Question 36
How did women and black Americans get the right to vote?
through rulings by the Supreme Court
by federal laws passed by Congress and signed by a President
in constitutional amendments
they've always had the right to vote
through rulings by the Supreme Court
by federal laws passed by Congress and signed by a President
in constitutional amendments
they've always had the right to vote
posted by Crab Rangoon at 10:14 PM
3 Comments:
this question seems unfair, I have read the constitution, and I did not see any mention of excluding women and blacks from voting.
Have you ever read a US history book? White men were the only people allowed to vote in America's first decades--in fact only those who owned land in the very beginning. While a few bold states extended the franchise to women before 1920 (e.g. Wyoming), in general blacks were not allowed to vote before Reconstruction, and women weren't guaranteed the right to vote until the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. Why do you think we have the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments?
I still believe the question to be unfair. First... the Constitution does not "grant" rights, it merely protects them. Secondly, despite any de facto national standard, those rights were not denied in the Constitution.
Better wording would be thus: "How did the rights of women and black Americans come to be Federally protected?" Then a change in the last answer, "They've always been protected."
I suppose it is a nitpicky view... but I am tweaked by it none the less, as it is a perfect example of how ignorant many are concerning the difference between Federal and State law, and Federal and State authority... a source of many of today's problems.
Post a Comment
<< Home