U.S. Voting Rights Timeline

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

U.S. Voting Rights Timeline
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Northern California Citizenship Project 
Mobilize the Immigrant Vote 2004 - Capacity Building Series 

1776 Only people who own land can vote 
Declaration of Independence signed. Right to vote during the Colonial and 
Revolutionary periods is restricted to property owners—most of whom are white male 
Protestants over the age of 21. 
1787 No federal voting standard—states decide who can vote 
U.S. Constitution adopted. Because there is no agreement on a national standard for 
voting rights, states are given the power to regulate their own voting laws. In most 
cases, voting remains in the hands of white male landowners. 
1789 George Washington elected president. Only 6% of the population can vote.
1790 Citizen=White 
1790 Naturalization Law passed. It explicitly states that only “free white” immigrants 
can become naturalized citizens. 
1848 Activists for ending slavery and women’s rights join together 
Women’s rights convention held in Seneca Falls, NY. Frederick Douglass, a 
newspaper editor and former slave, attends the event and gives a speech supporting 
universal voting rights. His speech helps convince the convention to adopt a 
resolution calling for voting rights for women. 
1848 Citizenship granted, but voting denied 
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War and guarantees 
U.S. citizenship to Mexicans living in the territories conquered by the U.S. However, 
English language requirements and violent intimidation limit access to voting rights. 
1856 Vote expanded to all white men North Carolina is the last state to remove property ownership as a requirement to vote.


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