The article tells us that in the past the presidential election has consisted of mostly white voters. Minority groups were small enough that their votes didn’t really matter. This is an example of coercion, “power that people do not except as rightly exercised over them.” (Page #306) But, as the number of minorities grow, the more important their votes become to politicians. There are a large number of minority voters in the southwestern states and Florida which were the focus of this article. The role of minorities in elections is to exercise their right to vote, so they can have the president that will benefit them. In the article though, the minority group was divided or undecided in their choice of candidate. They worried about the political candidates following through with their promises. …show more content…
As I mentioned previously, minority groups are growing now, faster than ever. Minority votes are being heard. In 2008, the United States had its first African American president, Barack Obama. In this same election there was a Hispanic candidate, Bill Richardson. Richardson was eliminated early on but his attempt is proof of the change. In 2016 another Hispanic candidate, Marco Rubio ran for president. Also during the 2016 election one of the top two candidates was a female. This female is known as Hilary Clinton. If she would have been elected she would have been the United States first female president. Within the last two elections there have been three major minority changes. In conclusion, the changing role of minority voters over the years has made an impact on politics. There was a time when voters were all white males. The initial change began with racial groups gaining more attention from political parties, and gender was soon to
Throughout American history, politics changed with the times, forming and growing as new situations and environments took place. However, the most drastic differences occurred between 1815 and 1840. During this time, the North and South develop different economic systems, which created political differences between the regions. Between 1815 and 1840, the number of eligible voters drastically increased as politicians utilized a wider variety of campaigning methods in order to appeal to as many voters as possible, all essentially caused by economic growth. Politics grow to include universal white male suffrage, a strong national government, and nationalism versus sectionalism. Economic Growth (American System, Industrial Revolution, Sectional Economies, Internal Improvements & Inventions) caused the political party changes.
Throughout American History, people of power have isolated specific racial and gender groups and established policies to limit their right to vote. These politicians, in desperate attempt to elongate their political reign, resort to “anything that is within the rules to gain electoral advantage, including expanding or contracting the rate of political participation.”(Hicks) Originally in the United States, voting was reserved for white, property-owning gentleman
During the time of World War II, there was a dramatic change in the society of America and its way of life. Men were needed at war and the women were left at home. People were mistrusted and were falsely accused of something they didn’t do. Some people were even pushed away because they were different. These people were the minorities of America. Some of the minorities it affected the most were the African Americans, women, Japanese Americans, and even young adults. What is a minority? A minority, in this case, is a person or group of people who are discriminated against because there is something about them that makes them different. Some of these reasons why they are different are things like race, gender, and even age. However, the real question is how were the roles of American minorities change after World War II?
Hasen, Richard. "Voter Suppression's New Pretext." the New York Times 16 November 2013: A- 19. Print.
Alexis de Tocqueville discussed how he believed that majority rules in the United States. He writes about how the majority in America has control over the opinions of the masses and how people do not think for themselves. The latter part of that is true. The masses do not form many of their own opinions but these opinions are not given to them, like Tocqueville says, by the majority. These "ready made opinions" (Tocqueville 11) are given to American people by a powerful few. Tocquville's writing does not apply to the US today because several kinds of minorities wield inordinate amounts of power in modern American society.
majority, does not advance the cause of minorities in a meaningful way, and needs to be
Landes, Alison, et al. Minorities - A Changing Role in America. Wylie, Texas: Information Plus, 1994. 93-111.
Starting with methods, such as, pool taxes and literacy tests, cunningly denying individuals their right to vote or convey their political voice continues in America today. Saito in the article “The Political Significance of Race” describes the effects that redistricting and gerrymandering can have on a community, by using the decennial census as a “unique opportunity to examine the relation between race and politics because the 1965 Voting Rights Act requires the recognition and protection of the political rights of ethnic and racial minorities” (120). Redistricting is the redrawing of districts, block by block supposedly to ensure each district has about the same number of people, and to guarantee that each voter has an equal political say. Redistricting can determine which political party is in power in each district by deliberately ensuring the district is drawn to include the people who support a specific party. This is called gerrymandering, the manipulation of district lines to protect or change political power. This can be used as a strategy to dilute the political voice of minority groups by conveniently drawing the lines to minimize their
...e Latino presence is leading to greater political representation and the needs of their communities can no longer be ignored. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have come to recognize the growing involvement of the Latino community because of assimilation, as well as pluralism (Schaefer, 2012).
"After 1815 Americans transformed the republic of the Founding Fathers into a democracy. State after state revoked property qualifications for voting and holding officethus transforming Jefferson's republic of property holders into Andrew Jackson's mass democracy. Democracy, however, was not for everyone. While states extended political rights to all white men, they often withdrew or limited such rights for blacks. As part of the same trend, the state of New Jersey took the vote away from propertied women, who formerly had possessed that right. Thus the democratization of citizenship applied exclusively to white men. In the mid19th century, these men went to the polls in record numbers. The election of 1828 attracted 1.2 million voters; that number jumped to 1.5 million in 1836 and to 2.4 million in 1840. Turnout of eligible voters by 1840 was well over 60 percenthigher than it had ever been, and much higher than it is now." (Remini, 1998)
It is hard to believe that after electing a minority president, the United States of America can still be seen as a vastly discriminatory society. A question was posed recently after a viewing of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech of whether his dream has become a reality. After consideration, a majority of the viewers said no. Although many steps have been taken to improve racial equality in America, there is still no way to legislate tolerance. Dr. King’s message of equality for all has been lost in a black and white struggle over the taken meaning of his context. Until our society can allow all people to live in peace we will never truly achieve King’s dream. Case in point, referring to President Obama as our "our First Black President" should not be considered a statement of pride over how far we have come. Placing this racial qualifier, even in a positive light, only serves to point out his minority status, not the fact that he is the President of the United States. According to Dr. King's dream, a man or woman, black or white, would be viewed as President without qualifying their differences from mainstream America.
One is that minority populations have a younger age structure, limiting the number of voting aged individuals in the district and negating the small margin that the district makeup gave them. Second are the lasting effects of racial segregation. The states and areas that are required to create these districts are generally in the South, where Jim Crow laws and past voting rights violations may still quell minority registration and turnout. Inversely, if a districts minority makeup is too high, “80% or more”, this actually dilutes the impact of minority voters and can be considered minority stacking. Scholars have long debated and have settled on the magical 65% as the optimal makeup for a minority district that gives a realistic chance for the favored minority representative to be elected. Both the U.S. District Court in Washington and the Justice Department have adopted this number for the enforcement of the Voting Rights
It is the year 2000, the end of the 20th century and the start to the Bush “Stolen Election.” Cynthia Mckinney states “I don’t believe the American people even till this day, really understand what happened in Florida 2000.” (American Blackout). As many in the film American Blackout recall, blacks in the state of Florida were being kept from voting. As difficult as it is to grasp such a
First off, we should decide what a “minority group” is. In North America, Arabs or Muslims, African – Americans, and Indians or Sikhs and Hindus and even Asians are some of the more common minority groups you will come in contact with. Based on a study on ethnic minorities, it was found that “This study explored the impact of income status (low-income vs. non-low-income) on family functioning, social support, and quality of life in a community sample of 125 families. The sample identified themselves as 17% Black or African American, 7% Latino, 4% Asian, and 66% White.” (Mansfield, 2013) It seems as though since these minorities used to be so uncommon, that they are now the norm because of how much they have migrated, immigrated or even re-populated other countries than their own. These minority groups used to be so uncommon and misunderstood, that they have in a sense, been forced to be open and understand each other’s racial and cultural differences. When a...
Majority rule can often lead to tyranny because of the pursuit of the majorities’ interests; however, with the Supreme Court and its interpretation of the Constitution, minority groups are often able to rule over the unjust majority. Majority rule is essential in a democracy and having limits does not contradict the majority’s power. The principles of majority rule can be upheld while the rights of minorities are protected as long as justice is maintained through the checks on majority factions and justified court rulings.