What Is The 26th Amendment Essay

The 26th Amendment is a historic amendment. It was passed in just 107 days and is the fastest amendment to be passed. Amendment 26 stated that the minimum age to vote would go from 21 to 18 years old. This decision was influenced by the military changing its’ drafting age from 21 to 18. The state of Georgia was the first state to lower its voting age from 21 to 18 and Kentucky was next. The president who signed this law was President Richard M. Nixon. In 1972, the year the 26th Amendment went into effect, more than 50 percent of 18-24 year olds voted. The voter turnout percentage has been steadily increasing since the 1996 elections. In 2008, 48.5 percent of 18-24 year olds voted almost reaching the 1972 levels. The process of making this law took place during the Vietnam War. People who were for the amendment thought that if 18 year olds can serve and die for our country they should also be given the right to vote. People demonstrated in the streets chanting “Old enough to fight, Old enough to vote.” At this time, women’s rights were still being restricted too and many people supported equality for everybody. Amendment 26 was introduced to the supreme court in 1970 for a decision through the Oregon vs Mitchell case.

Soon this amendment will affect me because I will be turning 18 years old in a few years and I will have to vote for the person who watches and protects this country. Sometimes I don’t realize what people had to go through just to make our country the way it is now and I’m also learning that even though this amendment was the fastest amendment to be passed, it still had to go through a process. When the amendment was passed it gave 18 year olds a new responsibility, which meant that they could make a difference in this world and that’s a very powerful