Everyone living in the United States has the right to vote, and when given the opportunity, it should be taken advantage of. By voting you participate in being a US citizen: if you have a strong opinion on a certain topic or person it is important to make it known. In presidential elections, each president had strong opinions on different topics. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayIf you don't vote based on your beliefs, for example in the 2016 presidential election, then you could have a man like Donald J Trump indicting the country who is ignorant and puts the United States at risk. Every person has the right to their own opinion and this should be expressed correctly and freely at all times. This is why it is important to vote in elections because not only are you expressing your right to free speech, but your vote will also count and can make a significant difference in an election. During the 1900s, not everyone had the right to vote despite being legalized citizens. Prior to the Fifteenth Amendment, African American men were not considered equal to white men in how they were represented in government and their legal rights as citizens of the United States. Not only were African Americans discriminated against, but so were women. The Nineteenth Amendment granted women over the age of 21 the right to vote in 1920. The amendment came after years of women fighting hard for women's right to vote. Therefore African American men and women who did not have the privilege to vote as white men did, created ideal groups to protest their thieving government for this act of injustice. After the Civil War, many African Americans received citizenship rights through a series of legislative achievements including the Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 which gave African Americans the right to vote and prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Even with these protections in place, many Southern states resisted racial equality and circumvented the law by imposing literally impossible-to-pass tests designed to prevent African Americans from registering to vote, preventing them from participating in the electoral process. But in March 1965 several human rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr and other leaders gathered for a peaceful protest for African Americans' right to vote. Because of this and other forms of protest against the government, African Americans were killed and hanged by the KKK and hate groups, all done simply for attempting to register to vote, which caused the government to create even more tests such as literacy tests and poll taxes. to prevent them from voting again. The literacy test that was administered to each African American who registered to vote involved interpreting part of the Constitution, as well as providing written responses to a twenty-page test. Many of them knew they would not pass this test, but they registered anyway, which demonstrated their hard work and dedication in fighting for their rights as American citizens. In Selma Bridge to Freedom showed the amount of violence used against African Americans who defended their rights peacefully. “I was hit in the head by a state trooper with a baton… I thought I saw death” (said John Lewis, SNCC leader). This not only showed how disgustingly African Americans were treated, but also showed what real life was like for them. . Even if discouraged by the police, the government andfrom society, they united and continued to fight. They held the largest protest in American history led by MLK Jr called the Selma to Montgomery Movement Act March, due to the bloody attack in Selma Alabama and the Selma to Montgomery march. President Lyndon Baines Johnson, five days after the incident, spoke to Congress and gave the idea for the Voting Rights Act. He gave a speech that can be considered one of the greatest speeches ever written. He quoted “Every American citizen must have the same right to vote. Yet the harsh reality is that in many places in this country, men and women are prevented from voting simply because they are black.” (The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Constitutional Rights Foundation) This piece has struck a chord with every black man and woman across the nation. He showed sympathy and compassion for them that they never felt from the president. He talked about what all other government leaders were afraid to talk about, he talks about how the government comes up with many ways to prevent African Americans from voting with tests and poll taxes. The Voting Rights Act signed by President Johnson on August 6, 1965 that became the best achievement in history for the black community. The law outlawed literacy tests and poll taxes that gave African Americans a fair chance to vote. To vote, all you needed was American citizenship and the registration of your name on an electoral roll. No form of obstruction would have been tolerated by the courts. Not only did African Americans not have the right to vote but women also did not have that privilege. Throughout human history, women have always been classified as the weaker gender and their duty was to always take care of the home and husband. For over 72 years women have been fighting for their right to vote. In 1848, the first women's convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Around 300 activist groups, the Iron Jawed Angels, gathered. Prominent among these participants were Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, these two women signed the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, which was printed on the Declaration of Independence. This signature called for equal treatment of women and men with respect to the law and the right to vote. Although this revolution had begun, all women still did not have the privilege of voting, this was just the beginning of something bigger. Disagreements over the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and the relationship between women's suffrage and the racial equality movement divided the women's rights movement between two organizations: the National Woman Suffrage Association and American Woman Suffrage Association. The two groups joined together in 1890 to form the (National American Women's Suffrage Association). Susan B. Anthony, a longtime leader in the suffrage movement, became the new leader of NAWSA. She started inviting wealthy members for the women's club movement. Their time, money and experience helped build the suffrage movement. After the Senate rejected the proposed women's suffrage amendment to the United States Constitution in 1887, Carrie Chapman Catt became president and soon after Congress passed and ratified the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote, (Voting Rights 906, page 2). Throughout American history, both African Americans and women have suffered from inequality and discrimination from society and government. All they wanted was the same rights that every white male citizen had, that right was the right to vote. Their sacrifices and the determination that both African Americans and women endured finally paid off. Given the sacrifice made by the American people in.