When did 18-year-olds get the vote?
1971: 18-Year-olds get the vote: with the Vietnam war as a backdrop, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution towered the voting age from 21. MLA style: "1971: 18-Year-olds get the vote: with the Vietnam war as a backdrop, the 26th Amendment to the Constitution towered the voting age from 21.."
What was the voting age during WW2?
During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt lowered the minimum age for the military draft age to 18, at a time when the minimum voting age (as determined by the individual states) had historically been 21.
What is the 18th Amendment right to vote?
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
When was the voting age lowered to 18 in the US?
On March 10, 1971, the Senate voted unanimously in favor of a Constitutional amendment lowering the voting age to 18, followed by an overwhelming majority of the House voting in favor on March 23.
When did 18 year olds get the vote?
On July 1, 1971, our Nation ratified the 26th Amendment to the Constitution, lowering the voting age to 18.
What war made the voting age 18?
The drive to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 grew across the country during the 1960s, driven in part by the military draft held during the Vietnam War.
Who had the right to vote in the 18th century?
18th century Generally, states limited this right to property-owning or tax-paying white males (about 6% of the population). However, some states allowed also Black males to vote, and New Jersey also included unmarried and widowed women, regardless of color.
Could 18 year olds vote in 1972?
The exceptionally large number of new voters is the result of the Voting Rights Act Amendment of 1970 which lowered the voting age in National elections to 18 in all States after January 1, 1971. California and New York are expected to have the greatest number of potential new voters in 1972–more than 2 million each.
How did the Vietnam War lead to the 26th amendment?
In the turmoil surrounding the unpopular Vietnam War, lowering the national voting age became a controversial topic. Responding to arguments that those old enough to be drafted for military service, should be able to exercise the right to vote, Congress lowered the voting age as part of the Voting Rights Act of 1970.
Who could vote in 1789?
1789: The Constitution grants the states the power to set voting requirements. Generally, states limited this right to property-owning or tax-paying white males (about 6% of the population).
Who could vote in 1870?
The original U.S. Constitution did not define voting rights for citizens, and until 1870, only white men were allowed to vote. Two constitutional amendments changed that. The Fifteenth Amendment (ratified in 1870) extended voting rights to men of all races.
What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 do?
This act was signed into law on August 6, 1965, by President Lyndon Johnson. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War, including literacy tests as a prerequisite to voting.
What amendment lowered the voting age?
The 26 Amendment lowered the legal voting age in the United States from 21 to 18. The long debate over lowering the voting age began during World War II and intensified during the Vietnam War, when young men denied the right to vote were being conscripted to fight for their country. In the 1970 case Oregon v. Mitchell, a divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the right to regulate the minimum age in federal elections, but not at the state and local level. Amid increasing support for a Constitutional amendment, Congress passed the 26th Amendment in March 1971. The states promptly ratified it, and President Richard M. Nixon signed it into law that July.
What was the turnout for the 26th amendment?
Over the next decades, the legacy of the 26th Amendment was a mixed one: After a 55.4 percent turnout in 1972, youth turnout steadily declined, reaching 36 percent in the 1988 presidential election.
How long did it take for the 26th amendment to be ratified?
After an overwhelming House vote in favor on March 23, the 26th Amendment went to the states for ratification. In just over two months –the shortest period of time for any amendment in U.S. history–the necessary three-fourths of state legislatures (or 38 states) ratified the 26th Amendment.
What is the meaning of Amendment XXVI?
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Which amendment lowered the voting age in the United States?
Contents. The 26 Amendment lowered the legal voting age in the United States from 21 to 18. The long debate over lowering the voting age began during World War II and intensified during the Vietnam War, when young men denied the right to vote were being conscripted to fight for their country. In the 1970 case Oregon v.
What was Randolph's driving force?
The driving force behind Randolph’s efforts was his faith in America’s youth, of whom he believed: “They possess a great social conscience, are perplexed by the injustices in the world and are anxious to rectify those ills.”. READ MORE: How the Vietnam War Draft Spurred the Fight for Lowering the Legal Voting Age.
Why did the 1960s have marches?
In the late 1960s, with the United States embroiled in a long, costly war in Vietnam, youth voting rights activists held marches and demonstrations to draw lawmakers’ attention to the hypocrisy of drafting young men who lacked the right to vote.
What did Randolph do to lower the age to 18?
Then-Senator Randolph and other politicians continued to push legislation to lower the age to 18, including passing an amendment into 1965’s Voting Rights Act in 1970 that applied lowering the age to federal, state, and local elections.
What amendment lowered the voting age to 18?
The 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18, has roots in WWII history. October 28, 2020. “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.”.
What degree did Gemma Birnbaum have?
Gemma Birnbaum holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in the History of Modern War and Genocide from New York University, and a Master’s Degree in the History of Twentieth Century Labor & Industrialization from Tulane University.
What was the minimum age to be drafted in 1942?
On November 11, 1942, Congress approved lowering the minimum draft age to 18 and raising the maximum to 37.
Why did 50 percent of draft applicants get rejected?
Less than a year into US involvement in World War II, President Roosevelt and his administration faced a dilemma: of the 20 million eligible men who registered for the draft, 50 percent were rejected either for health reasons or because they were deemed illiterate.
When did the voting age go down?
The states swiftly ratified the amendment, and it took effect on July 1, 1971, nearly 30 years after Senator Randolph first proposed lowering ...
What was the Bund organization?
Before World War II, the German-American Bund was one of the most successful pro-Nazi organizations in the United States. On February 20, 1939, American Nazis gathered at Madison Square Garden for a mass rally for “true Americanism.”. Article Type. Article.
How many people were inducted into the Vietnam War in 1965?
In 1965, 130,991 young men were inducted in the military service; a year later, the number ballooned to 382,010. Many of them were ages 18-20, and thus legally prohibited from voting. But while the issue burned hotter in the Vietnam era and ultimately led to change, the battle to lower the legal voting age was hardly new.
What amendment guarantees the right to vote?
The 26th Amendment , ensuring the "right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age," passed the Senate 94-0 on March 10 and, 13 days later, the House of Representatives 401-19.
How many troops did Johnson send to the army?
Troop buildup grew steadily, and on July 28, Johnson ordered the number of ground forces to increase to 125,000 and doubled the number drafted into the military, from 17,000 a month to 35,000. As more and more young American men were drafted to fight, a new single, "Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire, hit the airwaves ...
When did Nixon sign the Voting Rights Act?
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images. On June 22, 1970 , Nixon signed the Voting Rights Act of 1970, which extended the 1965 Voting Rights Act and included a provision that lowered the voting age. Its constitutionality was quickly challenged, and in Oregon v.
When did the 18 year old vote?
President Nixon affixing his signature to signify that he was witness to the certification of ratification of the 26th amendment which gives 18-year-olds the right to vote, on July 5, 1971.
When did the voting age change?
In 1968, Johnson asked Congress to move on the voting age, saying it would be "a national affirmation of faith in our youth.". States began passing laws and amending their constitutions to change the voting age. Quickly, it became a question of not if but how the voting age would be lowered—through Congress, or the Constitution.
When did the voting age start to be lowered?
The first push to lower the voting age came during World War II. The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 set the draft age range at 21-35, but in June 1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt lowered that to 18.
Section 1
The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.
Section 2
The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
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What was the Voting Rights Act of 1970?
Designed to ensure the continued enfranchisement of African Americans, the Voting Rights Act of 1970 had enacted the enfranchisement of 18, 19, and 20-year-olds at the national level. Yet the Oregon decision set up an untenable situation.
How many African Americans regained voting rights in 1965?
Although the 1965 Act had enabled an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 African Americans in the South to regain their voting rights, more still needed to be done. The 1970 Act provided a five-year extension and new coverage of jurisdictions outside the South, a national ban on literacy tests, and—most controversially—the 18-year-old vote. ...
What was the ruling in Oregon v. Mitchell?
Most immediately, in late December 1970, the Supreme Court announced its ruling in the case of Oregon v. Mitchell, a judicial test of the Voting Rights Act of 1970. This new Act had extended and amended the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965. Although the 1965 Act had enabled an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 African Americans in ...
What was the 26th amendment?
By July 1, 1971, the 26 th Amendment was the law of the land . Propelled by a youth franchise movement and pursued through coalition politics, Congress took action 50 years ago to achieve the 18-year-old vote. Proponents sought to make American democracy more inclusive and responsive to the voices of young citizens.
What was at stake in the Oregon case?
At stake was the relationship between states’ rights and federal power, an issue that originated with the nation’s founding. The plaintiffs in the case, with the state of Oregon in the lead, argued they had the right to determine the minimum age for voting in their states, not Congress.
Why did young people vote?
Young Americans had the maturity and education to vote. Their participation would strengthen democracy and government in the United States. Most fundamentally, they fulfilled the responsibilities of citizenship, especially through military service, and thus deserved the rights.
When was the 26th amendment passed?
Lewis Voting Rights Act . Exactly fifty years ago, in March 1971 , federal lawmakers did the same, when they debated and overwhelmingly passed what would become the 26 th Amendment.
The 26th Amendment: “Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote”
Presidential & Congressional Support For The 26th Amendment
- Dwight D. Eisenhower, who led the U.S. armed forces to victory in Europe in 1945, later became the first president to publicly voice his support for a constitutional amendment lowering the minimum voting age. In his 1954 State of the Union address, Eisenhower declared: “For years our citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 have, in time of peril, been summoned to fight for Ameri…
Supreme Court Decision on The 26th Amendment
- In the 1970 case Oregon v. Mitchell, the U.S. Supreme Court was tasked with reviewing the constitutionality of the provision. Justice Hugo Black wrote the majority decision in the case, which held that Congress did not have the right to regulate the minimum age in State and local elections, but only in federal elections. The issue left the Court seriously divided: Four justices, n…
Passage, Ratification and Effects of The 26th Amendment
- On March 10, 1971, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously in favor of the proposed amendment. After an overwhelming House vote in favor on March 23, the 26th Amendment went to the states for ratification. In just over two months–the shortest period of time for any amendment in U.S. history–the necessary three-fourths of state legislatures (or 38 states) ratified the 26th Amend…
Text of The 26 Amendment
- Amendment XXVI Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age. Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.