Cast Your Vote

In 1789, Philadelphia was the largest and most important city in a brand-new nation. The thirteen colonies of Great Britain had just won a war. They had become a new country called the United States of America.
Every country needs a government. Leaders from all thirteen states met in Philadelphia to create one. This group, called the Congress, wrote a Constitution. It set forth the rules for the new government of the United States.
The United States is a republic. This means that the people vote for leaders who will represent them. Leaders speak up for your views on the issues and work to pass the laws you support. In 1789, very few countries allowed their citizens to vote. Even in the United States, only certain citizens could vote. The Constitution said that white men could vote if they were at least 21 years old. This was less than thirty percent of all Americans.
Over time, the laws changed. Americans fought a Civil War to free African American slaves. Soon after the war, the government passed new laws. African American men began voting in 1868.
Women had fought for the right to vote all along. Abigail Adams, later the First Lady of the country, urged her husband John to “remember the ladies” in the new code of laws. But Congress did not agree with this view. American women marched in parades and held protests, in an effort to change the law. In 1920, Congress finally changed the Constitution so that women could vote.
In 1924, Congress passed a law stating that American Indians were full citizens. This meant that they had the right to vote. Indians had been in North America much longer than any other group of people. However, they were among the last to be allowed to vote.
Many white people in the South did not want African Americans to vote. They charged a tax for voting, called a poll tax. Many African Americans were too poor to pay the poll tax, so they did not vote. In 1964, Congress declared that poll taxes were illegal. Thousands more African Americans could vote.
America was at war with Vietnam during the 1960s. Many teenagers protested against the war. Teenage boys were especially angry, because they could be forced to serve in the army. They argued that if they were old enough to be sent into battle, they were old enough to vote for the leaders who sent them. In 1971, the government lowered the voting age to 18. They agreed it was only fair that soldiers in the army should be able to vote.

From Person Success Net