Voting has changed a bit. Let's examine how voting in the United States has evolved over the years. Who knows, it might just help you on your next exam!!!

1789: White Male Landowners
Welcome to the Founding Father Franchise! If you’re a white male who owns property, congratulations! You can now participate in the noble art of voting. If you’re poor, female, enslaved, or indigenous, or a child? Tough luck. Go plough a field or sew a flag or peel potatoes - democracy’s got no time for you.
1820s–1830s: White Men Without Land
Andrew Jackson rides in, chewing tobacco and championing the “common man” (as long as he’s still white and male). Landownership is no longer a requirement - hooray for poor white dudes! The catch? Indigenous people and everyone else are still sidelined. Democracy is expanding! But only slightly.
1869–1870: Black Men (Technically)
The 15th Amendment: Black men can vote! Except… not really. Enter Jim Crow laws, literacy tests, and poll taxes designed to keep them far, far away from polling places. The message? "Sure, you can vote, but we’re going to make it a like Sisyphus pushing that pebble up the hill."
Sisyphus could really do with some gloves.
1920: Women Join the Party
After decades of protests, suffragettes secure the 19th Amendment. Women finally get the right to vote! Well, white women, mostly. Many women of colour face the same barriers as Black men. Still, it’s progress, right?
1924: Native Americans Gain Citizenship
The Indian Citizenship Act: Native Americans are granted U.S. citizenship, meaning they can now vote! Except states can still deny them... because why make things simple when you can have a patchwork of discriminatory rules instead?
1964: Goodbye, Poll Taxes!
The 24th Amendment abolishes poll taxes, a sneaky tool used to keep poor people (especially Black citizens) from voting. The price of democracy is no longer a literal coin purse.
1965: Voting Rights Act
Lyndon B. Johnson says, “Enough of this nonsense.” The Voting Rights Act outlaws literacy tests and other discriminatory practices. For the first time, barriers to voting are legally bulldozed for Black Americans and other minorities. The South throws a tantrum.
1971: 18-Year-Olds Get the Vote
The 26th Amendment: If you’re old enough to be drafted for Vietnam, you’re old enough to vote. America realises that maybe sending teenagers to war while denying them a say in government is a terrible look.
Moral of the Timeline:The history of voting in the U.S. is less “land of the free” and more “land of the ever-moving goalposts.” But hey, at least we’ve moved past the days when only powdered-wig-wearing landowners could cast a ballot. Sort of.
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