Toward Universal Suffrage

Federal Government

Students will write an essay, 500-750 words in length, on a topic selected from the list below. The purpose of the project is to give students an opportunity to discuss a key political science concept, and to show a basic understanding of academic research and reporting skills. The project consists of producing a 500-750 work essay on one of the provided topics (see below), as well as a works cited page for sources containing information used in the essay. The assignment is to be formatted according to the Modern Language Association (MLA) style. Students should research this style in order to properly format the assignment; papers not formatted properly will not receive a passing grade.

Students should use Courier or New Courier 12 point as the paper’s font, double space the text, and create one inch margins on all four sides of the page. In addition, the assignment should be formatted according to MLA style for papers with no title page.

5. In Chapter 13, “Political Parties and Voting,” the authors discuss the expansion of voting rights in the United States, in the section, “Toward Universal Suffrage.” If we understand voting rights as the result of states’ determining eligibility requirements and registration procedures, then expansion of suffrage (the right to vote) must be understood in terms of changes in eligibility requirements and changes in registration procedures. Complete the following assignment:
•Define the terms, “franchise” and “suffrage.”
•Describe the three amendments to the U.S. Constitution (15th, 19th, and 26th) that prohibited states from denying individuals the right to vote based on specific criteria. Explain how these amendments expanded suffrage.
•Detail state actions (policies, such as poll taxes and literacy tests), subsequent to passage of the 15th Amendment, to reduce the ability to vote of African Americans. Explain how these laws affected suffrage.
•Describe actions at the national level (such as, passage of the 24th Amendment, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993). Explain how these national actions affected suffrage.