History of Voting Rights in the United States
Despite Enlightenment ideals inspiring early U.S. leaders, full political rights were not given to everyone at the same time.
This table shows the history of voting rights in the United States; full political rights were not given to everyone at the same time. In 1789, only twenty-one year-old white men could vote, then male citizens of any race in 1870, women in 1920, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 assured Black Americans full voting rights. Finally, in 1971, the Twenty-Sixth Amendment stated that eighteen year-olds have the right to vote.
