The fight for the right to vote in the United States - Nicki Beaman Griffin
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Not SyncedWhen the next general election rolls around,
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Not Syncedwho will eligible to show up at the polls
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Not Syncedand vote for the President of the United States?
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Not SyncedIt's really pretty simple.
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Not SyncedIf you are at least 18 years old,
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Not Synceda citizen of the U.S.,
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Not Syncedand a resident of a state,
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Not Syncedyou can vote,
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Not Syncedassuming, that is, you are not a felon.
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Not SyncedSeems about right.
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Not SyncedAfter all, the United States prides itself
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Not Syncedon being a democracy,
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Not Syncedor a government in which the ultimate authority
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Not Syncedlies with the citizens of the nation.
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Not SyncedBut it as not always this way.
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Not SyncedIn 1789, George Washington won
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Not Syncedthe electoral college with 100% of the vote,
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Not Syncedbut whose vote was it?
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Not SyncedProbably not yours.
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Not SyncedOnly 6% of the entire United States population
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Not Syncedas allowed to vote at all.
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Not SyncedVoting was a right
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Not Syncedthat only white, male property owners
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Not Syncedwere allowed to exercise.
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Not SyncedBy the 1820s and 1830s,
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Not Syncedthe American population was booming
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Not Syncedfrom the east coast into the western frontier.
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Not SyncedFrontier farmers were resilient,
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Not Syncedself-reliant,
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Not Syncedand mostly ineligible to vote
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Not Syncedbecause they did not own land.
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Not SyncedAs these new areas of the nation became states,
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Not Syncedthey typically left out
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Not Syncedthe property requirement for voting.
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Not SyncedLeaders such as Andrew Jackson,
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Not Syncedthe United State's first common-man President,
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Not Syncedpromoted what he called universal suffrage.
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Not SyncedOf course, by universal suffrage,
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Not SyncedJackson really meant universal white, male suffrage.
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Not SyncedAll he emphasized was getting rid
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Not Syncedof the property requirement for voting,
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Not Syncednot expanding the vote beyond white men.
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Not SyncedBy the 1850s, about 55% of the adult population
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Not Syncedwas eligible to vote in the U.S.,
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Not Syncedmuch better than 6%,
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Not Syncedbut far from everybody.
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Not SyncedThen, in 1861,
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Not Syncedthe American Civil War began
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Not Syncedlargely over the issue of slavery
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Not Syncedand states' rights in the United States.
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Not SyncedWhen it was all over,
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Not Syncedthe U.S. ratified the 15th Amendment,
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Not Syncedwhich promised a person's right to vote
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Not Syncedcould not be denied
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Not Syncedbased on race, color, or previous condition as a slave.
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Not SyncedThis meant that black men,
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Not Syncednewly affirmed as citizens of the U.S.,
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Not Syncedwould now be allowed to vote.
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Not SyncedOf course, laws are far from reality.
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Not SyncedDespite the promise of the 15th Amendment,
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Not Syncedintimidation kept the African-Americans
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Not Syncedfrom exercising their voting rights.
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Not SyncedStates passed laws that limited
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Not Syncedthe rights of African-Americans to vote,
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Not Syncedincluding things like literacy tests,
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Not Syncedwhich were rigged
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Not Syncedso that not even literate African-Americans
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Not Syncedwere allowed to pass,
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Not Syncedand poll taxes.
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Not SyncedSo, despite the 15th Amendment,
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Not Syncedby 1892, only about 6% of black men
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Not Syncedin Mississippi were registered to vote.
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Not SyncedBy 1960, it was only 1%.
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Not SyncedAnd, of course, women were still totally out
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Not Syncedof the national voting picture.
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Not SyncedIt wasn't until 1920
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Not Syncedthat the women suffrage movement
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Not Syncedwon their 30-year battle,
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Not Syncedand the 19th Amendment finally gave women the vote,
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Not Syncedwell, white women.
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Not SyncedThe restrictions on African-Americans,
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Not Syncedincluding African-American women,
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Not Syncedremained.
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Not SyncedAfter World War II,
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Not Syncedmany Americans began to question
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Not Syncedthe state of U.S. democracy.
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Not SyncedHow could a nation that fought
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Not Syncedfor freedom and human rights abroad
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Not Syncedcome home and deny suffrage based on race?
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Not SyncedThe modern civil rights movement
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Not Syncedbegan in the 1940s with those questions in mind.
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Not SyncedAfter years of sacrifice,
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Not Syncedbloodshed,
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Not Syncedand pain,
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Not Syncedthe United States passed
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Not Syncedthe Voting Rights Act of 1965,
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Not Syncedfinally eliminating restrictions
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Not Syncedsuch as literacy tests
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Not Syncedand protecting the voting rights
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Not Syncedpromised under the 15th Amendment to the Constitution.
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Not SyncedNow, any citizen over the age of 21 could vote.
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Not SyncedAll seemed well
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Not Synceduntil the United States went to war.
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Not SyncedWhen the Vietnam War called up all men
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Not Syncedage 18 and over for the draft,
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Not Syncedmany wondered if it was fair
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Not Syncedto send men who couldn't vote to war.
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Not SyncedIn 1971, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution
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Not Syncedmade all citizens 18 and older
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Not Syncedeligible to vote,
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Not Syncedthe last major expansion of voting rights
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Not Syncedin the United States.
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Not SyncedToday, the pool of eligible voters in the U.S.
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Not Syncedis far broader and more inclusive
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Not Syncedthan ever before in U.S. history.
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Not SyncedBut, of course, it's not perfect.
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Not SyncedThere are still active efforts
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Not Syncedto suppress some groups from voting,
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Not Syncedand only about 60% of those who can vote do.
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Not SyncedNow that you know all the hard work
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Not Syncedthat went into securing the right to vote,
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Not Syncedwhat do you think?
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Not SyncedDo enough citizens have the right to vote now?
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Not SyncedAnd among those who can vote,
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Not Syncedwhy don't more of them do it?
- Title:
- The fight for the right to vote in the United States - Nicki Beaman Griffin
- Speaker:
- Nicki Beaman Griffin
- Description:
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View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-fight-for-the-right-to-vote-in-the-united-states-nicki-beaman-griffin
In the United States today, if you are over eighteen, a citizen, and the resident of a state, you can vote (with some exceptions). So, how have voting rights changed since the first election in 1789? Nicki Beaman Griffin outlines the history of the long fight for a more inclusive electorate.
Lesson by Nicki Beaman Griffin, animation by Flaming Medusa Studios.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TED-Ed
- Duration:
- 04:31
TED edited English subtitles for The fight for the right to vote in the United States | ||
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Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The fight for the right to vote in the United States | ||
Jessica Ruby edited English subtitles for The fight for the right to vote in the United States | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for The fight for the right to vote in the United States | ||
Andrea McDonough edited English subtitles for The fight for the right to vote in the United States |