A History of the Franchise

Jan 15

By: Zachary Schwarz
Edited by: Lauren Levinson and Chloe Shah

Voting is the most crucial determinant of a functioning democracy. So crucial, in fact, that it is mentioned 37 times throughout the Constitution. [1] Curiously, though, not once is there an explicit affirmation of the right to vote. [2] Largely because of this peculiarity, certain Americans have faced centuries of disenfranchisement efforts that persist today.

A Constitutional Basis and Early Suffrage

The Elections Clause in Article I of the Constitution dictates that states decide the “Times, Places and Manner” of elections for the Senate and House of Representatives. [3] Additionally, the Electors Appointment Clause in Article II mandates that state legislatures appoint electors to determine the president, setting out the Electoral College. [4] In conjunction, these clauses vest authority over the administration of federal elections, and therefore voter qualifications, in the states.

Before the American Revolution, White, land-owning males had a monopoly on the franchise. [5] This stemmed from an elitist consensus that the wealthy and highly educated were most capable of governance. [6] Many Founding Fathers espoused similar ideas, including John Adams. He warned that universal suffrage would be “dangerous,” as the uninformed masses would not be able to identify their own interests accurately. [7] Such sentiments almost led to a property ownership qualification for voting in the Constitution, but the suffrage of non-landowners in some states rendered the proposal unfeasible. [8] By 1800, as more states joined the Union and political strategists viewed expanding the franchise as advantageous, the share of White males who were eligible to vote grew to an estimated 80%. [9]

In the few years prior to the Civil War, virtually every White male enjoyed suffrage, with a few Northern states allowing Black men to vote. [10] Immediately following the conflict, the federal government ratified three constitutional amendments known collectively as the Reconstruction Amendments. To summarize, the 13th Amendment eliminated slavery or indentured servitude, “except as punishment for crime.” [11] The 14th Amendment laid out the Equal Protection Clause, preventing states from “[denying] to any person within [their] jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” [12] Lastly, the 15th Amendment protected the right to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” [13] With these new guardrails in place, suffrage would appear ripe to expand. Ostensibly, it did, with 735,000 Black men and 635,000 White men gaining the franchise. [14]

Voter Suppression

Just as quickly as eligibility grew, Southern legislatures rushed to restore the Antebellum status quo. States instituted Black Codes–sets of policies that later evolved into Jim Crow– aimed at recodifying a racial caste system. [15] Voter suppression was among the most prominent features of this legal framework, functioning to silence the voices of the already oppressed.

As to specific manifestations of voter suppression, many Black voters were subjected to literacy or comprehension tests as a prerequisite for casting their ballot. [16] Poll workers could fail anyone at their discretion, mostly targeting Black voters. [17] For instance, a now-infamous 1965 test from Alabama featured 68 questions with no standardized passing score. [18] As well, some states, like Louisiana, had an “Understanding Clause,” which instructed poll workers to read aloud a portion of the state’s constitution and ask a voter to interpret it. [19] If said interpretation was not sufficient for the poll worker, which it rarely was, the examinee was deemed ineligible to vote. [20]

While literacy tests and Understanding Clauses leveraged the years of anti-literacy laws that caused lower literacy rates in Black Southerners, poll taxes exploited the economic inequality between racial groups at the time. [21] To exercise their constitutional right, voters would be forced to pay up to $15 in 2015’s currency, frequently compounding annually for two or three years before an election. [22] To exempt the Whites who would have otherwise failed to meet these burdensome requirements, states introduced a “Grandfather Clause.” [23] It stipulated that, as the name suggests, if a person’s grandfather possessed the franchise, they did too. [24]

As a result of the aforementioned voter suppression tactics and more, the percentage of Black men registered to vote in the South decreased sharply. Mississippi had a rate of 70% in 1867 and 6% in 1890. [25] Louisiana was similar, with Black men constituting 44% of the state’s electorate immediately after the Civil War. [26] Nevertheless, by 1920, only a shocking 1% were registered. [27]

Women’s Suffrage Movement

The inciting incident of the Women’s Suffrage Movement came at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, where Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered the Declaration of Sentiments, a call for broader gender equality modeled after the Declaration of Independence. [28] Susan B. Anthony took over shortly as figurehead of the movement, with Stanton penning her rhetoric. [29]

Despite the Reconstruction Amendments granting universal male suffrage, American women remained disenfranchised. Eventually, in 1913, momentum swung their way. [30] During President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration ceremony, 8,000 women gathered to express their discontent over the sustained inaction on suffrage. [31] They were met with backlash from a violent mob, eliciting heightened national attention. [32] Capitalizing on this were the Silent Sentinels, who pressured President Wilson to pledge support for women’s suffrage by protesting outside the White House for days on end. [33]

Civil Rights Movement and Progress

In 1920, the Women’s Suffrage Movement scored its ultimate victory when the 19th Amendment was officially ratified, guaranteeing that no one could be denied the right to vote “on account of sex.” [34] Five years earlier, in Guinn v. United States, the Supreme Court struck down the Grandfather Clause, a step commended by Black newspapers for advancing voting rights. [35]

Much like the Women’s Suffrage Movement, the Civil Rights Movement seized on surges in public support to enshrine its agenda into law. The Civil Rights Act had been stalled in Congress for years, contributing to an attendance of 260,000 at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. [36] The sheer size of this protest forced the federal government to take the Civil Rights Movement seriously, but the sheer brutality of the 1965 marches in Selma, Alabama, garnered sympathy from the American people. [37] As voting rights activists crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were beaten and tear-gassed by Alabama state troopers. [38] Coverage of the violence sparked national outrage and led to activists and leaders arriving in Selma to demonstrate their solidarity [39]. With no doubt left in the minds and consciences of legislators, Congress and President Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965. [40]

The Civil Rights Act was sweeping, outlawing discrimination based on “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” [41] It dismantled the “separate but equal” doctrine of racial segregation in the South, promoting greater equality in every facet of life. [42] On the other hand, the VRA was a direct response to the voter suppression that had occurred in the South. [43] Containing deliberate provisions, the bill focused on the states and precincts that had most grossly violated the 15th Amendment. [44] Within a year of its passage, 450,000 African Americans were registered to vote in the South. [45]

Alongside the landmark legislation, the United States ratified two constitutional amendments related to the franchise. In 1964, the 24th Amendment banned poll taxes. [46] Then, in 1971, the 26th Amendment lowered the national voting age from 21 to 18 years of age. [47]

Finally, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that interpreted a universal right to vote in the Constitution. The plaintiffs in Reynold v. Sims had objected to Alabama’s use of the 1900 census to apportion electoral districts in 1961. [48] The court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, arguing that, under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, districts must be drawn so that one person equals one vote. [49] According to the majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice Earl Warren, “Undeniably the Constitution of the United States protects the right of all qualified citizens to vote.” [50] He went on to assert that, “The right to vote freely for the candidate of one’s choice is of the essence of a democratic society.” [51]

Modern Voter Suppression

After preclearance—the process outlined in Section 4 of the VRA wherein states were compelled to submit changes to voting laws for federal review—was struck down in the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision, Southern legislatures have been reemboldened to suppress votes. [52] Primarily, states have adopted voter identification (ID) laws that require citizens to show a qualifying form of photo ID at their polling place. [53] As of 2021, 21 million Americans, mainly Americans of color, did not have such an ID. [54] Although states are obligated to provide one free of charge, they are often very difficult to come by. [55] Many Americans, again mainly Americans of color, live far from a government office that issues IDs, prompting the conclusion that “strict voter ID laws appear to discriminate.” [56] Further evidence comes from previous remarks of voter ID law proponents. In 2016, the former president of the right-wing Heritage Foundation, Jim DeMint, put it simply: “In the states where they do have voter ID laws, you’ve seen, actually, elections begin to change towards more conservative candidates.” [57]

Other tactics have centered on policing individuals and organizations that assist voters. Amid notoriously long lines at Georgia polling stations, state representatives have prohibited the distribution of food and water to those waiting. [58] A 2019 Tennessee law compelled voter registration groups to submit almost all registration forms they collected, yet imposed civil and criminal penalties if more than 100 were considered “incomplete.” [59] Deeper institutional barriers to voting also impede suffrage. Due to the nature of the criminal justice system, felony disenfranchisement disproportionately affects communities of color. [60]

Conclusion

Taken together, decades of voter suppression in the United States highlight a political class that views its power as deserved, not earned. Instead of reshaping their agendas, legislators have consistently worked to reshape the electorate in order to win. Despite this troubling pattern, a proven remedy exists. When the federal government takes meaningful action—through constitutional amendments, Supreme Court decisions, and legislation—the constitutional right to vote is protected. Therefore, as long as Americans elevate leaders who uphold fundamental democratic ideals, there is hope that the United States will endure as a thriving republic where the voice of every citizen is heard.

Notes:

1. Michael Wines, “Voting Rights and the Constitution,” The New York Times, October 26, 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/article/voting-rights-constitution.html.
2. Wines, “Voting Rights and the Constitution.”
3. U.S. Constitution, art. I, sec. 4. cl. 1.
4. U.S. Constitution, art. II, sec. 1, cl. 2.
5. Stuart M. Blumin, “Making (White Male) Democracy: Suffrage Expansion in the United States from the Revolution to the Civil War,” History Now, no. 51 (Summer 2018), https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/making-white-male-democracy-suffrage-expansion-united-states-revolution.
6. Blumin, “Making (White Male) Democracy.”
7. John Adams, “John Adams to James Sullivan, 26 May 1776,” Founders Online, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-04-02-0091.
8. Wines, “Voting Rights and the Constitution.”
9. Blumin, “Making (White Male) Democracy.”
10. Marsha J. Tyson Darling, “A Right Deferred: African-American Voter Suppression after Reconstruction,” History Now, no. 51 (Summer 2018), https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/right-deferred-african-american-voter-suppression-after-reconstruction.
11. U.S. Constitution, amend. 13.
12. U.S. Constitution, amend. 14.
13. U.S. Constitution, amend. 15.
14. Darling, “A Right Deferred.”
15. Darling, “A Right Deferred.”
16. Darling, “A Right Deferred.”
17. Terrance Smith, “Timeline: Voter Suppression in U.S. From Civil War to Today,” ABC News, August 20, 2020, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/timeline-voter-suppression-us-civil-war-today/story?id=72248473.
18. Jim Crow Museum, “1965 Alabama Literacy Test,” https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/pdfs-docs/origins/al_literacy.pdf.
19. William Alexander Mabry, “Louisiana Politics and the ‘Grandfather Clause,’” The North Carolina Historical Review 13, no. 4 (1936): 290–310, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23514793.
20. Mabry, “Louisiana Politics and the ‘Grandfather Clause.’”
21. Smith, “Timeline: Voter Suppression in U.S.”
22. Drew DeSilver, “Anti-poll Tax Amendment Is 50 Years Old Today,” Pew Research Center, January 23, 2014, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/01/23/anti-poll-tax-amendment-is-50-years-old-today/.
23. Smith, “Timeline: Voter Suppression in U.S.”
24. Smith, “Timeline: Voter Suppression in U.S.”
25. Darling, “A Right Deferred.”
26. Darling, “A Right Deferred.”
27. Darling, “A Right Deferred.”
28. Eleanor Clift, “Women’s Long Journey for the Vote,” History Now, no. 51 (Summer 2018), https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/womens-long-journey-vote.
29. Clift, “Women’s Long Journey for the Vote.”
30. Clift, “Women’s Long Journey for the Vote.”
31. Clift, “Women’s Long Journey for the Vote.”
32. Clift, “Women’s Long Journey for the Vote.”
33. Clift, “Women’s Long Journey for the Vote.”
34. U.S. Constitution, amend. 19.
35. Alfred L. Brophy, “Guinn v. United States (1915),” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=GU001.
36. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), “1963 March on Washington,” https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/1963-march-washington.
37. Library of Congress, “The Civil Rights Movement,” https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/post-war-united-states-1945-1968/civil-rights-movement/.
38. Library of Congress, “Civil Rights Movement.”
39. Library of Congress, “Civil Rights Movement.”
40. Library of Congress, “Civil Rights Movement.”
41. Library of Congress, “Civil Rights Movement.”40. Library of Congress, Howard University Civil Rights History Project, Civil Rights Acts (1964, 1968), https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/blackrights/civilrightsacts.
42. Library of Congress, Howard University Civil Rights History Project, Civil Rights Acts (1964, 1968).
43. Library of Congress, Howard University Civil Rights History Project, Voting Rights Act of 1965, https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/blackrights/vra.
44. Library of Congress, Howard University Civil Rights History Project, Voting Rights Act of 1965.
45. Darling, “A Right Deferred.”
46. U.S. Constitution, amend. 24.
47. U.S. Constitution, amend. 26.
48. Legal Information Institute (Cornell), “Reynolds v. Sims (1964),” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/reynolds_v._sims_%281964%29.
49. Legal Information Institute (Cornell), “Reynolds v. Sims (1964).”
50. National Constitution Center, “Reynolds v. Sims (1964),” https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/reynolds-v-sims.
51. National Constitution Center, “Reynolds v. Sims (1964).”
52. Ella Wiley, “Voting Rights Attorneys Reflect on Shelby v. Holder,” NAACP Legal Defense Fund, https://www.naacpldf.org/voting-rights-attorneys-on-shelby-v-holder/.
53. National Conference of State Legislatures, “Voter ID Laws,” https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id.
54. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “Block the Vote: Voter Suppression in 2020,” https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/block-the-vote-voter-suppression-in-2020.
55. Keesha Gaskins and Sundeep Iyer, The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification (Brennan Center for Justice, July 2012), https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/challenge-obtaining-voter-identification.
56. J. Kuk, “A Disproportionate Burden: Strict Voter Identification Laws and Minority Turnout,” Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Policy (2022), https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2020.1773280.
57. Brennan Center for Justice, When Politicians Tell the Truth on Voting Restrictions, August 10, 2016, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/when-politicians-tell-truth-voting-restrictions.
58. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “Block the Vote: Voter Suppression in 2020.”
59. Campaign Legal Center, “League of Women Voters of Tennessee v. Tre Hargett,” April 2, 2020, https://campaignlegal.org/cases-actions/league-women-voters-tennessee-v-tre-hargett60.
60. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “Block the Vote: Voter Suppression in 2020.”

Bibliography:

Adams, John. “John Adams to James Sullivan, 26 May 1776.” Founders Online. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/06-04-02-0091.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “Block the Vote: Voter Suppression in 2020.” https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/block-the-vote-voter-suppression-in-2020.

Blumin, Stuart M. “Making (White Male) Democracy: Suffrage Expansion in the United States from the Revolution to the Civil War.” History Now, no. 51 (Summer 2018). https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/making-white-male-democracy-suffrage-expansion-united-states-revolution.

Brennan Center for Justice. When Politicians Tell the Truth on Voting Restrictions. August 10, 2016. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/when-politicians-tell-truth-voting-restrictions.

Brophy, Alfred L. “Guinn v. United States (1915).” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=GU001.

Campaign Legal Center. “League of Women Voters of Tennessee v. Tre Hargett.” April 2, 2020. https://campaignlegal.org/cases-actions/league-women-voters-tennessee-v-tre-hargett.

Clift, Eleanor. “Women’s Long Journey for the Vote.” History Now, no. 51 (Summer 2018). https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/womens-long-journey-vote.

Darling, Marsha J. Tyson. “A Right Deferred: African-American Voter Suppression after Reconstruction.” History Now, no. 51 (Summer 2018). https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/essays/right-deferred-african-american-voter-suppression-after-reconstruction.

DeSilver, Drew. “Anti-poll Tax Amendment Is 50 Years Old Today.” Pew Research Center, January 23, 2014. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/01/23/anti-poll-tax-amendment-is-50-years-old-today/.

Gaskins, Keesha, and Sundeep Iyer. The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification. Brennan Center for Justice, July 2012. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/challenge-obtaining-voter-identification.

Jim Crow Museum. “1965 Alabama Literacy Test.” https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/pdfs-docs/origins/al_literacy.pdf.

Kuk, J. “A Disproportionate Burden: Strict Voter Identification Laws and Minority Turnout.” Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Policy (2022). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21565503.2020.1773280.

Legal Information Institute (Cornell). “Reynolds v. Sims (1964).” https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/reynolds_v._sims_%281964%29.

Library of Congress. “The Civil Rights Movement.” https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/post-war-united-states-1945-1968/civil-rights-movement/.

Library of Congress, Howard University Civil Rights History Project. Civil Rights Acts (1964, 1968).https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/blackrights/civilrightsacts.

Library of Congress, Howard University Civil Rights History Project. Voting Rights Act of 1965.https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/blackrights/vra.

Mabry, William Alexander. “Louisiana Politics and the ‘Grandfather Clause.’” The North Carolina Historical Review 13, no. 4 (1936): 290–310. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23514793.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). “1963 March on Washington.” https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/1963-march-washington.

National Conference of State Legislatures. “Voter ID Laws.” https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id.

National Constitution Center. “Reynolds v. Sims (1964).” https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/reynolds-v-sims.

Smith, Terrance. “Timeline: Voter Suppression in U.S. From Civil War to Today.” ABC News, August 20, 2020. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/timeline-voter-suppression-us-civil-war-today/story?id=72248473.

Wiley, Ella. “Voting Rights Attorneys Reflect on Shelby v. Holder.” NAACP Legal Defense Fund. https://www.naacpldf.org/voting-rights-attorneys-on-shelby-v-holder/.

Wines, Michael. “Voting Rights and the Constitution.” The New York Times, October 26, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/article/voting-rights-constitution.html.

U.S. Constitution. Art. I, sec. 4. cl. 1.
U.S. Constitution. Art. II, sec. 1, cl. 2.
U.S. Constitution. Amend. 13.
U.S. Constitution. Amend. 14.
U.S. Constitution. Amend. 15.
U.S. Constitution. Amend. 19.
U.S. Constitution. Amend. 24.
U.S. Constitution. Amend. 26.

Hannah Cheves