14th Amendment Pros And Cons

With twenty-seven amendments in existence, each broadens protections that were not previously covered. Within these twenty-seven are several major ones that strongly influence the dynamic in which Americans vote. The fourteenth and nineteenth coexist in a manner that allows them both to strongly control who votes, and how. Ratified on July 9, 1868, the fourteenth amendment expanded citizenship to all born on U.S. soil and sought to expand national rights to all, regardless of race (Fourteenth). This amendment included the expansion of citizenship to anyone truly born in the U.S., regardless of who their ancestors were-granting citizenship to former slaves. On the other hand, the nineteenth, ratified in 1920, guaranteed women the right to vote.

When discussing those that directly impact voting, the fourteenth is not included. Within the fourteenth, voting is not even mentioned. While it may grant citizenship to those born on U.S. soil and seek to expand national rights to all, despite one’s race- nowhere in this amendment allowed former slaves the right to vote. Allowing freed slaves citizenship did not secure their right to vote. Whereas in the nineteenth, the amendment clearly states that “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” (Constitution of the United States). By this, America’s forefathers have clearly defined their intentions in the nineteenth amendment- which go to include voting rights for all sexes. In addition to this, voting rights for former slaves are not implied or acknowledged, other than stating that no

Even if the fourteenth amendment did grant this right, the nineteenth would have granted more people voting rights. At the time of the nineteenth amendment’s ratification, the United State’s population was around 106.5 Million people (United States). Within this number, roughly half were female. Additionally, non-white people accounted for ten percent of the 1920 population (United States). Since half of the total population is roughly male and female, one could assume that half of the non-white population had the same equal division of the sexes. This would mean that the allowance of the nineteenth amendment would allow a full ninety percent of people to vote. In the conceptual world without the fourteenth amendment, the fifteenth would either not exist or not matter, based on the idea that former slaves would not be given the citizenship needed to vote. With this, granting forty-five percent of the population versus a measly five percent of the population the right to vote would greatly impact elections in regard to who is voted for and why. Moreover, between “1890 and 1908, many states enacted laws to limit African American voting rights. With discriminatory voting requirements, such as literacy tests and poll taxes, African Americans… were effectively barred from participation in the political arena” (Jim Crow Laws). These laws deterred African