310329
- Texas Voter Eligibility Investigation Halted by District Judge, 2019 313332
- Voting Controversies in Georgia Governor’s Race Prompts Investigations, Reforms, and New Controversies, 2019 316335
- Index 321340