Right To Vote Dbq

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During the colonel period of America, it was property owners who held the right to vote. Even then, suffrage did not exist for the Catholic faith; Jews too, were banned in many colonies. After the Revolutionary War, colonist objected to Britain’s idea that members of Parliament were the only individuals that could cast votes. White males who owned property assumed this role. Some states then revoked the mandatory rule on property ownership and others allowed members of the military and militia to vote. By 1790, six states had revoked the rule of religion and allowed any religious affiliation to vote. Six states began to allow African Americans to vote as well. The US Constitution left the right to vote up to the states. In the early nineteenth century, the abolition of property rights as a requirement for voting rights and offices holders was banned. In 1800, just three states had universal male suffrage. By 1830, seven more states followed suit. Eight states had restrictions on property rights and taxpayers. In 1860, only two states …show more content…

Any state that joined the Union after 1819 prohibited the Black vote. Only five states allowed Blacks to vote without severe restrictions. In 1826, only sixteen Black males were allowed to vote in New York. In Rhode Island, as of 1841, it was still operating under laws created in 1663. But as it became a large industrial state it was decreasing in its number of voters under the current laws. A man named Thomas Dorr organized a convention to abolish voting restrictions. The governor declared Dorr and his supporters guilty of insurrection and called out the state militia. Dorr attempted to capture the state arsenal but was arrested and given life of hard labor in prison. In 1853, Dorr was pardoned and the vote was given to all native born males, including blacks. But restrictions were still placed on