How not to vote in early America,Today in the United States it seems there is an emphasis on “
How not to vote in early America,Today in the United States it seems there is an emphasis on “getting out the vote”, with the idea that voting is not only an American right but an American duty. Complaints abound that American voter turnout is dismally poor, among the lowest rates of developed nations. Several programs and campaigns have been created to convince non voters, especially younger adults, to go to the polls and vote. Even governments have taken steps to ease the difficulties of voting, such as early voting programs, mail in voting, and absentee ballots. While we may think voter turnout numbers are dismal today, in early American history voting rates were especially bad. With America’s first national presidential election (1789), less than 1.3% of the population voted. In the presidential election of 1792, .88% of the population voted, less than one percent! In the presidential election of 1796 between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, around 2.2% of the population voted, and that was heated election. From 1789 up to the 1820’s and 30’s, this trend continued, with small percentages of the population, often single digits, turning at the polls to vote.So what accounted for such low voter turnouts? Of course late 18th century transportation may account for some numbers, as many citizens could not travel to a polling place, however there were larger reasons at work. The fact of the matter was that while America was founded on the ideals of liberty and freedom, universal voting rights was not a part of that freedom (among others), and the vast majority of Americans could not legally vote. Today voting is a basic right taken for granted, however in the late 18th and early 19th century, voting was a privilege reserved only for an elite few.When the Constitution was ratified in 1787, it made no mention of voting except for the electoral college. The rules of voting determining who can vote, who can’t, and how voting was to be conducted was to be determined by the individual states. Each state could determine voting regulations as they saw fit. In addition, the US Constitution and Bill of Rights was only to be respected by the Federal Government. Individual states did not have to respect the Constitution, it was a free for all where states could establish their own state religions, limit free speech or the press despite the 1st Amendment, could have legal slavery, and create their own regulations defining who was and wasn’t a citizen. It wouldn’t be until the adoption of the 14th Amendment in 1868 that US Citizenship was officially defined, and all states were forced to recognize the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The implication of this system was that most states set severe restrictions on voting which limited the voting population to an elite few. While each state had its own regulations, there were many that were in common, most of which survived from earlier colonial voting regulations. So in early America could vote? Who couldn’t vote?The largest group of people who couldn’t vote were women. So right off the bat, at least 50% of the US population was disqualified from voting. In most states only men had the right to vote. The only exception was New Jersey, which defined all voting citizens as male or female, and believe it or not women commonly voted in New Jersey at the time. Unfortunately, women’s suffrage was brought to a screeching halt in 1807 when a law was passed banning women from voting in New Jersey. Over the decades some states would allow women to vote, especially western states such as Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. National women’s suffrage would not occur until the ratification of 19th Amendment in 1920.Another gaping maw in America’s early voting population were minorities. First and foremost, slaves could not vote. Free black men could only vote in a few states, such as New York. However, the vast majority of African Americans could not vote whether slave or free. Nor could Native Americans. Religion could also disqualify a prospective voter, as many states had religious requirements that barred certain groups such as Jews, Catholics, Quakers, non-Christians, and other non-Protestant Christian sects. It would take a Civil War to bring about 15th Amendment (1869), which prohibits the denial of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. A century later the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would prohibit discrimination in voting.So while women and minorities couldn’t vote, what about white men? Again most white males couldn’t vote. First there was an age restriction. Back then one had to be at least 21 to vote, today thanks to the 26th Amendment (1971), it is now down to 18. While this weeded out a few prospective voters, by far the regulation that prohibited most white males from voting were property requirements. For centuries in colonial American, English, and European tradition going back to the ancient Roman Republic, owning a minimum amount of property or wealth was a requirement for citizenship. The logic behind this was the idea that the best citizens were those who had the largest economic stake in the country. During America’s colonial era this tradition passed on until eventually most states adopted property requirements for voting as well. Generally, the requirement stood at either 50 acres of land or its equivalent value in wealth. A very strict regulation, such property requirements ensured that only upper class could vote. Property requirements would be in effect in most states in the late 18th and early 19th century. After the War of 1812 some states began to drop property requirements. Then in the 1820’s and 30’s the election of Andrew Jackson as president sounded a death knell for property requirements. Jackson advocated a system of popular suffrage, a part of “Jacksonian Democracy”, and many Jacksonian Democrats rewrote state constitutions and laws to do away with property requirements. It wouldn’t be until the late 1820’s and 1830’s when a relatively sizable percentage of the white male population could vote. As a result of Jacksonian Democracy, by the Civil War most white men over the age of 21 could vote. Some states would try a backdoor route to prevent poor whites from voting by instituting poll taxes, or poll fees. Later, this method would also be used to prevent poor blacks and minorities from voting as well. Poll taxes would be outlawed with the 24th Amendment in 1964.So in early America, say between 1788 and 1830, who were the elite few who had the inalienable right to vote? White men 21 and over who were wealthy and most likely Protestant. If you don’t fit into that category, go home! No voting for you! -- source link