One of the most important form of participation that the citizens of our country engage in, is casting votes, but most people do not exercise this constitutional right. As of the recent 2016 elections, the voter turnout rate of all voting age citizens was only up to 55%. Surprisingly, only about 58.5% of citizens from the age of 18 to 24 registered for voting. More people are interested in discussing politics rather than voting or joining parties, and working in campaigns. Almost 13.4% of the people who didn’t vote were not interested. Social scientists have tried to develop theories regarding low participation, but participation appears to be a complex phenomenon. The major influences are social environment such as their status, education, and religion that orients them either toward or away from political participation, characteristic differences such as hobbies and interests, and the degree to which the political structure and institutions affects the mindset …show more content…
Political participation is hence a strange phenomenon, but one look at our history points out the significance of people, and the power they hold in the form of participation.
The American victory over the British army displayed that the founding fathers discovered that by creating a nation, a legal unity called the United States, they could take over land and political power from the British Empire. In the process, they invoked a huge number of rebellion where people created a consensus of popular support. It created one of the most effective system which devised patriotism with the power of the people. Many riots and uprisings overthrowing colonial government erupted throughout the country. After constant struggles, on July 4, 1776, thirteen British American Colonies declared themselves independent from the British Empire. Thomas Jefferson had drafted the Declaration of Independence which consisted of the most famous statement - “We hold these