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1776 North Carolina Constitution
The North Carolina Constitution of 1776 granted many rights to citizens of North Carolina, as well as being the first official constitution of NC. The Constitution began with the Declaration of Rights, giving twenty-five guaranteed personal freedoms which go along with the Bill of Rights found in the US Constitution, and went on to establish the framework of the North Carolina government and more. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was held in New York and was gathered in an attempt to fight for social, religious, and civil rights of women. This convention also led women, and some men, to rise up and fight for the rights of women in women's rights movements all over the country, hoping for an equal society and gender equality. -
Passage of the Fifteenth Amendment
This amendment prohibited the federal government from denying any citizen the right to vote due to reasons such as gender, race, or color. During the Reconstruction, some Southern states had still found ways to discriminate against the former slaves, limiting voting to white men only. This amendment was significant due to the fact that it allowed former slaves and other races who were once discriminated to come together and vote for people to represent them just like the white Americans. -
Jim Crow Laws (Between 1880's-1950's)
The Jim Crow Laws included segregation of public schools, parks, beaches, and public transportation methods. Even things like drinking fountains, restrooms, and restaurants had been segregated, with the "blacks" being forced to use different facilities from whites. The laws were brought around by the Democratic Party, separating the blacks from the whites yet again. African Americans were being restrained from entering our democracy and voting, which led to people standing up for their rights. -
Passage of the Seventeenth Amendment
The 17th Amendment was created to give voters the power to directly elect their senators. The US Senate was also only allowed to have two senators from each state, with each senator having one vote in the Senate, being elected for six-year terms. This amendment helped to separate power in the government between the federal government and the state governments with direct elections of the senators. This also allowed for more power for the people as they could now directly elect their senators. -
Passage of the Nineteenth Amendment
The 19th Amendment finally granted women the true right to vote, which had been fought and sought after for quite a while. Women kept on fighting for this right as they feared it could be taken away again. The significance of this amendment is that women were now fully allowed to vote, making our voting system a lot more equally gender-wise. The national suffrage movement that had been launched had helped immensely in the passing of this amendment. -
Indian Citizenship Act
In 1924, after many years of hardship and discrimination, the Native Americans born in the country were finally granted citizenship. President Calvin Coolidge was the president to sign the bill which granted the American Indians the right of full citizenship of America. Before this, Indians had been denied their citizenship and went unnoticed by the government. Now, however, the American Indians had the right to live in their nation as well as being recognized and voting in elections. -
Passage of the Twenty-Third Amendment
The 23rd Amendment had given residents of Washington DC the right to vote for representatives in the Electoral College. The college is responsible for the elections of our presidents after the votes have been cast. Today, however, DC sends a delegate to Congress, who speaks on behalf of their people, but the delegate is not allowed to vote. This was a pretty big deal during this time as they had not been allowed to vote before due to the region that they lived in and it's political importance. -
Passage of the Twenty-Fourth Amendment
The 24th Amendment to the US Constitution had abolished the poll taxes that had been enforced on federal elections. It was suggested that the poll taxes already could be outlawed under the 14th or 15th Amendment, due to the equality factor. However, it was decided that drafting this amendment would make a stronger statement and hopefully have a better effect. This also allowed for democracy to become even stronger now, with people now being able to vote without having to pay a poll tax. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
The goal of this act was to get rid of the legal barriers of the local and state levels which had prevented African Americans from having the right to vote, which should have been guaranteed under the 15th Amendment. The significance of this act is the creation of job opportunities and services available to the black community, as well as the greater social equality and decreased educational and wealth gap. This also granted African Americans the true right to vote in elections. -
Passage of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment
The 26th Amendment was made to lower the age of legal voting from 21 to 18 years old. This was done by Franklin D. Roosevelt, being one of the biggest accomplishments of the protest movement in America. It was not long before this amendment ratified with the amount of support it had. This amendment is significant in that it voiced the opinions of all the young adults who had been silenced due to age for so long. Younger minds were now able to vote for candidates in elections just like the rest.
