The Story of Voting in America

Which of the following countries does not guarantee its citizens the right to vote? ;xNLx;a) Iran;xNLx;b) Libya ;xNLx;c) The United States ;xNLx;d) All of the above ;xNLx;If you guessed “all of the above,” you’re right. ;xNLx;America's voting history is exciting and surprising. It lies at the heart of our nation's vision of itself. Who votes? How do they vote? It has always been in flux.;xNLx;;xSTx;span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic";xETx;About this timeline: This teaching tool has been created as part of the Classroom Edition of "Electoral Dysfunction." It is strictly intended for educational purposes. ;xNLx;;xSTx;span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic";xETx;To navigate through the timeline either drag the grey box at the bottom of the timeline to the date range you wish to explore or use your mouse or trackpad to scroll backwards or forward.;xNLx;;xSTx;span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic";xETx;The timeline events are divided into three major categories: historical context, who gets to vote, and how we vote. Use your mouse or trackpad to swipe left or right to focus more closely on a particular category.;xNLx;;xSTx;span style="font-size: 15px; font-style: italic";xETx;In addition, you can use the tags in each entry to narrow in on specific topics. ;xSTx;/span;xETx; ;xSTx;/span;xETx;;xSTx;/span;xETx;;xSTx;/span;xETx;

1750-01-01 00:00:00

Colonial Era Voting: Out Loud and In Person

1755-11-01 00:00:00

George Washington Campaigns for Political Office

1758-11-01 00:00:00

George Washington Finally Wins Election to the Virginia House of Burgesses

1775-11-01 00:00:00

The Revolutionary War

1776-11-01 00:00:00

Creating a New Nation: Thinking About Who Should Vote

1777-11-01 00:00:00

New York Experiments With Paper Ballots

1777-11-01 00:00:00

Colonies Begin Determining Who Can Vote

1781-11-01 00:00:00

The Articles of Confederation

1783-11-01 00:00:00

The First Elections: Who Can Vote?

1783-11-15 00:00:00

The First Elections: Could African Americans Vote?

1786-11-01 00:00:00

Tammany Hall is Founded

1787-11-01 00:00:00

Drafting the Constitution

1787-12-01 00:00:00

Drafting the Constitution: The 3/5ths Clause

1788-06-01 00:00:00

The Constitution is Ratified

1788-12-01 00:00:00

America Elects Its First President Under the New Constitution

1788-12-01 00:00:00

First Congressional Elections

1790-11-01 00:00:00

Citizenship in America

1790-11-01 00:00:00

Second Congressional Elections: Boisterous and Unruly

1791-11-01 00:00:00

The Bill of Rights Is Adopted

1800-11-01 00:00:00

A Tied Vote for President

1801-11-01 00:00:00

Massachusetts Institutes Voter Registration: A First in the Nation

1804-11-01 00:00:00

The Electoral College Is Modified

The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution Is Adopted

1806-11-01 00:00:00

Founding Father Thomas Paine Tries to Vote But Is Turned Away

1807-11-01 00:00:00

New Jersey Bars Women from Voting

1819-11-01 00:00:00

Every State Entering the Union Post-1819 Bars Blacks From Voting

1824-11-01 00:00:00

A "Corrupt Bargain" Produces the President

1828-11-01 00:00:00

Andrew Jackson Runs for President Again and Wins

1828-11-01 00:00:00

What Is Democracy?

1829-11-01 00:00:00

Voting with Hand-Written Ballots

1831-11-01 00:00:00

De Tocqueville Observes American Democracy in Action

1836-11-01 00:00:00

Using Printed Ballots to Vote

1837-11-01 00:00:00

Pennsylvania's Black Citizens Try and Fail to Keep Their Vote

1840-11-01 00:00:00

New York City Begins Registering Voters

1841-11-01 00:00:00

The Dorr Rebellion: Fighting in the Streets Over Property Requirements

1848-11-01 00:00:00

Wisconsin Allows Non-Citizen Immigrants to Vote

1848-11-01 00:00:00

The Seneca Falls Convention Calls for Women to Be Given the Vote

1855-11-01 00:00:00

Connecticut Adopts a Literacy Test

1856-11-01 00:00:00

North Carolina Eliminates Its Property Ownership Requirement

1857-11-01 00:00:00

Keeping an Eye on Voters

1861-04-12 00:00:00

The Civil War

1864-11-01 00:00:00

Voting in Public

1865-11-01 00:00:00

Slavery Is Abolished

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is Enacted

1866-11-01 00:00:00

Equal Protection of the Law Becomes Part of the Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution Is Adopted

1866-11-01 00:00:00

The Civil Rights Act of 1866

1867-11-01 00:00:00

Congress Requires That Black Men Be Allowed to Vote in the South

1868-11-01 00:00:00

Ballot Box Stuffing

1869-11-01 00:00:00

Thomas Edison Receives His First Patent for a Voting Machine

1869-11-01 00:00:00

The Vote Cannot Be Abridged on the Basis of Race

The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution Is Adopted

1870-11-01 00:00:00

The First African Americans Are Elected to Congress

1870-11-01 00:00:00

The Age of Political Machines

The Story of Voting in America

Launch
Copy this timeline Login to copy this timeline 3d Game mode

Contact us

We'd love to hear from you. Please send questions or feedback to the below email addresses.

Before contacting us, you may wish to visit our FAQs page which has lots of useful info on Tiki-Toki.

We can be contacted by email at: hello@tiki-toki.com.

You can also follow us on twitter at twitter.com/tiki_toki.

If you are having any problems with Tiki-Toki, please contact us as at: help@tiki-toki.com

Close

Edit this timeline

Enter your name and the secret word given to you by the timeline's owner.

3-40 true Name must be at least three characters
3-40 true You need a secret word to edit this timeline

Checking details

Please check details and try again

Go
Close