US Presidential Elections 1789-2012
I have chosen a video which shows the results of the Presidential Elections from 1789 to 2012 as an example of American liberty.
I chose this for two reasons, the first being that the right to vote shows the freedom American citizens have in being able to choose someone to represent them. The second reason that I chose this video was because it shows the gradual increase of the different states being able to vote. This shows how there has been an improvement in American Liberty from 1789 to the present day.
There has also been an improvement to American Liberty over the years as you can now be any gender and race to vote where as before when voting was first introduced you had to be a white male. In 1869 African American men were given the right to vote in the Fifteenth Amendment however the 'grandfather clause' was created so many black men were not able to utilise the new law. Women were given the vote in 1920 by the Nineteenth Amendment.
Some Americans are still not entitled to this liberty of voting as an age restriction means that you have to be eighteen to vote. This has been put in place as it is believed that anyone younger would not understand the government system properly and therefore their votes would be unsuitable. There is however some people that believe the vote should be lowered to the age of 16 with the argument that teenagers are responsible enough to drive at that age so why can't they have a say in their future.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlHICfl_6s
https://www.aclu.org/timeline-history-voting-rights-act
http://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/19th-amendment
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-sixth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
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