I have recently read many articles with the subject of not voting in this next election. Some people feel voting would compromise their morals, and others are angry with the American politics as a whole. However, in times of trial, it is not the time to do nothing. This is why you need to get yourself to the polls and vote.
When the country began in 1776, it was declared that only land owners could vote. In 1787, the federal voting standards were lifted, and it was left up to the states to decide who could vote. Finally in 1789, our first president, George Washington, was elected; however, at this time only 6 percent of the population was eligible to vote.
It was not until 1856 that all white men could vote. North Carolina was the last state to lift the land owning requirement.
Yet, in 1876 America took another step back towards inequality. It was declared that Indigenous people and Native Americans could not vote. In 1887, with the attempt of assimilation, the Dawes Act granted Native people the right to vote as long as they gave up their tribal affiliations. This did not end the unfair treatment on the road for political equality for Native Americans. In 1919, while women were so close to this liberation, Native Americans were traded full citizenship for military service.
On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified. The amendment granted women the right to vote. Until this time, women were seen as lesser than men; therefore, they were not seen fit to participate in politics. Women suffrage was not easily received. Women who stood up to the government at the time were jailed and beaten for their beliefs; moreover, the women suffrage movement started almost a century before, when women met in Seneca Falls, New York.
Similarly, The Voting Rights Act, signed by President Lyndon Johnson, went into effect August 6, 1965. The act aimed to lift the barriers that prevented African Americans from voting under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. Before this time, African Americans were barred from exercising this vote by having to pass impossible tests or proving impossible identifications.
These are only FEW of the roads to the right to vote. Chances are, your right to vote was fought for, desired for, lusted after. You are dishonoring the brave individuals who stood up to the government of their time by not voting.
I do not care who you vote for in this election, just please, do YOUR country a service and vote. The road to liberation is long and hard, but it can be taken away in the blink of an eye.
