Who was failed the most by the Constitution?
Women?
Though the Constitution originally made no mention of a woman's right to vote, it was understood by society that women simply did not have the right. After the Civil War, the 14th Amendment actually made things worse, by making it official that the right to vote, suffrage, belonged to men only. The 14th Amendment did this by punishing the denial of suffrage to men (though it did not officially deny women the right). As early as 1848, groups met to discuss how to increase women's rights. These groups decided to focus on voting rights. But America was not ready, and the suffragists, as they were called, encountered great difficulty.
Famous women's rights leaders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton tried to make a stand after the Civil War, to have the language of the 14th Amendment include women, though the issue was thought too volatile by most, and passage of the Amendment was thought to be in grave jeopardy if such a provision were included. Anthony later used the 15th Amendment, which said that people could not be prevented from voting because of their race, as rationale for voting in a New York election, and though she was tried and fined for voting, the ordeal proved to be the start of a movement that won voting rights for women. By 1918, about half the states had granted women full or partial voting rights. Even President Woodrow Wilson, who had been staunchly opposed to a federal suffrage amendment, eventually changed his mind. On June 4, 1919, the 19th Amendment was passed by Congress, and it was ratified on August 18, 1920.
Native Americans?
In the 18th century, starting when the Constitution was created, there was a struggle to define what the Indian tribes’ relationship was with the United States. Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution states that Indians are not under the control of the United States, and therefore can’t be taxed. The Constitution also stated that Congress has the power to “regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among several states, and with Indian tribes” as stated in Article I, Section 8. This means that the leaders of the United States at that time viewed Indians as somewhere in between foreign nations and American citizens.
When the 14th Amendment and the first civil rights act were passed in 1866 regarding the role of African-Americans in the United States, citizenship of Indians was defined as well. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 states, “That all persons born in the United States, and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, are hereby declared to be citizens of the United States". The country at this time was not necessarily ready for Indians to become citizens. Senator Jacob Howard of Michigan commented, “I am not yet prepared to pass a sweeping act of naturalization by which all the Indian savages, wild or tame, belonging to a tribal relation, are to become my fellow-citizens and go to the polls and vote with me… (Congressional Globe 1866, 2895)". This sentiment is also shown through a Senate floor debate regarding the Fourteenth Amendment where Senator James Doolittle of Wisconsin stated, “…all those wild Indians to be citizens of the United States, the Great Republic of the world, whose citizenship should be a title as proud as that of king, and whose danger is that you may degrade that citizenship (Congressional Globe 1866, 2892).” (McCool 3) One of his other concerns was that because of the substantial number of Indians at the time, their numbers would be able to overwhelm the power of the white vote. As Doolittle argued, “there is a large mass of the Indian population who are clearly subject to the jurisdiction of the United States who ought not to be included as citizens of the United States…the word “citizen,” if applied to them, would bring in all the Digger Indians of California”.
Slaves? (Read “Challenges Over Slaver” on pages 246-247 of American History)
The Less Wealthy? (Read “US Voting Rights” timeline below for some ideas)
U.S. Voting Rights Timeline
When the Constitution was written, only white male property owners (about 10 to 16 percent of the nation's population) had the vote. Over the past two centuries, though, the term "government by the people" has become a reality. During the early 1800s, states gradually dropped property requirements for voting. Later, groups that had been excluded previously gained the right to vote. Other reforms made the process fairer and easier.
1790 Only white male adult property-owners have the right to vote.
1810 The last religious requirement for voting is eliminated; people are not prevented from voting because of religion.
1850 Property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850. Almost all adult white males, not just the wealthy, could vote.
1855 Connecticut adopts the nation's first literacy test for voting. Massachusetts follows suit in 1857. The tests were used to prevent immigrants, who were less likely to be able to read, from voting.
1870 The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race.
1889 Florida adopts a poll tax. Ten other southern states will implement poll taxes. This was intended to prevent poor people, especially African Americans, from voting.
1890 Mississippi adopts a literacy test to keep African Americans from voting. Numerous other states—not just in the South—also establish literacy tests. However, the tests also exclude many whites from voting. To get around this, states add grandfather clauses that allow those who could vote before 1870, or their descendants, to vote regardless of literacy or tax qualifications.
1913 The 17th Amendment calls for members of the U.S. Senate to be elected directly by the people instead of State Legislatures.
1915 Oklahoma was the last state to change a grandfather clause to its literacy requirement (1910). In Guinn v. United States the Supreme Court rules that the clause is in conflict with the 15th Amendment, thereby outlawing literacy tests for federal elections.
1920 The 19th Amendment guarantees women's suffrage.
1924 Indian Citizenship Act grants all Native Americans the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote in federal elections.
1961 The 23rd Amendment allows voters of the District of Columbia to participate in presidential elections.
1964 The 24th Amendment bans the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.
1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mounts a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama, to draw national attention to African-American voting rights.
1965 The Voting Rights Act protects the rights of minority voters and eliminates voting barriers such as the literacy test. The Act is expanded and renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982.
1966 The Supreme Court, in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, eliminates the poll tax as a qualification for voting in any election. A poll tax was still in use in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia. à
1970 Literacy requirements are banned for five years by the 1970 renewal of the Voting Rights Act. At the time, eighteen states still have a literacy requirement in place. In Oregon v. Mitchell, the Court upholds the ban on literacy tests, which is made permanent in 1975. Judge Hugo Black, writing the court's opinion, cited the "long history of the discriminatory use of literacy tests to disenfranchise voters on account of their race" as the reason for their decision.
1971 The 26th amendment sets the minimum voting age at 18.
1972 In Dunn v. Blumstein, the Supreme Court declares that lengthy residency requirements for voting in state and local elections are unconstitutional and suggests that 30 days is an ample period.
70 comments:
I think that the people that were failed the most were both the native americans, and women. This is because their rights were both limited. The women didn't have the right to vote, and that was that. Also the native americans didn't have the right either, just because nobody wanted anything to do with them. and that just shows how bad this was for them. On the bright side in the 1920s the women got guaranteed suffrage, but the indians still had not voting rights until 1924. By looking at all the facts here, I determine that they both have somewhat equal unfairness.
(P.S. sorry if grammar is wrong, Microsoft word wasn't working D: )
I believe that women were most failed by the constitution, not just because they weren't granted certain rights, but because they weren't even mentioned. Some other groups who had their rights limited had it done outright, where as everyone just assumed that women wouldn't vote, wouldn't be included in the rights of men. They were completely left out. It is also adding insult to injury because of the fact that many women fought for the rights of Native Americans but were still given no new rights themselves. And the constitution may still be failing them today. It is a very common occurrence for a woman to be passed over for a job if she is going against a man, and statistics show that men still make 17% more every year on average. Women were never treated like equals, and it took the constitution way to long to give them the rights they deserved.
I think women were most failed by the Constitution. They were the last to get specific rights. When the constitution was written, there was no objection to women voting, and it did not say that they could not vote. According to www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/anthony/sbaaccount.html, Susan B. Anthony said, “The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected. To take away this right is to reduce man to a state of slavery; for slavery consists in being subject to the will of another; and he that has not a vote in the election of representatives is in this case....” and “Is anything further needed to prove woman's condition of servitude sufficiently orthodox to entitle her to the guaranties of the fifteenth amendment? Is there a man who will not agree with me, that to talk of freedom without the ballot, is mockery--is slavery--to the women of this Republic, precisely as New England's orator Wendell Phillips, at the close of the late war, declared it to be to the newly emancipated black men?” Her words show that even though she didn’t have the right to vote, she should. Women didn’t have the right to vote after slaves, and that is really unfair considering the attitude of the people around that time. They were willing to let slaves vote, which they really hated and had a war over, before having women vote. In fact, they didn’t even mention women in the Constitution. Also, women were the last to get voting rights, in 1920. Although Native Americans only got voting rights until 1924, they could have gotten them before that if they gave up tribal affiliations, according to www.iwantmyvote.com/recount/history/. This is why women were most failed by the Constitution.
In my opinion, I think women were most failed by the constitution. I think this because in the constitution, it didn’t even mention women’s right to vote. The constitution just completely ignored them, and just pushed them to the side. Besides, why was it even such a problem to come up with women’s suffrage in the first place? Was it just because people didn’t think that they were important? Obviously they weren’t equal to men at the time, so the chances of voting rights for women were slim. Also if you noticed in the timeline, you can see that women’s suffrage was guaranteed in the 1920’s. It took 130 years until women were guaranteed that they could vote! I also agree with Jessie when she said that “It is a very common occurrence for a woman to be passed over for a job if she is going against a man, and statistics show that men still make 17% more every year on average. Women were never treated like equals, and it took the constitution way to long to give them the rights they deserved.” I do think that men were more important or some how were in “greater power” than women were during that time. Even today I still think that women are still lesser then men are because, for example, of the high unemployment. Most likely giving men the higher chance to get employed then women. That is who I think was most failed by the constitution.
After reading the article I belive that women were most failed by the constituion because they didnt have the same rights as men. For example, women did not have the right to vote. I agree with Jessica G-S when she said" Women are compltetely left out. They wouldnt be included in the rights of men." another group that had their rights limited was native americans, no one wanted anything to do with them because of their past. In the 1920's women got suffrage but the indians didnt get it until 1924. It took women 130 years until they were aloud to vote.
A lot of people were failed by the Constitution in 1787, mostly because of voting rights. Only white males who owned property were allowed to vote. I think that women were failed the most because they didn't get the right to vote until 1919 when the 19th Amendment was passed. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were trying to give women the right to vote. The 15th Amendment stated that people could not be prevented from voting because of their race. Because of what Anthony and Stanton stood up for and believed in, voting rights for women were won. This reminds me of the time when I got a doller coin with Susan B. Anthony on it. this is why I think that women wre failed the most by the Constitution in 1787.
After reading the article I think women were failed the most. most of their rights were limited. Women could not vote, the only way you could vote is if you were a man and you owned land, had money, and you had to be over 21. Also women got the right to vote after African Americans did even though they were slaves. Women weren't even mentioned in the making of the constitution, every one else was. It took 130 years for women to be able to vote, which was totally unfair. If women were aloud to vote back then everything could have been different. Also if women were aloud to vote back then they could have run for president and made new laws and new changes in the states and in other countries.
I think that the group who was failed the most by the Constitution was the less wealthy. I believe that they were the last group of people to get a permanent guarantee to voting rights. The first people to vote, in 1790, were white males who owned property. Obviously, the less wealthy couldn’t afford property. In 1850, all white males could vote. But just 5 years later, in 1855, the first two states adopted literacy tests. The less wealthy might not have been able to afford to send their children to school, thus they were illiterate. But even if the less wealthy went to school, in 1889, eleven southern states adopted poll taxes. The less wealthy couldn’t afford poll taxes. All in all, the less wealthy didn’t fully get the right to vote until 1964.
I think that the the people that were failed most were the African Americans. I think this because women’s voting rights are only denied. African Americas were declared allowed to vote but it was made almost impossible. They were given all kinds of tests that were unpassible. It was like the African Americans were a joke to them. I agree with Andrew that women were also greatly failed but they were not treated as bad.
I believe that the women were failed most by the Constitution. I think this because when it was written, they weren’t even mentioned! Then when the Amendments were added, they still weren’t mentioned! What I mean is that women weren’t counted as anything. Now I know that slaves were also failed, but they got some type of voting rights, like if they were former slaves then they could vote. But women, nope! And the Africa Americans got the right to vote way before women did. Like Lauren said it took women 130 years to get the right to vote. It took this country over 100 years to realize that women and men are equal. Maybe back then it seemed like being a men was more important because all the women did was stay home and cook, clean and take care of the children, while the men worked. But if the women didn’t stay home and cook and clean, then where would the men be? So if you look underneath it women might have had a more important job. And even now men stay home and cook, clean and take care of the children. It really has switched! Women and men are all equal and it is kind of sad that it took us to see that.
I think women rights were most failed by the constitution because they weren’t able to vote. I agree with Liam. He said “A lot of people were failed by the Constitution in 1787, mostly because of voting rights. Only white males who owned property were allowed to vote. I think that women were failed the most because they didn't get the right to vote until 1919 when the 19th Amendment was passed. Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were trying to give women the right to vote. The 15th Amendment stated that people could not be prevented from voting because of their race. Because of what Anthony and Stanton stood up for and believed in, voting rights for women were won. This reminds me of the time when I got a dollar coin with Susan B. Anthony on it. this is why I think that women were failed the most by the Constitution in 1787.”
I think that women were failed most by our Constitution. Even though many were failed by the Constitution other than white men who owned property, everyone who has citizenship or is born in the U.S.A should have complete rights. In the original Constitution without amending it in 1919 for women's rights, men were the only people who could vote. So everyone other than white males had no right to vote. This shows that they were failed because this Constitution never mentioned women the right to vote and only males had their right to show their opinion on who should be in the office for their states and country. Another reason I think women were failed most was because it took females about 130 years to get their roght to vote. I think that is ridiculous because they are apart of our society and counry and should get evry right that every man gets. It took courageous and proud women like Susan B. Anothny and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to make a stand against the 14th and 15th amendments. And finally, in 1919 after over 120 years of suffrage, president Woodrow Wilson and Congress passed a law to allow women full right to vote. Even though people like Native Americans and Blacks went encountered great difficulty to have their right to vote, I believe women were failed most by the Constitution and had the hardest time getting full rights.
I believe that slaves were failed most by the Constitution as it was originally written in 1787. First of all, slavery wasn’t even abolished in the original Constitution until 1865. History.com said, “The U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in the United States. It read, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude...shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The Three-Fifths Compromise stated that only three-fifths of the slave population would be counted in the population. Furthermore, delegates agreed that Congress couldn’t ban the slave trade until 1808. The Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution are what involved "rights" of slaves (former slaves); however those 'rights' were not fully implemented until the (supposed) end of segregation in 1968. This all means that in the original constitution slaves were not thought of as equal. In 1870 the 15th Amendment is passed and gives former slaves the right to vote, however in 1889 eleven southern states implemented poll taxes and in 1890 Mississippi and many other states adopted literacy tests. This was intended to prevent poor and/or uneducated people, especially African Americans, from voting. Although these acts were not said to be discriminatory, they were directed at former slaves because, as you may guess, most slaves did not have the opportunity to go to school or make money so how would they be able to pay the voting tax or pass the literacy test? They wouldn’t be able to! This blog topic reminds me of the book I am reading now, Forge, by Laurie Halse Anderson (the sequel to Chains). The book is about a runaway slave’s journey for freedom during the late 1700s. He enlists himself in General George Washington’s militia as a free man but sooner or later his past comes back to haunt him and his master turns out to be one of his lieutenants. His fight for liberty and equality might be fictional, but during this time it was actuality for many slaves. Not only were slaves not given the rights they deserved from the Constitution, they were treated unfairly by the people around them and had to pass numerous obstacles what was standard treatment for white people would be standard for them too. This is why I think that slaves were failed most by the Constitution.
I think that many groups were failed by the origianal constitution but I think the group failed the most by the constitution was women. Women came to this country at the same time men did, they worked hard to make a home, and some women worked. They were just as much citizens as man were!
The constitution at first never said anything about women not being able to vote, but everyone just assumed that they weren't able to vote. They didn't even feel like they had to include women in the constitution to say their rights for voting, when women already had limited rights, compared to mens. Like Jessie said, it was just adding to the insult by not even including them in the constitution to say if they could vote or not! People felt that women were less than men as Lauren said, and it has taken our country a while to figure out that they are equal.
Finally after women decided to take a stand, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in particular, women were granted the right to vote or partial voting rights. Susan B. Anthony used proof from the fifteenth amendment to prove that women should have the right to vote. After being tried and fined for voting, she had brought the attention that they needed to make sure women would have the right to vote. Women battled to have a say in voting and after a long time they were finally able to vote. This is why I think women were failed most by the constitution.
I think that many groups were failed by the origianal constitution but I think the group failed the most by the constitution was women. Women came to this country at the same time men did, they worked hard to make a home, and some women worked. They were just as much citizens as man were!
The constitution at first never said anything about women not being able to vote, but everyone just assumed that they weren't able to vote. They didn't even feel like they had to include women in the constitution to say their rights for voting, when women already had limited rights, compared to mens. Like Jessie said, it was just adding to the insult by not even including them in the constitution to say if they could vote or not! People felt that women were less than men as Lauren said, and it has taken our country a while to figure out that they are equal.
Finally after women decided to take a stand, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in particular, women were granted the right to vote or partial voting rights. Susan B. Anthony used proof from the fifteenth amendment to prove that women should have the right to vote. After being tried and fined for voting, she had brought the attention that they needed to make sure women would have the right to vote. Women battled to have a say in voting and after a long time they were finally able to vote. This is why I think women were failed most by the constitution.
I think that many groups were failed by the origianal constitution but I think the group failed the most by the constitution was women. Women came to this country at the same time men did, they worked hard to make a home, and some women worked. They were just as much citizens as man were!
The constitution at first never said anything about women not being able to vote, but everyone just assumed that they weren't able to vote. They didn't even feel like they had to include women in the constitution to say their rights for voting, when women already had limited rights, compared to mens. Like Jessie said, it was just adding to the insult by not even including them in the constitution to say if they could vote or not! People felt that women were less than men as Lauren said, and it has taken our country a while to figure out that they are equal.
Finally after women decided to take a stand, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in particular, women were granted the right to vote or partial voting rights. Susan B. Anthony used proof from the fifteenth amendment to prove that women should have the right to vote. After being tried and fined for voting, she had brought the attention that they needed to make sure women would have the right to vote. Women battled to have a say in voting and after a long time they were finally able to vote. This is why I think women were failed most by the constitution.
After reading this article I think women were failed the most by the constitution. Like Jessica said, they weren't only failed "just because they weren't granted certain rights, but because they weren't even mentioned..." No one objected to women voting, until the time came to vote. It took women about 130 years to gain the right to vote, which in my opinion, is too long. Women, for some strange reason, have never been seen or treated as equal. Even the Declaration of Independence states that all "men" are created equal but it never mentioned anything about women. Almost every man from any race or religion had the right to vote before women did. Women were the last to receive any specific rights.
I think that women were the most failed by the constitution. They took part in America, helped out in homes, etc, but couldn’t even vote for their own government? At first, women’s suffrage was assumed to be not given, because it was not mentioned in the constitution. But the 14th amendment actually made it official that only men could vote. As Elise said, even former slaves, gained rights before women, such as suffrage, and were granted this right in 1870, 50 years before women were in 1920! The people who many treated so terribly, and didn’t even consider people, have rights (like suffrage) before women, who have been a significant part of this country! When women decided to take a stand, two women lead them: Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton. Susan used the 15th amendment as proof, as Alden said, that woman have a right to vote and not be discriminated against. Women are a part of this country just as much as men and have made such a difference. For example, women back then could have said they didn’t want to work or help out in any way if they wouldn’t get the same rights (including suffrage) as men. The women’s protest was so strong that by 1918 about half of the states granted women voting rights, and President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. They realized that discriminating against women when they’re such a significant part of this country is wrong. There are many women leaders who have made this world a better place, such as Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, and several others. Several people had many problems with former slaves and Native Americans gaining rights in this country, because they felt that they weren’t really a part of our country, but women have been here from the start, so I don’t really see why people would have problems with them gaining rights. A connection I have to this is that sometime it feels like my parents give my sister more freedoms and opportunities, because she’s older. I think I should have the same rights, no matter my age, and that I was failed by my parents’ rules. This is like how I think women were failed by the constitution.
I believe that women were failed most by the constitution. This is because they had very few basic rights in the Constitution, and even though voting rights weren’t mentioned, people just assumed it didn’t exist. Amendments such as the 14th made it worse, by stating that only men had the right to vote. Parts about women’s voting rights were left out because they were “too radical” and were seen as endangering the bill. Beside the right to vote, many state laws limited women’s rights even more, such as not being allowed to own property. After the Civil War, many people thought giving former slaves and native Americans the right to vote was fine, but left out women. Even though everyone was granted the right to vote in the 19th amendment, it was only in 1919 it was ratified, far to long a wait. Also suffragists had a hard time even pushing it through. This reminds me of all the other groups who were failed by the Constitution, but in different ways and not as severely. Native Americans were regarded as somewhere between a country and citizens, and the poor had Grandfather Clauses, while women had neither and were even lower.
I think that slaves were failed most by the Constitution as it was originally written. One reason that I think this is because in 1790 only white, male property owners had the right to vote. This obviously eliminated the possibility of voting for blacks. Then when the 3/5 Compromise came into play, not all slaves even counted in the population for voting for the House of Representatives! Only 3/5 of the total amount of slaves counted in the voting population, and it still didn’t matter what the 3/5 thought regarding politics. Can you imagine living and working in the U.S. and not count as part of the population? Like Rachel C. said “In 1870 the 15th Amendment is passed and gives former slaves the right to vote, however in 1889 eleven southern states implemented poll taxes and in 1890 Mississippi and many other states adopted literacy tests. This was intended to prevent poor and/or uneducated people, especially African Americans, from voting.” This just proves more how slaves were failed by the Constitution. This reminds me of Cinderella. This reminds me of Cinderella because she lived in the same home as her stepsisters but she was treated like a slave. That is why I think that slaves were failed most by the Constitution.
After reading three articles on the issue of voting rights, I have come to a conclusion that women were the ones who were failed by the constitution the most. I say this because in the articles it said that the constitution didn’t say anything about the women not having the right to vote, but society simply said that they couldn’t. At first I thought that Native Americans were failed the most because they were here before the Europeans but they couldn’t have a say in the country that they lived in before them, but then I read that women were fighting for the right to vote way before the Native Americans so that proves that women cared more about the issue then them. But after the Civil War, the 14th amendment said that only men could vote which made women even madder about the subject; the 14th amendment didn’t say anything about women. Women were fighting for the right to vote since 1848, but the 19th amendment was granted 72 years later on 1920. I agree with Elise when she said that people let slaves vote “which they hated” but wouldn’t let women vote. In my opinion, I think that the only reason that people left women out of voting was because men were being sexist. I think that men thought that women should just stay home instead of having anything to do with the constitution and voting. I can somewhat relate to this topic because my brother can be very sexist and never lets me try new things because I’m a girl. I know he is kidding but he does it a lot because he thinks “women don’t have rights.” This is why I think women were failed the most in the constitution.
I think that women were failed the most by the Constitution. I feel this way because the women’s right to vote wasn’t even mentioned in the Constitution at first. Other rights for groups of people were noted, but it had somehow became clear that females were considered unimportant to the government because their privileges weren’t listed. Women also had to fight for their rights. Ladies such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton were listed in the article as people that had tried to make a stand about women’s right to vote, but it unfortunately failed.
My connection to this is that in my church, they only allow men to be priests. That connects to the voting rights of women because both topics are about people being discriminated against. It is very unfair because the people that are being judgmental didn’t even try letting women have those privileges. That is why I feel that women were the most failed by the Constitution.
I think women were the most failed by the Constitution. I agree with Jess that it isn’t just because they didn’t get voting rights; it is because they weren’t even mentioned in the Constitution! It’s almost like it was just assumed that women were unimportant and wouldn’t really mind if they were left out of the constitution entirely. Also the article said that women would meet to figure how to get voting rights as early as 1848: women didn’t get the right to vote until 1920! Also, when the Constitution said that people couldn’t be denied the privilege of voting because of their race, why wasn’t their gender included? This reminds me of Victoria Woodhull, the first women to run for president. She was nominated for President before women even had the right to vote. Her opponents viciously attacked her with extremely harsh words and threats. She was arrested and sent to jail. Although women hadn’t even had the right to vote yet, she was still discriminated against for her gender, just as women were for many years after The Constitution was made law.
Info on Victoria Woodhull: http://www.victoria-woodhull.com/whoisvw2.htm
I think women were most failed by the constituion. First of all they weren't even mentioned in the constitution. African americans had more rights then the women who lived in america, even though they were former slaves. Why were african americans allowed to vote before women they had a whole war about slaves and now they gained voting rights before women. Also the article said that women would meet to figure how to get voting rights as early as 1848: women didn’t get the right to vote until 1920. women were failed most was because it took females about 130 years to get their roght to vote. no one but white men were allowed to vote. only men were allowed to share their opinion in who should run the country which is unfair becuase women were part of the society aswell. like Griffin Y. said "It took courageous and proud women like Susan B. Anothny and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to make a stand against the 14th and 15th amendments. And finally, in 1919 after over 120 years of suffrage, president Woodrow Wilson and Congress passed a law to allow women full right to vote." That is why i think women were the most failed by the constitution.
Many groups were failed by the constitution, but I think women were the most failed. I think this for many reasons. First is because the constitution didn't even mention woman's rights to vote. But, then later it got even worse since the constitution said only men could. So now they officially couldn't vote. Another reason is because former slaves got to vote before woman. That was 50 years after! As Alisa said, women are a part of this country just as much as men, and have made such a difference. If men have a right to vote then so should woman. This article says, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/Womens-Right-to-Vote-in-US-Hits-90th-Anniversary-104358009.html that many woman were arrested and sent to jail because they started to picket the white house. But the public opinion shifted and that helped woman get their right to vote.
The article Mr.Croft provided us with says that, Susan and Elizabeth tried to encourage woman to be able to vote but, it never worked, until Susan mentioned the 15th amendment, that said no one can be prevented from voting because, of their race. This started the action that won voting rights for women. That is why I think woman were the most failed by the Constitution.
I think that the slaves were failed most by the Constitution in 1787. The reason I think that is because they were forced out of there homes in Africa. As Rachel said the three- fifths Compromise was an unfair for letting slaves be including in the population to vote on The House of Representatives. Imaging working not being able to vote even though you work and live in the US? As both Rachel and Logan said “In 1870 the 15th Amendment is passed and gives former slaves the right to vote, however in 1889 eleven southern states implemented poll taxes and in 1890 Mississippi and many other states adopted literacy tests. This was intended to prevent poor and/or uneducated people, especially African Americans, from voting.” This was an unfair way of deciding if slaves should be able to vote because some slaves could not read and write. Should this take away there right to vote? This is why I think that slaves were most failed buy the Constitution.
I don’t think that either group was failed more by the Constitution really. At least, not in the sense of not being able to vote. The Constitution as it was originally written made no mention to any of these groups rights. It was more that it was kind of assumed that only white men where allowed to vote. The Constitution said nothing about there having to be a poll tax, and in my opinion I think that was the thing that really restricted people like less wealthy white men, slaves, and Native Americans from voting. Also, the Constitution said that all men were created equal, so technically, nobody should have had any rights limited, everything was just kind of assumed. I mean, I guess that the fact that it says all men, excludes women.. so I guess women were failed most. But other then that little fact there, everyone really should have been equal, other rules were made though that kind of overruled the equality.
I think African slaves were failed the most by the constitution as it was originally written. I think this because the constitution stated that congress can’t ban the slave trade until 1808. That is about 20 years after the constitution would be passed. That is basically stating that slavery is ok. Many people think the women were failed the most by the constitution because they weren’t even mentioned in the constitution. So their rights weren’t guaranteed. But slaves, however, were guaranteed to stay slaves with no rights. I agree with Zach that women’s voting rights are only denied. African Americas were declared allowed to vote but it was made almost impossible. They were given all kinds of tests that were impossible. That is why I think African slaves were failed the most by the constitution.
After reading the articles about how women and Native Americans were treated in the Constitution. I now think that women were mostly failed in the constitution. The reason why I think they were failed the most is because they didn't even have the right to vote. The only way you could vote back then is if you were a male who owned land or had a lot of money. Women also weren't even mentioned in the constitution!
That was disrespectful to women, that's like totally disregarding someone yet they're sitting right next to you - that is just disrespectful. They were treated like they had no value. Men treated them like slaves, just someone to do the domestic work and take care of the children. They didn't place a value on women but yet they played a valuable role daily even though they weren't recognized. Imagine if women were allowed to vote back then; probably the world would have a different history, everything would be different. The reason I think so is because women in my opinion, my mom for example, tend to be more gentle and caring yet strong minded. They are also more peaceful so for sure there would have been less wars. Women deserved more respect than what they were given back then. They probably would have made America a better place.
After reading the articles about how women and Native Americans were treated in the Constitution, I now think that women were mostly failed in the constitution. The reason why I think they were failed the most is because they didn't even have the right to vote. The only way you could vote back then is if you were a male who owned land or had a lot of money. Women also weren't even mentioned in the constitution!
That was disrespectful to women, that's like totally disregarding someone yet they're sitting right next to you - that is just disrespectful. They were treated like they had no value. Men treated them like slaves, just someone to do the domestic work and take care of the children. They didn't place a value on women but yet they played a valuable role daily even though they weren't recognized. Imagine if women were allowed to vote back then; probably the world would have a different history, everything would be different. The reason I think so is because women in my opinion, my mom for example, tend to be more gentle and caring yet strong minded. They are also more peaceful so for sure there would have been less wars. Women deserved more respect than what they were given back then. They probably would have made America a better place.
P.S. Please ignore my first comment.
I think a lot of people were failed by the constitution. I say this because only white rich men could vote. But I think women were most failed by the constitution. I say this because at first it didn’t say anything about women having rights to vote. Then it said only men could vote. So now they had no way of voting. Also former slaves could vote before women. I think that would be a huge way of how they were failed the most. But they should be able to vote because the mom would best for their children and they would want a safe environment to live in. Also women are just much as a citizen as men. This is why I think women were most failed by the constitution.
I think that the most failed by the Constitution in 1787 were the women. I say this because as Molly noted they were not even included in the constitution. They just assumed everyone knew that the women were unable to vote. I myself find it to be a little (if not more) sexist. I say this because they thought that women wouldn't mind not having a say or wouldn't mind not being counted. In an article it is said that between 1777 and 1807 women who had the right to vote in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey were taken away. This made every living female unable to vote no matter what. That was until 1848-1920; this is where women demanded that women have all rights including the right to vote. they fought for 72 years for the right of women voting. In 1870 include a petition for the 15th amendment. it was denied. Finally in 1878 the congress put it in the constitution. It took hard work and labor for the women to get the right to vote, and that is why I think that women were failed most against the constitution.
I personally believe that women were the ones that were failed by the constitution. I think this because in the text it says that women weren’t even mentioned in the constitution. I find it completely rude how women had no mention at all in the constitution, not even for the right to vote. People just assume that women can’t vote because it doesn’t mention whether or not they can or cannot. For example, in 1790, it was stated in the constitution, “Only white male adult property-owners have the right to vote.” By this, it clearly states that at least some men have the right to vote, but, again it doesn’t even mention women. Another example of this was in 1870 when the constitution stated, “The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race.” This is an even BETTER example of how women were failed by the constitution! At least in this amendment it states that slaves are allowed to vote and men of any race are also allowed to vote, but, still NO women are mentioned! This shows exactly how women were failed by the constitution. This reminds me of how adults seem to have more freedom than kids. It reminds me of this because like the women, kids don’t have as much freedom as others.
I think that the most failed by the Constitution in 1787 were the women. I say this because as Molly noted they were not even included in the constitution. They just assumed everyone knew that the women were unable to vote. I myself find it to be a little (if not more) sexist. I say this because they thought that women wouldn't mind not having a say or wouldn't mind not being counted. In an article it is said that between 1777 and 1807 women who had the right to vote in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New Jersey were taken away. This made every living female unable to vote no matter what. That was until 1848-1920; this is where women demanded that women have all rights including the right to vote. they fought for 72 years for the right of women voting. In 1870 include a petition for the 15th amendment. it was denied. Finally in 1878 the congress put it in the constitution. It took hard work and labor for the women to get the right to vote, and that is why I think that women were failed most against the constitution.
http://www.crmvet.org/info/votehist.htm
I think that women where the most failed by the constitution. I think this because women couldn’t vote until 1920. Women have been trying to get the right to vote for years. For a long time only men could vote and women have been trying to be able to vote for a much longer time than any other people. Women should have the same amount of rights as men because they came to America the same time we did. Even though Native Americans where here before the women where they haven’t, been a part in the government or in the country. Slaves have not been in the country as long as women were and have not been in the government as long as women have. Even the 14th amendment in the constitution did not grant women the right to vote. I agree with what Lauren O. said, “ it took women 130 years to be able to vote.” This reminds me of the time when I read a book about women's suffrage and how it took women a long time to have the same rights as men did, for example the right to vote.
I think that women were failed most by the Constitution when it was first written. I think this for many reasons, which I will explain. One reason is that they weren’t allowed to vote until 1920, which is much later than African Americans, Native Americans, and poor people were allowed to vote. African Americans couldn’t vote until 1870, but they weren’t widely allowed to vote until around 1965. Native Americans also weren’t allowed to vote until 1870. Poor people couldn't vote until 1850. Another reason why I think that women were failed most by the Constitution is that when people were trying to deny the right to vote to men, they were punished. If they tried to stop women from voting, however, they weren’t punished. In fact, it was okay to do that. That’s a 2nd reason why it was unfair to women. It was also unfair to women because a women’s-suffrage activist, Susan B. Anthony, was fined and tried for trying to vote. Men, however, were allowed to vote, regardless of who they were. Her actions sparked a large group of women to start protesting, and this would help women get the right to vote quicker. It was becoming fairer throughout the years, thanks to the women’s hard work. In 1918, many states around the country had noticed that this treatment towards women was unfair, and they granted women partial or full voting rights. President Woodrow Wilson, who, originally thought that women shouldn’t be able to vote, had changed his mind and signed the 19th Amendment, which let women vote. The amendment was ratified and approved on August 18, 1920. Women were finally able to vote, and they had endured a very long, unfair journey. But they had stood up for what they thought, and they got it. African Americans, Native Americans, and poor people were able to vote fairly quickly. This is why I think women were failed most by the Constitution. I agree with Griffin that a lot of people (mostly men) had a say about what happens in the country, and women were left out completely. I can connect to this because in The Book Thief , by Markus Zusak, the main character’s mother isn’t allowed to do anything. She isn’t allowed to do anything political, but she is allowed to do anything else. This is an example of exclusion in society, just like how the women were affected most by the Constitution when it was first written.
I think that slaves were most failed by the constitution in 1787. One reason I think this is because Native Americans, women, and the poor all gained the right to vote before the slaves did. In 1850 almost all white men could vote since property ownership and tax requirements were eliminated. Then in 1920, women get guaranteed with suffrage. And finally the Indian Citizenship Act granted all Native Americans the rights of citizenship including the right to vote. So the only major group that was still unable to vote by 1924 was slaves or African Americans. Not only were they the last major group to be granted voting rights but also, all through history, it seems as though states were mainly focused on having it so the slaves could not vote and could care less about the other groups such as women who weren’t even mentioned in the constitution, and Native Americans had a struggling relationship with the United States. But for slaves, it was a hard fight to get the right to vote. When slaves were first given the right to vote it was only former slaves so that meant that only around 30000 slaves were able to vote while there were still over 4 million slaves who could not (www.history.com). Then many southern states like Florida adopted poll tax to prevent poor people, especially African Americans from voting. Not only that but then there were literacy tests that a lot of southern states adopted as well like Mississippi, which was brought to try and keep even more African Americans from voting. So even with the 15th Amendment, there were still ways for states to prevent the free African Americans and former slaves from voting. So again, all the major groups (women, Native Americans, and poor people) were all granted rights by the year 1924, but African Americans and slaves had to wait another 46 years until they all were able to have the right to vote. During those 46 years, the poll tax was banned, Martin Luther King Jr. mounted a voter registration drive to draw national attention to African American voting rights, and literacy tests were banned. These was just for their rights, but also, like Rachel C said, not only were slaves given the rights they deserved but also they were treated unfairly by the people around them like how the slaves were treated by their masters. This reminds me of the story we read in 7th grade English which was, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which is about an African American family who became free and now owns land but is still treated very unfairly and unable to vote because of threats from white people and poll tax. That’s why I think slaves were most failed by the constitution of 1787.
I think women were most definitely failed by the Constitution. First off there is no mention of women at all in the Constitution. The national government felt the states to decide their rights and frankly they had zero rights. Even before the Constitution was written, a group of MEN from each state gathered to discuss weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. Even then we were excluded. Being a female myself, I would want a say in government because not just men have to follow the rules, so we should all have a say in the rules. So fine maybe we’re excluded in the writing of the Constitution but we have a say if it’s ratified right? No, each state’s government decided that, and it only consisted of men so women again didn’t have a say. Although other groups, like black males, were failed by the Constitution, they gained there voting rights before women did. Male African Americans gained their voting rights 1870, more than 80 years after the Constitution was written. That might seem bad, but women could vote for another 50 years after that. 130 years after the Constitution! Women should have gained there rights sooner. Women have been in America before the slaves. We have been here ever since the pilgrims set foot in America. Why were we denied of our rights for so long? I am grateful that I live in a time where my rights are not taken away. Women should have gained their rights, not just voting, sooner than then did. That’s why I think women were failed the most by the Constitution.
I think that the people that were most failed by the Constitution were women. In an additional article that I found at http://myhero.com/go/hero.asp?hero=susanBAnthony, it said, “In the spring of 1840, Susan went to teach at a boarding school near New York City. While Susan was teaching, she heard people talking about getting rid of slavery. She agreed with this idea, just like her father did. She believed that all people were equal.” Susan believed that people, men and women, both, are equal and should have equal rights, like in voting. The article also said, “…the right of citizens of the U.S. to vote shall not be denied to anyone because of race or skin color, even if the person had once been a slave…” This gave Susan B. Anthony the idea that the Constitution’s Amendments would make things better, but in reality women would have to wait many years before they got the right to vote.
In the article posted on the blog about women’s suffrage it says that after the Civil War was over and the 14th amendment was added, women were hopeful that the right to vote for women would be added next, but that didn’t happen. The 14th amendment gave the right to vote to all men, black or white, but not women.
In the time line it says that in 1889 there was a poll tax that was adopted in some states. This would affect some women’s decision to vote even if they had the right to vote because the poll tax was expensive and many families didn’t have or didn’t want to spend the extra money to pay to vote.
I agree with Elise B. when she says, “Women didn’t have the right to vote after slaves, and that is really unfair considering the attitude of the people around that time. They were willing to let slaves vote, which they really hated and had a war over, before having women vote. In fact, they didn’t even mention women in the Constitution.” I agree with her, all people should have the right to vote. It is a right and people should use their rights so they can be proud to say that they can vote in America. A connection to this is a friend of mine went away and brought back souvenirs for some people and not the other people. Even though it is not a right that that person had to bring things back to people it made others feel left out and not included. This connects because women not having the right to vote made them feel left out. This is why I think that the constitution failed women the most.
After reading the three articles I believe that women were failed most by the constitution. I think this because the constitution did not even mention womens' rights at all. After the 14th amendment was ratified it made it worse by stating that only men had the right to vote. Women were only granted the right to vote in 1919. I agree with when Griffin stated that anyone other than rich rich men who owned land were let down because they white men were only given the right to vote. It took a whole lot of courage for one women
Susan B. Anthony to stand up against a whole entire goverment. When in 1919 president Woodrow Wilson and congress passed a law giving women the right to vote. I still believe that blacks and native americans were failed greatly but since women were in the U.S. longer under the power of the united states government. When the 3/5 compomise happened only 3/5 of the slaves counted towards the population they were not even given the right to vote. Slaves had a very hard time too. I still believe that women were failed most by the constitution.
I think that both the group that was failed most by the constitution was women. Many groups, like Native Americans, and black people were failed by the constitution, but look at it this way; the blacks won their rights 50 years before women, and after blacks won their rights, only men could serve in the army and other stuff like that. Women won their rights in 1920, almost 150 years after the constitution was made. So women had their rights limited well longer than half of the years of our constitution. If women’s rights were just like men’s from the start of our constitution, they could have changes America and made it much better in ways like running for president, and making new laws. Also, instead of staying home and cooking, they could have gotten a job so that the whole family wouldn’t have to rely on the man. This is why women was the group failed most by the constitution.
I believe that women were failed most by the constitution in 1787. When the constitution was written it was understood the women had no rights. Women were an important part of society from the beginning. They have to obey the same laws as men. Women were not given the right to vote. In 1848, groups met to discuss how to increase women’s rights. These groups decided to focus on voting rights. I agree with Lauren O. that the constitution didn’t mention about women to vote. I also agree with Eddie that women didn’t have the same right as men. Compared to the other groups, even if the Native Americans, African Americans, and poor people were given the right vote; the women in those groups will still not be able to vote.
I think the people who were most failed by the constitution were the women. I say this because their rights were limited alot. Women had no right to vote at all. I agree with Kelsey when she said that there was no mention at all of women in the Constitution. Also after the Civil War the 14th Amendment made it worse because it was made official that the right to vote belonged to men only. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton tried to make a stand after the Civil War, to have language of the 14th Amendment include women. Also the Native Americans had more rights that the women did. This is why I think women were most failed by the Constitution.
Based on the information I read, I think that the group that was failed by the constitution the most, was the women. I say this because, to start off with, they were one of the groups that was failed by the constitution in the first place. Nowhere in the constitution did it say anything about women, or their rights. Then, even after the revisions made to give rights to blacks, women weren’t included. They were failed by it even more, by they were one of the remaining few groups that were still failed. In the end, as Elise said, they were ultimately the last to get specific rights. Although it never said in the constitution that women weren’t allowed to vote, they were still never given the chance to when it came to it. They were forced to only voice their opinion with their peers, and not be have their voice significant in the country. Yet, with some women who fought for their right to vote, like Susan B. Anthony, they did have a significant voice that was trying to help her fellow women be able to voice their opinion. She helped tremendously in the fight for women rights, and was an influential leader for them. She debated and did all she could to win the rights. An example of this is found from http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4973, and it is quoted form Susan, after she it tried for voting, when she wasn’t supposed (since she was a women)… "I have many things to say. In your ordered verdict of guilty, you have trampled underfoot every vital principle of our government. My natural rights, my civil rights, my political rights, my judicial rights are all alike ignored." A connection to this failure made on the women of the U.S., is when in a movie, a school raised money for needed supplies. Yet, in the finer text, the only group that was mentioned was the soccer team. The other groups that needed supplies were failed by this proposition.
I believe that slaves were failed most by the constitution. This is for many reasons. When rich white men needed cheap labor they turned to slaves. They would force them to work for free and they would be severely punished if they didn't work for free. In the constitution in the 16 and 1700's there were extremely few rights given to the blacks that were given to white rich men. They couldn't vote and they were treated like animals. When they were sold it was bidding like at a cattle auction. When slaves worked it wasn’t easy either. When they had to cultivate rice they had to drain swamps, rake fields, and plow field which was extremely hard work. They often tried to sabotage some of the work they did but were often severely punished. It is extremely hard to make a connection to something this awful but in WW2 when the American soldiers were captured they were put into slave camps. They had to work extremely hard and if they tried to do anything but work hard they were severely punished.
I personally feel that the Constitution failed women the most. I think this because women were just as much the first people who came to America and they should have the same votes as all the other men. They might not have done as much in the building of America and its government, but that’s because they weren’t given the chance to. In our society today women participate in the government just as much as men do. In the 14th amendment, it did not formally say women did not have the right to vote but it did not say they did have the right to vote. Many women fought against women sufferage and obviously they eventually succeeded. But not until 1920. That is almost 150 years that men got vote and women did not. That doesn’t seem faair at all. I can connect this to women’s rights in the middle east. In the middle east women have very few rights. Even less than the American women had in the 1800s.So that is why I think women were failed most bye the Constitution.
I believe that the slaves were the group of people that were failed the most by the constitution. Slavery still was in existence when the constitution was signed. It was impossible for slaves to vote. The slaves had no freedoms at all which was completely unfair. Although women were not treated equal to white men they were not treated as poorly as the slaves.
I think the group that was most failed by the Constitution were women. It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, white or black, literate or illiterate- if you were a woman, you weren’t able to vote. After the Constitution was passed, it took 130 years before women finally had the same rights as the rest of the country. Susan b. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in particular fought for a woman’s right to vote. Women are equal to men- they came to this country around the same time men did, and they worked just as hard as men did to make it home. As Elise said, even former slaves gained the right to vote before women! As Alisa said, there are many important women (such as Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres) who have made the world a much better place. In 6th grade, we talked about blacks being poorer than whites overall in the U.S. and we discussed how we thought this was probably due to their not having the same rights as whites until much later. I feel that the same thing has happened with women. Although our situation is much better than it used to be, there is still the stereo-type that women should have to stay home and cook and clean while the men work. I believe that this is because women weren’t equal to men until the 1920’s. Also, I think that men felt superior and more in control because they were able to vote and women couldn’t. This all reminds me of how my mom gives me privileges before my sister because I am older. Just because I’m older doesn’t mean I am better than her. However, I still enjoy having these privileges and often feel superior- just like I think that men felt compared to women.
I think the group that was most failed by the Constitution were women. It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, white or black, literate or illiterate- if you were a woman, you weren’t able to vote. After the Constitution was passed, it took 130 years before women finally had the same rights as the rest of the country. Susan b. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in particular fought for a woman’s right to vote. Women are equal to men- they came to this country around the same time men did, and they worked just as hard as men did to make it home. As Elise said, even former slaves gained the right to vote before women! As Alisa said, there are many important women (such as Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres) who have made the world a much better place. In 6th grade, we talked about blacks being poorer than whites overall in the U.S. and we discussed how we thought this was probably due to their not having the same rights as whites until much later. I feel that the same thing has happened with women. Although our situation is much better than it used to be, there is still the stereo-type that women should have to stay home and cook and clean while the men work. I believe that this is because women weren’t equal to men until the 1920’s. Also, I think that men felt superior and more in control because they were able to vote and women couldn’t. This all reminds me of how my mom gives me privileges before my sister because I am older. Just because I’m older doesn’t mean I am better than her. However, I still enjoy having these privileges and often feel superior- just like I think that men felt compared to women. That’s why I believe women were the group most failed by the Constitution.
Ps. Please ignore my first comment.
I think the people that were failed the most by the constitution were women. I think this because not once did it include anything in the constitution about women. I agree with Clayton when he said that Then, even after the revisions made to give rights to blacks, women weren’t included. The 14th amendment made it so that voting writes ONLY belonged to men. 120 years later women finally gained suffrage from the first initial only white men who owned property could vote. Susan. B Antony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked to gain women’s suffrage. Also Women didn’t even have limitations where as white men had the literacy test and poll taxes, and women didn’t even have those tests and taxes. My connection is the fact that America has yet to have a female president. It’s been a long time since women have stepped up politically for example; Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. I think this is similar to women not being able to vote because women were not allowed to run for president and now they are making it a possibility after a very long time. This is why I think that women were failed the most by the constitution.
I think that all of those groups were failed by the Constitution but I would say that Native Americans were failed the most. They were here in America a very long time before white men settled this country and they were treated as savages and called savages. They weren’t even considered human at all. They weren’t considered citizens of a land that they had always lived on. Senator James Doolittle of Wisconsin stated, “. . . all those wild Indians to be citizens of the United States, the Great Republic of the world, whose citizenship should be a title as proud as that of a king, and whose danger is that you may degrade that citizenship.” But he was degrading Native Americans by saying that and not considering them citizens. Their land was taken away from them and they were treated unfairly. The 14th Amendment declared African Americans citizens and excluded Native Americans from being citizens. The 15th Amendment gives anyone called citizens including former slaves the right to vote and it still did not apply to Native Americans because they were still not citizens. Even though women were not included in that 15th Amendment either I don’t think it was because of the Constitution failing them. After speaking to my step dad, he told me it was like that in most countries in the world at that time, including England where he is from and knows their history. It wasn’t until 1924 when the Snyder Act/Indian Citizenship Act extended citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S. That is why I think that Native Americans were failed the most by the Constitution as it was originally written in 1787.
I think that women were failed the most by the Constitution and society. If the towns decided to let them, women definitely could have voted, because there was no mention of prohibiting that right in the Constitution. Yes, the Native Americans were also failed by the Constitution by not having the right to vote, because, hey, the decisions made by the public affected them, too. Despite that, I still think that women were failed the most. Women were and still are a big part of the population. Sure, there are more votes to count, but having the women vote provides a more complete view. For example, if only rich, white males were allowed to vote, we might have a president that only protected the interests of those rich, white males, not women or Native Americans. But, if women had the vote, we could voice our opinion on the subject. "Hey, man! That's not fair! We're going to vote for a nicer, unbiased gentleman (or woman)!" I think that, if women were allowed the vote when the Constitution was written, all of the politicians and laws would have been much kinder to the women. This situation where one party was not able to give their opinion reminds me of any time my father or mother asked my brother and I if we wanted to go somewhere or do something, and they only counted my brother's opinion, even if I didn't want to go to that place or do that thing.
After reading the articles I think that the Native Americans were failed the most by the constitution. I know many people disagree with this statement, thinking that the women or slaves were failed the most. And I do agree that the women and slaves were treated unfairly with the right to vote. But think of it this way, the Native Americans lived there before us and when we moved in, taking their land, we denied them the right to vote. In the constitution, Article One, Section Two states: "Indians are not under the conrol of the U.S. and therefore can not be taxed." And also, to be able to vote, you had to be a tax-paying citizen. And even though they were allowed to vote before women and slaves, they should have been allowed the right to vote in the first place considering that it was their land before us. This reminds me of how plantation oners tried to make the Native Americans work as slaves. This too was unfair to do to people who had been owning the land first.
After reading the articles I think that the Native Americans were failed the most by the constitution. I know many people disagree with this statement, thinking that the women or slaves were failed the most. And I do agree that the women and slaves were treated unfairly with the right to vote. But think of it this way, the Native Americans lived there before us and when we moved in, taking their land, we denied them the right to vote. In the constitution, Article One, Section Two states: "Indians are not under the conrol of the U.S. and therefore can not be taxed." And also, to be able to vote, you had to be a tax-paying citizen. And even though they were allowed to vote before women and slaves, they should have been allowed the right to vote in the first place considering that it was their land before us. This reminds me of how plantation oners tried to make the Native Americans work as slaves. This too was unfair to do to people who had been owning the land first.
In my opinion women were the group that was most neglected in the constitution. In the fourteenth amendment it stated that only men could vote and that women couldn't. In this site www.Ourdocuments.gov It states that women started petitioning the rule in the early 1800's but it took them decades to to accomplish their purpose. By 1918 they were only able to get half of the of the states to let women vote. As Maisie said slaves got the right to vote before women did.one thing that is so shocking is that women weren't even mentioned in the constitution! This reminds me of how today some men think there stronger or smarter or just better than women when really were all equal. This is why I think women were the group most failed by the constitution.
Many people were failed by the constitution. At first, only white, wealthy men could vote. That is very racist, and sexist towards every non-wealthy white man. But, based on the information I read, I believe that women were most failed by the constitution. I say this because, one, like mikey said," I think this because the constitution did not even mention women’s' rights at all." Also, women had no rights to vote. Nothing in the constitution supported them, and they were majorly failed. I also agree with Ben in saying, “women had to obey the same laws as men." If that is true, why shouldn’t they have the same privileges as men? My connection to this when on FOX news, 2 young women got fired from a hotel club called the "Boom Boom Room" because they came up short on a height requirement. The discrimination is only against women, not men.
I believe that women were the most failed by the constitution by just how they weren't even mention in it. They had to fight for there rights but that really only stared after 14th amendment made voting only for men. But thanks to Anthony and Elizabeth Cady they were able to the language in the 14th amendment so that there were more rights for women and Native Americans. I also agree with Eddie when he stated that "It took women 130 years until they were aloud to vote."
Although many groups were failed by the Constitution I think women were failed the most. I think this because, in the Constitution they were never even mentioned. According to http://www.now.org/issues/economic/cea/ireland.html , John Adams' wife even suggested that the framers "remeber the ladies", and yet they were left out of our government. In 1868 the 14th amendment guarenteed all "persons" the right to "equal protection under the law", but in the second section it specifically used the term "male citizens", again leaving women without a say or any protection in their government. And according to the timeline provided, women did not have their voting rights until 1920- 50 years after slaves! Even before 1920, when they were fighting for their right, they were faced with difficulties. Famous suffragettes Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Clady Stanton had tried to take a stand after the Civil War ended so that women would be included in the 14th amendment, but still they did not legally have the right to vote. Althought the 15th Amendment stated that people could not be prevented from voting because of race, Susan B. Anthony wanted that to justify for voting rights not being limited to sex as well. The difficulties the suffragists faced goes to show how much they were failed by the Constitution.
I think African slaves were failed the most by the constitution. In 1787, slaves were not even counted as PEOPLE! The three fifths compromise counted some of them for representation and taxation; three slaves were counted for every five white people but the rest were not even considered citezens. In 1855, two states began to give literacy tests, which eliminated some blacks from voting. In 1870 the fifteenth amendment allowed many blacks to vote, as the amendment stated 'the right to vote cannot be denied because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude' but by 1890, many more states were using literacy tests as a way to keep immigrants and blacks from voting. There were other ways of keeping blacks from voting: as Chris Blank at ehow.com wrote 'After the civil war, the constitution was amended specifically to allow freed male slaves the right to vote. However, after reconstruction, many southern states enacted what were unknown as 'jim Crow' laws to repress the rights of former slaves and specifically to prevent black people from voting' It was not until 1965 were all literacy tests eliminated! Although women, native americans, and others were denied suffrage, africans were failed most by the constitution. Women and native americans won thier fight long before the africans did.
I think women were failed the most by the constitution. I think this because in the 14th amendment it said that men could vote and was not denied that right because of their race and didn’t say anything about women. Susan. B Antony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton worked to gain women’s suffrage and they did it. It took women over 100 years to be able to vote. I personally think that this should have happened the same time that enslaved men were granted the right to vote. Also I don’t know why men thought that women shouldn’t be allowed to vote. My connection to the topic is having a female president. I say this because when Hilary Clinton was going for vice president people were being sexist and making fun of her which is not a very mature thing to do. This is why I think women were failed the most by the constitution.
I think that women were failed the most by the Constitution. No matter what their race, wealth, or whether they were literate or illiterate, they were never aloud to vote anyways. Women had to fight for their rights. For example, in the article it stated that just starting in the 14th amendment, only men could vote; not women. Women were not even mentioned in the Constitution. I agree with Dylan when he said "women were just as much the first people who came to America and they should have the same votes as all the other men." I think that is true, and they should have had the same votes as men. This reminds me of how if I ask my parents for say, a pet, and they reject it and say no. Yet, my brother asks if he could have a pet, and they say yes. I think that situation can relate to this topic.
I believe that women were failed the most by The Constitution and how it was originally written. This is because women weren’t even mentioned in important parts of it, like if they have the right to vote. So since it wasn’t specifically addressed if women could or could not vote, and at this time period they were viewed as inferior people, it was understood that they could not. Then the 14th amendment was added to The Constitution stating that the right to vote only applied to men and that women were not allowed. And this was after the civil war so slavery was illegal and all men were now created equal and blacks technically had the right to vote even though states made impassable test and used fees to restrict them. So at this time in the constitution women were the only group of people who didn’t even have the right to try and vote. But eventually people like Susan B. Anthony took a stand for women’s rights using the 15th amendment in her argument that women should be allowed to vote, and slowly they were. And by 1919, almost 50 years after everyone else, women were given the right to vote. This is why I believe women were failed most by the original Constitution. Even though other groups such as Native Americans and African Americans had many other restrictions, the fact that women weren’t even considered important enough to mention in such a critical part of the government seemed to be unfair and distrustful.
I think that women were most failed by the constitution. One reason for this is because they were not even mentioned in the constitution, meaning that they could basically do anything until a new amendment to the constitution stated otherwise. Shortly after the government realized that they made a 14th amendment, making it clear that only men coule vote, which leads me to my next point. Women did not gain the right to vote until 1919, exactly 132 years after the constitution was put into power. Also women were almost the last to get their voting rights. The fact that it took so long for women to get the right to vote shows how much inequality there was between races and genders. It makes men seem so superior, while women were also citizens of the country and worked very hard. Thankfully, in the year of 1848, women realized this and met in groups to discuss their rights. One famous womens' right's leaders is Susan B. Anthony. She was convinced that women would need to vote if they were to ever influence public affairs. Knowing this she worked very hard to insure womens right's until the day she died in 1906. Some things she did were speak for womens suffrage on speaking tours in the West, and tried to vote in a New York election, which ended up starting a movement towards gaining womens suffrage. That is why I think women were most failed. A connection I can make to this is that a few years ago women were not allowed to race horses. Recently this has been changed so that they can, although it is very rare. In both cases women did not have the right to do something, but eventually gained the right to in the end.
Sources: www.susanbanthonyhouse.org/her-story/biography.php
I think that slaves were most failed by the constitution in 1787. One reason I think this is because Native Americans, women, and the poor all gained the right to vote before the slaves did. In 1850 almost all white men could vote since property ownership and tax requirements were eliminated. Then in 1920, women get guaranteed with suffrage. And finally the Indian Citizenship Act granted all Native Americans the rights of citizenship including the right to vote. So the only major group that was still unable to vote by 1924 was slaves or African Americans. Not only were they the last major group to be granted voting rights but also, all through history, it seems as though states were mainly focused on having it so the slaves could not vote and could care less about the other groups such as women who weren’t even mentioned in the constitution, and Native Americans had a struggling relationship with the United States. But for slaves, it was a hard fight to get the right to vote. Another reason that I think this is because in 1790 only white, male property owners had the right to vote. This obviously eliminated the possibility of voting for blacks. Then when the 3/5 Compromise came into play, not all slaves even counted in the population for voting for the House of Representatives! Only 3/5 of the total amount of slaves counted in the voting population, and it still didn’t matter what the 3/5 thought regarding politics. Can you imagine living and working in the U.S. and not count as part of the population? Like Rachel C. said “In 1870 the 15th Amendment is passed and gives former slaves the right to vote, however in 1889 eleven southern states implemented poll taxes and in 1890 Mississippi and many other states adopted literacy tests. This was intended to prevent poor and/or uneducated people, especially African Americans, from voting.”
After reading each article of the articles I think that the people who were failed the most by the constitution. Were the woman because they had most of their rights had been taken away. Even though the African Americans were slaves they were at least acknowledged. One thing that I found in the article was that two woman named Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton had tried to rebel against the law. soon after that Anthony had used the 15 amendment which said that people could not be prevented from voting just because of their race. Also Another thing why I think this because the woman weren’t equal with the men on most of everything. I can connect to this with one time I had to choose between to different thing and to see which one is more important.
I believe women were most failed by the constitution. Jessie said “Women are completely left out. They wouldn’t be included in the rights of men,” this is a good example of how woman were not even considered important enough to be mentioned. I agree with Eddie when he said “It took women 130 years until they were allowed to vote.”According to http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAsuffrage.htm, “it was not until 1848 that Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the Women's Rights Convention.” That is why I think woman were failed. A connection I made was to the 2008 election. Hillary Clinton ran for president and I felt she was the first respected female candidate that was taken seriously. This made me think if the reason woman are generally seen as lesser then men has to do with our constitution neglecting our rights.
I believe that women were completely left out in the constitution. I agree with Eddy O and Emily A when they had said it took women 130 years until they were allowed to vote. Also, one thing that I thought was unfair for almost everyone was that to be able to vote for as long as the United States has been standing, you must have been, white, over 21, own poreperty(and most of the time owning porperty meant you were rich), and you must have been male. Women were almost the longest left out of the consisution, and I find that very crude and unrealisitc. Also what I find rediculous is that women had to form riots to be able to get thier rights, I believe if women had never rioted or protested they would have had to wait even longer for thier right to vote! Also in the original consisution it did not say one thing about women in the consistuion. That is very unfair. This is why I think women were to most left out by the consistution.
I think women were failed most by the constitution because they were not spoken of in the constitution. Women’s rights were not equal with men’s rights or slaves rights. Women also did not have the right to vote. This is unfair because women should have been able to vote. Overall, the Constitution failed women because they did not have equal rights with men or slaves.
A group of individuals that were failed by the Constitution of 1787 were the women. I say this because their rights were greatly affected during this time period. One right that was taken advantage of by the states governments would be the right to vote. The Constitution never stated that women could or could not vote but it did say that men had the right to vote. Nearly all the people in the government were men so since they had the power to decide if women could vote they said that it was not allowed. Since the Constitution already had stated that men had the right, they felt it was already established that women couldn’t. Also I think that the men felt that it was their power that they could hold against women. Women fought for their rights for many years but while doing so the government passed the 14th amendment, which denied the right for women to vote. This was very unfair and devastated women who were fighting for moral values. In 1848 men gathered in town meetings to discuss the topic of how women’s rights were limited and how they could be improved. After years of fighting for women’s right to vote, Susan B. Anthony made an argument in a New York election that limiting women’s rights was not rational if the 15th amendment states that no one should be prevented from voting because of their race. Basically her argument asked why would gender matters if someone’s race doesn’t. That was smart of her to compare 15th amendment with the situation because it made the government think about what’s right and what’s wrong. Her argument was so powerful that by 1918 half of the states gave women the full or partial right to vote and a year later the 19th amendment passed. The 19th amendment stated “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” By that amendment a lot of rights were granted to woman all around America. Women were viewed more as a person instead of someone to take advantage of once their rights were given to them. And this can relate to today because women are still being discriminated when it comes to man and a woman. Statistics show that in everyday jobs, 70% of men are earning more money than woman, also that a man is more likely to get a job than a women because of their gender. Not only in the workplace are they discriminated but also in everyday life by being bullied and sexually harassed. This just shows how even though women have been granted their rights they are still not considered as superior as men.
http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/anthony.htm
http://www.policyalmanac.org/government/archive/constitution.shtml
http://books.google.com/books?id=oyFpDS8p33sC&pg=PA850&lpg=PA850&dq=women+failed+by+the+constitution+of+1787&source=bl&ots=MRF2mGg-cx&sig=j56BxHS6fnJrwNFU1a8X9LkYisk&hl=en&ei=dhdTTcklw_7wBpfd3KMK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://www.futurity.org/top-stories/men-like-jobs-where-winners-get-paid/
http://assembly.coe.int/documents/workingdocs/doc05/edoc10484.htm
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