[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.72,0:00:08.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the next general election rolls around,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.92,0:00:10.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who will be eligible to show up at the polls
Dialogue: 0,0:00:10.88,0:00:13.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and vote for the President of the United States?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.27,0:00:14.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's really pretty simple.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.46,0:00:16.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you are at least 18 years old,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.11,0:00:17.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a citizen of the U.S.,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.32,0:00:18.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a resident of a state,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.64,0:00:19.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can vote,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:19.82,0:00:21.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,assuming, that is, you are not a felon.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.73,0:00:23.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seems about right.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.12,0:00:25.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After all, the United States prides itself
Dialogue: 0,0:00:25.04,0:00:26.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on being a democracy,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.55,0:00:28.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or a government in which the ultimate authority
Dialogue: 0,0:00:28.33,0:00:30.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lies with the citizens of the nation.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.32,0:00:32.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it was not always this way.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:32.71,0:00:35.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1789, George Washington won
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.13,0:00:38.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the electoral college with 100% of the vote,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.01,0:00:39.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but whose vote was it?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.84,0:00:41.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Probably not yours.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.17,0:00:44.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only 6% of the entire United States population
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.63,0:00:47.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was allowed to vote at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.02,0:00:47.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Voting was a right
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.64,0:00:49.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that only white, male property owners
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.63,0:00:51.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were allowed to exercise.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.51,0:00:53.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the 1820s and 1830s,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.73,0:00:55.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the American population was booming
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.18,0:00:57.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the east coast into the western frontier.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:57.93,0:00:59.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Frontier farmers were resilient,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.85,0:01:00.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,self-reliant,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.60,0:01:02.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and mostly ineligible to vote
Dialogue: 0,0:01:02.61,0:01:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because they did not own land.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.60,0:01:07.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As these new areas of the nation became states,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.49,0:01:08.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they typically left out
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.57,0:01:10.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the property requirement for voting.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.70,0:01:12.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Leaders such as Andrew Jackson,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:12.13,0:01:14.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the United State's first common man President,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.29,0:01:16.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,promoted what he called universal suffrage.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.96,0:01:18.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, by universal suffrage,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:18.86,0:01:22.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Jackson really meant universal white, male suffrage.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.30,0:01:23.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All he emphasized was getting rid
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.97,0:01:25.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the property requirement for voting,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.80,0:01:28.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not expanding the vote beyond white men.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.63,0:01:31.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By the 1850s, about 55% of the adult population
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.86,0:01:33.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was eligible to vote in the U.S.,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.88,0:01:35.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,much better than 6%,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.36,0:01:37.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but far from everybody.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.37,0:01:39.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Then, in 1861,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:39.28,0:01:40.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the American Civil War began
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.96,0:01:42.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,largely over the issue of slavery
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.79,0:01:44.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and states' rights in the United States.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.82,0:01:45.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When it was all over,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.97,0:01:48.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the U.S. ratified the 15th Amendment,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:48.24,0:01:50.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which promised that a person's right to vote
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.22,0:01:51.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could not be denied
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.34,0:01:52.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,based on race,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.43,0:01:53.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,color,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.10,0:01:55.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or previous condition as a slave.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.20,0:01:56.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This meant that black men,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.50,0:01:59.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,newly affirmed as citizens of the U.S.,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.02,0:02:00.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would now be allowed to vote.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:00.49,0:02:03.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Of course, laws are far from reality.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.15,0:02:05.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Despite the promise of the 15th Amendment,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:05.49,0:02:07.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,intimidation kept African-Americans
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.70,0:02:10.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from exercising their voting rights.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.07,0:02:11.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,States passed laws that limited
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.61,0:02:13.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the rights of African-Americans to vote,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.48,0:02:15.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including things like literacy tests,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.48,0:02:16.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which were rigged
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.53,0:02:18.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that not even literate African-Americans
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.19,0:02:19.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were allowed to pass,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.82,0:02:21.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and poll taxes.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.16,0:02:23.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, despite the 15th Amendment,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.15,0:02:26.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by 1892, only about 6% of black men
Dialogue: 0,0:02:26.32,0:02:28.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in Mississippi were registered to vote.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.50,0:02:31.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By 1960, it was only 1%.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.11,0:02:33.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And, of course, women were still totally out
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.21,0:02:34.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the national voting picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.63,0:02:36.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn't until 1920
Dialogue: 0,0:02:36.63,0:02:38.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that the women's suffrage movement
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.30,0:02:40.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,won their 30-year battle,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.17,0:02:42.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the 19th Amendment finally gave women the vote,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.81,0:02:44.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,well, white women.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.60,0:02:46.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The restrictions on African-Americans,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.93,0:02:48.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including African-American women,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.66,0:02:49.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,remained.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.48,0:02:50.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After World War II,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:50.69,0:02:52.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many Americans began to question
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.36,0:02:54.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the state of U.S. democracy.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.11,0:02:55.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How could a nation that fought
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.31,0:02:57.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for freedom and human rights abroad
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.48,0:03:00.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come home and deny suffrage based on race?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.27,0:03:01.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The modern civil rights movement
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.77,0:03:04.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,began in the 1940s with those questions in mind.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:04.86,0:03:06.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After years of sacrifice,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.05,0:03:06.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bloodshed,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.78,0:03:07.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and pain,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.58,0:03:08.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the United States passed
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.61,0:03:11.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Voting Rights Act of 1965,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.19,0:03:12.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,finally eliminating restrictions
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.83,0:03:14.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,such as literacy tests
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.26,0:03:15.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and protecting the voting rights
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.70,0:03:18.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,promised under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:18.67,0:03:22.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, any citizen over the age of 21 could vote.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.86,0:03:24.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All seemed well
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.18,0:03:26.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until the United States went to war.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.68,0:03:29.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When the Vietnam War called up all men
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.17,0:03:31.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,age 18 and over for the draft,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.32,0:03:32.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many wondered whether it was fair
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.98,0:03:35.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to send men who couldn't vote to war.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:35.89,0:03:39.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1971, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.32,0:03:41.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made all citizens 18 and older
Dialogue: 0,0:03:41.70,0:03:42.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,eligible to vote,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.87,0:03:44.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the last major expansion of voting rights
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.99,0:03:46.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the United States.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.50,0:03:49.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Today, the pool of eligible voters in the U.S.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.45,0:03:51.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is far broader and more inclusive
Dialogue: 0,0:03:51.37,0:03:53.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than ever before in U.S. history.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:53.66,0:03:55.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, of course, it's not perfect.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:55.75,0:03:57.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are still active efforts
Dialogue: 0,0:03:57.13,0:03:59.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to suppress some groups from voting,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:59.09,0:04:03.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and only about 60% of those who can vote do.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:03.29,0:04:04.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now that you know all the hard work
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.95,0:04:07.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that went into securing the right to vote,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.13,0:04:08.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what do you think?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.19,0:04:10.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Do enough citizens have the right to vote now?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.87,0:04:12.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And among those who can vote,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.73,0:04:14.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,why don't more of them do it?