LibGuides: Civic Engagement and Voting: Voting Rights

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Century of Struggle by Eleanor Flexner; Ellen Fitzpatrick
ISBN: 0674106539
Publication Date: 1996-03-01
Century of Struggle tells the story of one of the great social movements in American history. The struggle for women's voting rights was one of the longest, most successful, and in some respects most radical challenges ever posed to the American system of electoral politics.
Bending Toward Justice by Gary May
ISBN: 9780465018468
Publication Date: 2013-04-09
When the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 granted African Americans the right to vote, it seemed as if a new era of political equality was at hand. Before long, however, white segregationists across the South counterattacked, driving their black countrymen from the polls through a combination of sheer terror and insidious devices such as complex literacy tests and expensive poll taxes. Most African Americans would remain voiceless for nearly a century more, citizens in name only until the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act secured their access to the ballot. In Bending Toward Justice, celebrated historian Gary May describes how black voters overcame centuries of bigotry to secure and preserve one of their most important rights as American citizens. The struggle that culminated in the passage of the Voting Rights Act was long and torturous, and only succeeded because of the courageous work of local freedom fighters and national civil rights leaders--as well as, ironically, the opposition of Southern segregationists and law enforcement officials, who won public sympathy for the voting rights movement by brutally attacking peaceful demonstrators. But while the Voting Rights Act represented an unqualified victory over such forces of hate, May explains that its achievements remain in jeopardy. Many argue that the 2008 election of President Barack Obama rendered the act obsolete, yet recent years have seen renewed efforts to curb voting rights and deny minorities the act's hard-won protections. Legal challenges to key sections of the act may soon lead the Supreme Court to declare those protections unconstitutional. A vivid, fast-paced history of this landmark piece of civil rights legislation, Bending Toward Justice offers a dramatic, timely account of the struggle that finally won African Americans the ballot--although, as May shows, the fight for voting rights is by no means over.
Citizens in the Present by Maria de los Angeles Torres; Norma Del Rio; Irene Rizzini
ISBN: 9780252094910
Publication Date: 2013-01-01
Although media coverage often portrays young people in urban areas as politically apathetic or disruptive, this book provides an antidote to such views through narratives of dedicated youth civic engagement and leadership in Chicago, Mexico City, and Rio de Janeiro. This innovative comparative study provides nuanced accounts of the personal experiences of young people who care deeply about their communities and are actively engaged in a variety of public issues. Drawing from extensive interviews and personal narratives from the young activists themselves, Citizens in the Present presents a vibrant portrait of a new, politically involved generation.
Sacred Assemblies and Civic Engagement by Fred Lamar Kniss; Paul David Numrich; Paul D. Numrich; Fred Kniss
ISBN: 0813543053
Publication Date: 2007-07-11
Immigration to the United States has been a major source of population growth and cultural change throughout much of America's history. Currently, about 40 percent of the nation's annual population growth comes from the influx of foreign-born individuals and their children. As these new voices enter America's public conversations, they bring with them a new understanding of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity to a society that has been marked by religious variety. Sacred Assemblies and Civic Engagement takes an in-depth look at one particular urban area--the Chicago metropolitan region--and examines how religion affects the civic engagement of the nation's newest residents. Chapters focus on important religious factors, including sectarianism, moral authority, and moral projects; on several areas of social life, including economics, education, marriage, and language, where religion impacts civic engagement; and on how notions of citizenship and community are influenced by sacred assemblies.
Practicing Democracy by Daniel Peart (Editor); Adam I. P. Smith (Editor)
ISBN: 9780813937717
Publication Date: 2015-07-07
In Practicing Democracy, eleven historians challenge conventional narratives of democratization in the early United States, offering new perspectives on the period between the ratification of the Constitution and the outbreak of the Civil War. The essays in this collection address critical themes such as the origins, evolution, and disintegration of party competition, the relationship between political parties and popular participation, and the place that parties occupied within the wider world of United States politics. In recent years, historians of the early republic have demolished old assumptions about low rates of political participation and shallow popular partisanship in the age of Jefferson--raising the question of how, if at all, Jacksonian politics departed from earlier norms. This book reaffirms the significance of a transition in political practices during the 1820s and 1830s but casts the transformation in a new light. Whereas the traditional narrative is one of a party-driven democratic awakening, the contributors to this volume challenge the correlation of party with democracy. They both critique constricting definitions of legitimate democratic practices in the decades following the ratification of the Constitution and emphasize the proliferation of competing public voices in the buildup to the Civil War. Taken together, these essays offer a new way of thinking about American politics across the traditional dividing line of 1828 and suggest a novel approach to the long-standing question of what it meant to be part of "We the People." Contributors:Tyler Anbinder, George Washington University · Douglas Bradburn, Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon · John L. Brooke, The Ohio State University · Andrew Heath, University of Sheffield · Reeve Huston, Duke University · Johann N. Neem, Western Washington University · Kenneth Owen, University of Illinois, Springfield · Graham A. Peck, Saint Xavier University · Andrew W. Robertson, Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Lehman College, CUNY
The Right to Vote by Alexander Keyssar
ISBN: 0465005020
Publication Date: 2009-06-30
Originally published in 2000, The Right to Vote was widely hailed as a magisterial account of the evolution of suffrage from the American Revolution to the end of the twentieth century. In this revised and updated edition, Keyssar carries the story forward, from the disputed presidential contest of 2000 through the 2008 campaign and the election of Barack Obama. The Right to Vote is a sweeping reinterpretation of American political history as well as a meditation on the meaning of democracy in contemporary American life.

Perfect 36- When Women Won the Vote
Of all the battles waged on Nashville's doorstep, the final throes for the passage of the 19th Amendment were among the most heated, controversial and colorful. In July of 1920, all eyes were on the Tennessee capital as anti- and pro-suffragists each fought for their vision of a socially evolving United States.

PERFECT 36: WHEN WOMEN WON THE VOTE chronicles the dramatic vote to ratify this amendment, and the years of debate about women's suffrage that preceded it.

Related Guides

Your Rights as a Voter

There are clear laws and guidelines outlining what is and is not allowed surrounding an election in order to protect the right to vote. Notable rights include:

To vote without being intimidated, threatened or coerced.
To a sample ballot which is accurate, informative and delivered in a timely manner.
To have nondiscriminatory equal access to the election system, including, without limitation, a voter who is elderly, disabled, a member of a minority group, employed by the military or a citizen who is overseas.

For more information and an exhaustive list of voting rights visit The US Department of Justice Voting Rights website

Photo by Tom Barrett on Unsplash

Voting rights throughout history

Voting rights have not been guaranteed for all throughout the history of the United States. From the inception of our country until the 1970s, the majority of people living in the United States had to fight for their voices to be heard. When the Constitution granted the right to vote, only white, generally wealthy, landowning men, equaling less than 6% of the population, were allowed voting rights. Over 100 years later in 1920, white women were given the right to vote, and it wasn't until 1965 that all people were able to vote, regardless of their race, ethnicity, education, or economic status.

Even today, marginalized communities continue to battle against voter suppression in the fight for equality due to redlining and gerrymandering. Voting gives you the power to choose your leaders and engage with the issues you care about; something we should never take for granted.

Interview with Congressman John Lewis - To hear more about the fight for voting equality, check out this interview with former Congressman John Lewis as he recalls the iconic march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.

"Understanding Voting Rights" - from rockthevote.org explains why the right to vote is important and why it is important to protect voting rights.

Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, 1946. Library of Congress

Why you should vote

Why Vote?

Choose your representation

Advocate for what is important to you

Make your voice heard

Every vote counts

Voting is one of the most direct ways we can contribute our voice and perspective to how we want the world around us to run. It is a way to have a say in how we collectively spend our money on community services like education and solutions to challenges like homelessness. By voting we have a direct impact on what our society looks like and who represents us. The leadership in our country at local and federal levels is not representative of the population of the United States, and voting is one way to broaden whose interests are represented in government.

"Reasons Why You Should Vote as a College Student" - from Thoughtco.com lists a variety of reasons college students should vote including the fact that voting allows college students to voice their opinion on matters important to them.

"9 Reasons We Need Young Voters More Than Ever" - from thebestcolleges.org gives nine reasons why young people need to vote.

Civic Engagement and Voting: Voting Rights

Voting Rights

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Related Guides

Your Rights as a Voter

Voting rights throughout history

Why you should vote

Why Vote?

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