Should Minimum Voting Age Be 18 Years Old

Improved Essays
Should the minimum voting age be 18 years old? The 26th Amendment gives young adults under the age of 21 the right to vote. At the time of the Vietnam War the minimum voting age was 21 years old. Whether or not you think the minimum voting age should be 18, the 26th Amendment helped further improve equality in the United States. The 26th Amendment states that "The right of citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." This means that the 26th Amendment gives citizens between the ages of 18 and 21 the right to vote in local and presidential elections. …show more content…
The civil rights movement was in full swing, anti war activists protested against the Vietnam War, and all at the same time women were also in a fight for equal rights. In the middle of all of the chaos was the youth voting rights activists, this groups specific goal was to raise awareness of the injustice surrounding the minimum voting age in the United States. As you already know, at the time the minimum voting age was 21, during WWII the draft age was lowered to 18 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Many young adults thought this was unfair. A popular slogan used in the argument for the 26th Amendment was "old enough to fight, old enough to vote", this slogan played a key role in gaining support from the government and the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    This semester in history, we talked about many things that I would not think about on a daily basis outside of school. Our lessons made me think in new ways about different concepts. The two things that made me most interested were learning about the Dakota Access Pipeline involving the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the requirements for voting for the President of the United States. DAPL made me more aware of our environment and realize how one thing could drastically affect so many areas of our world. It also made me see that there are many cons but there are also many pros.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Voting Age Case Study

    • 1263 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “The Supreme Court held, with considerable disagreement, that the federal 18-year-old voting age requirement is valid for national elections, but not for State or local elections.” The Checks and Balances worked very well in this case. The Legislative branch made the law to where all voting age was 18-years-old in National, State, and local elections. The Executive branch enforced the law, and then the Judicial branch interpreted and checked the law and ended up sending it back. The Justices said that only the States, and not the Congress, have the authority to establish the qualification rules for voters in State and local elections.…

    • 1263 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Americans should not be required to vote. Once an action becomes required by the law, it becomes a chore. Document B shows the difference in rates of adults who are above 30 and under who vote. Ages 18 to 29 are at a little above 50%, while the rest start at 60% and go up. It is evident that younger Americans are not as interested or devoted to our elections.…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In 1890, two rival organizations, the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association, merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). The NAWSA's movement marginalize many African-American women and through this effort was developed the idea of the "educated suffragist. " This was the notion that being educated was an important prerequisite for being allowed the right to vote. Since many African-American women were uneducated, this notion meant exclusion from the right to vote. This movement was prevalent in the South but eventually gained momentum in the North as well.[1] African-American women were not deterred by the rising opposition and became even more aggressive in their campaign…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Convicted At 14 Summary

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The minimum age for voting is eighteen years of age or older as it is written in the Twenty Sixth Amendment of The Constitution of the United States of America. The minimum age for drinking is twenty one years or older according to The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of The United States of America. The minimum age for driving The minimum age for driving in The United States of America varies depending on what state you are in. The minimum age for enrolling in the army differs depending on what state you are…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the civil war era, women were looked at very differently. They were mainly looked at as people to take care of the kids, and the house. Even they didn 't realize how independent they could become. After the war started, the had to take new roles, find jobs, and prove to men and others they could do more than take care of the house, and children.…

    • 1162 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Twenty-Sixth Amendment lowered the voting age to 18 years.this proves…

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Kennedy's Voting Age

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Kennedy's’ speech explained how the voting age should be lowered from 21 to 18. He explained how the voting age…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1912-21 Guaranteed Women

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Voting is done in different ways and rules throughout the world. Particularly in Sweden, the rules of voting in general elections are divided by age and citizenship, as in most of the democratic countries the minimum age to exercise the right to vote is 18 years, and eligibility is usually guaranteed for ages from 18 years. Although, there are some countries in which someone may lose their right to vote by reason of being in prison, declared legally incompetent, dependent on social welfare, living abroad, etc. The first legal vote reform was in 1907-07 decided that income and property would no longer be the necessary requirements to guarantee the right to vote. Consequently, the second legal reform in 1912-21 guaranteed women the right to…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Fourteenth Amendment states that no state will make or enforce any law that can restrict the privileges or immunities of the people of the United States (Gans). The Fifteenth Amendment gives the right to vote to any man no matter the race (Foner). The Nineteenth Amendment gives the right to vote to women. With those three amendments it would seem that any person of legal age could vote, but not all people agreed. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned segregation and was supposed to help with voting, but the people…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Voting Age

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Sixteen year olds pay taxes, drive, and are allowed to drop out of school, so why can’t they vote also? Voting age in the United States is currently eighteen years old, although teenagers younger than that are still required to do many things that are controlled by how people vote on the ballots. I believe that the voting age should be lowered to sixteen years of age. If the voting age were lowered, it would allow schools to encourage voting, and even educate students about the process before they go to the polls.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In conclusion, the voting age should absolutely be lowered so teenagers are given the chance to vote. First thoughts, teenagers become more mature, wiser, and are able to choose the right thing more often. For instance, teenagers do not find the same things funny not that they are older. Picture yourself back then, making silly faces and stupid jokes, but now you make very little jokes at all. If the government does not think that teenagers are mature enough to vote then why do some people trust teenagers to help the elders or to do community service for other people?…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Voting Age Response Paper

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In 1787, the first article of the Constitution gave the right to vote to white males who owned property and were 21 years or older that means from the begining 21 is concired a mature age. In 1787, the first article of the Constitution gave the right to vote to white males who owned property and were 21 years or older. So, that means 21 years is an…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    First of all, the outrageous criteria to be eligible to vote here in the United States is undoubtedly preposterous. To vote, you first have to be 18 years or older ("What Are the Requirements to Be Eligible to Vote in Federal Elections?"). While this may seem justified, many people eager to vote are being withheld from doing so because of this age requirement. Voting shouldn’t be off limits to someone because of their age! Instead, the age requirement should be lowered significantly in order to allow more freedom for a surplus of citizens.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I personally believe that the age should be left at 18. In the following response I will be reviewing both side of the topic and giving reason why I feel this decsion should stay. In todays society the word voter has changed signifigantly. Throughout the history of the United States we have had major shifts in who can vote in our Local, State, and National elections.…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays