Content Objectives
My scholars will specifically identify and make a connection to what democracy, inequality and voting means to them as it relates to their city, state and national governments. They will understand how all three of these concepts intertwine and how they are affected by them. The main goal will be to get them to understand what these concepts are and for them to make personal connections. They will do this with the assistance of their families as we research and discover the ideologies surrounding democracy, inequality and voting.
This unit will allow us the opportunity to look at democracies and the different types of governments in other countries as well. We will compare and contrast how democracies look across the world. Understanding the various types of governments will allow my scholars to have a better understanding of how countries are different in their processes. They will learn firsthand that not every country has a democratic society where people have the right to vote and choose. My scholars will discover that the way we view and understand democracy varies here in the United States too! Especially as it relates to a myriad of ethnic groups and people.
Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education.” Educating our youth about democracy is crucial. This unit is crucial in teaching and learning about democracy because our students need to know that they have a choice. We have to educate them on these processes. They need to understand how to choose wisely and freely. Our students will not be successful in this process unless they are educated and prepared for it. Proper preparation prevents poor performance. If students are prepared to identify issues and then solve them, they will be better prepared in life for the real world and the societies that we live in. It is our job to teach them how to be world changers through the democratic process.
According to National Geographic, “The ancient Greeks were the first to create a democracy. The word “democracy” comes from two Greek words that mean people (demos) and rule (kratos). Democracy is the idea that the citizens of a country should take an active role in the government of their country and manage it directly or through elected representatives.” Mirian Webster dictionary defines democracy as: “Democracy is government of the people; or rule of the majority.”
To begin to identify the process, we must take a look at who is the majority? Who are the people that truly run our country? These are just two questions to ponder upon based on the definition of democracy. In Larry Bartel’s book “Unequal Democracy” he makes a reference to a question that Dahl poses in his book “On Democracy” that asked: “In a political system where nearly every adult may vote but where knowledge, wealth, social position, access to officials, and other resources are unequally distributed, who actually governs?” 1 During our seminar, we had discussions and concerns about who the majority is and who are the people that control our country. Our democracy has raised many concerns due to the fact that it is the elite and wealthy people that control our country. They have the money. Money equates to power. You have to have money to run as a politician. This realistically leaves all of the power to the people with money. This is one of the downfalls of our democracy. It isn’t fair because the people in control really aren’t the majority, they just have the money to rule. In addition to this, voter suppression occurs in a country where we are all supposed to be free and have the right to vote. If and when people do vote, do they know what they are really voting for? Voters oftentimes are voting uninformed. This is to the advantage of the elite. In addition to those people who do not vote because they don’t feel that their vote will matter. Another reason that our democracy is questionable is because we have a two-party system. We discussed two party systems during our seminar and came to the conclusion that it doesn’t give our country many choices when it comes to voting. The same people remain in power due to corruption, voter suppression and other tactics that aren’t published for the regular citizen to be aware of.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, “Voter suppression is an unfortunate but consistent feature of the U.S. political system. Limitations on the right to vote were codified in the June 2013 case of Shelby County v. Holder, in which the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the 1965 Voting Rights Act. This decision no longer required states and localities with a history of suppressing voting rights to submit changes in their election laws to the U.S. Justice Department for review. Since this ruling, 25 states have created new obstacles to vote.” This has created division. “Since its founding, the United States has systematically disenfranchised African American citizens. This painful legacy has continued in the wake of the 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder that allows all states, including those with a history of white supremacy and voter suppression, to manipulate their voting procedures without federal oversight. Since then, lawmakers in states across the country have expanded efforts to suppress African American voters. The poll taxes and literacy tests of the Jim Crow era have morphed into discriminatory poll closures and strict voter ID requirements. The 2018 Supreme Court decision in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute compounded these problems by giving all states the green light to purge registered voters from their rolls.” 2
Voter suppression dates back to over two centuries ago. As time has moved on, rights have been given, however, the challenges many have to face just to cast their ballot to vote still exist. Within the last 20 years, we have seen it resurface and with a vengeance in states such as Georgia. In Georgia there is a law that was signed within the last year that reduced the number of voting ballot boxes, shrunk the window for early voting, added additional identification requirements, allow the state officials to go around the county election officials and made it illegal for any outside groups to give food or water to the people that are coming to vote who may be stuck in long lines. This goes back to the old mentality that we have seen that says, if we can’t win fair and square, we will simply suppress the vote. This has created additional tension between the constituents and the local and state governments. Georgia state Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler said, “We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we’ve seen since the Jim Crow era.” Georgia is not the only state that has assaulted our democracy in this way. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, “As of March 24, legislators have introduced 361 bills with restrictive provisions in 47 states.” This shows the level of aggressiveness and vengeance that state governments are operating at. It is a way for them to try and control who actually votes in the elections. Some state governments have seen an increase in participation in the election process in many states such as Georgia so they create systems to slow down the process and momentum. “The United States is supposed to be a bastion of political freedom and democratic participation. Indeed, our foreign policy explicitly claims to advance these values abroad. But if we are suppressing the vote at home, what does that say about the values we supposedly hold? Fifty-six years after passing the Voting Rights Act to counter the systemic oppression encoded into law through the Jim Crow regime, we find ourselves right back in the fight to ensure that every American has the opportunity to help direct the future of the nation.” 3
“Our nation’s “founding fathers” wrote about a fair and just democracy for all, but this ideal was not realized in the early stages of the American experiment. Only land-owning white men were able to vote. As time passed, laws were modified to allow states to make their own election rules, allowing less privileged people like farmers and commoners the ability to vote, but it did not extend voting rights to all. In 1776, New Jersey gave voting rights to all who lived in the state, but then quickly passed a law to disenfranchise all women and Black men. Native Americans, African Americans, women, and immigrants were barred from voting, and places like Maryland also banned Jewish people from voting.” 4 The 15th amendment of the constitution guaranteed people the right to vote but it also gave states the right and power to make changes as they saw fit. This gave states the power to overturn decisions, etc. that would affect the outcome of the election. “Shortly after the Civil War, Mississippi’s Democrats were appalled when two Black men became members of the Senate. They then initiated a campaign of intimidation at the polls that succeeded in restoring white Democrats to power in Mississippi by 1881. Mississippi became one of the first states to put forth a “grandfather clause” that permitted registering anyone whose grandfather was qualified to vote before the Civil War. This voter-suppression tactic cut thej percentage of Black men eligible to vote from over 90% to less than 6% in 1892. Women still could not vote. Many other states implemented such tactics as poll taxes, literacy tests, and English-language requirements to deliberately reduce voting among African Americans, immigrants, and low-income populations. These tactics became known as Jim Crow Laws. Efforts like the one in Mississippi and other southern states lasted for almost a century.” 5 This led to a substantial decrease in voter participation. This was clearly a way for them to control the vote yet once again. How does Black men eligible to vote decrease from 90 percent to only 6 percent? Clearly, these were aggressive moves. The voter suppression tactics were just as aggressive during the onset of voting as they are today in states such as Georgia.
As we can see there are some components of our democracy that are deemed not fair. How can we change this? What can citizens do? “It is time to stop the real steal. We need new federal legislation that will defend voting rights against the encroachment of unscrupulous lawmakers. And we also need the Supreme Court to do its job in vindicating minority rights against the tyranny of white supremacy and systemic racism.” 6 Legislation is definitely needed to defend everyone’s voting rights. Another way to change this is to vote. Despite popular belief, our voices can be heard through voting. This is why they are trying to suppress the voting rights in Georgia. When the majority began to see there was a shift in the number of minorities, specifically African Americans coming out to vote, they began to try to enforce laws to discourage them from coming to the polling places.
Although voter suppression still exists, it is a right, privilege and responsibility of every citizen who is at least 18 years old in the United States. Generally speaking, voter turnout in the United States is very low in comparison to countries such as Australia where the voter turnout is much higher because they are mandated to vote. Dr. Ian Shapiro mentions this in Dahl’s book, “On Democracy”. When we look at the history of voting, voter suppression was a concern from the onset of elections. Many were not able to vote. Only white males that were 21 years of age or older were allowed to vote. “Women were afforded the right to vote by the 19th amendment to the Constitution in 1920. In practice, though, only white women were able to take advantage of this provision. The 1950s and 60s were a time of civil unrest in the U.S. as the civil rights, anti-war, and feminist movements gained prominence. As the civil rights movement grew, activists sought equality for African Americans, and voting rights were a major focus. Many states used poll taxes to keep marginalized people from voting. Others enacted grandfather clauses that reinstated the right to vote for many white people who had previously been allowed to vote but were disallowed because they could not pay poll taxes. The 24th Amendment outlawed poll taxes, but while the amendment extended the right to vote to many African Americans, it was not enough.” 7 This is when activists such Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks organized peaceful protests and marches. These marches took place from Selma Alabama to Montgomery Alabama in March of 1965. During these marches against the social injustices at that time, the people marching for what was right were attacked by the police. Some of the people marching were beaten by the police so bad that they bled. The treatment was cruel and truly an injustice. They marched during a time when Black Americans were not treated in high regard.
After this, the Voting Rights Act was signed by former President Lyndon B. Johnson. This signed law banned voter suppression. It also gave the Federal government the right to step in and oversee states that have had a known history of voter suppression. Native Americans, Black women and immigrants were granted the right to vote with this act being signed by former President Johnson.
Some thought by this act being signed into law, that it would end voter suppression. There was still some voter suppression but after the Voting Rights Act was passed and signed, this encouraged others to stand up for their voting rights. Men drafted to the Vietnam War felt that they should have the right to vote. The 26th Amendment granted anyone over the age of 18 the right to vote. Many changes occurred as the result of the Voting Rights Act being signed into law. The diversity of our country continued to grow, so Congress protected those members of language minority groups by providing the voting materials in their native language. This was clearly the right thing to do. People that live here, pay taxes and are citizens deserve the right to vote regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, etc.
With all of the historical context surrounding voter’s rights, it is imperative that we look at the time line on the history of the voting process. Scholastic provides a great timeline to teach and share information with students about the history of voting. This will be a huge piece to develop their understanding of the voting process and the significance of it to our history in understanding voter suppression. The history of voting is depicted in the timeline below.
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