The history of the US ballot is a fascinating journey through the making of a democracy
The US prides itself on being the oldest modern democracy—its 244th anniversary is this weekend—and yet it’s only been an actual one for a century at best: It wasn’t until 1920 and the recognition of women’s suffrage that the whole adult population was, at least theoretically, recognized the right to vote.
Effectively, however, it’s truly only since 1965 that the Voting Rights Act effectively removed obstacles for Black citizens to vote, making full democracy in the US a pretty young enterprise.
What started in 1776 wasn’t a fully formed democracy, but rather a process—a democratic aspiration that started on hopeful, if shaky, foundations and then built on itself, fighting the forces of the status quo to add, one by one, real layers of democratic power. That is the essence of the great democratic experiment of America—one that is far from finding a perfect, fair balance of power, but exists and thrives only in its relentless pursuit.
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